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Well, the new Blindside album is finally out. After numerous delays and long sleepless nights, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. However, that sigh will be short-lived as Blindside is prepared to take your breath away with some crazy hardcore from the other side of the Atlantic. If you liked their first effort I'm positive you'll be pleased with this one even more. Only a couple songs reached out and grabbed me on the first spin, but like most great bands, they grow on you more and more with each listen. One big change is the fact that they don't really have too many of those slow down and sing choruses like on the self-titled debut. They still do the singing stuff mixed in with the "make you throat bleed" screaming, but the music usually doesn't take a break when Christian starts to sing. The vocals throughout are terrific. The hardcore screaming is intense and the singing is as emotional as ever. The background vocals are also extremely well done. The album starts off with "Vow of Silence" and what an awesome song it is. The vocals are fast and aggressive and the music is heavy enough to knock you through a brick wall. "As You Walk" is another great song, although at a very different pace. They mix the singing and screaming very well here. The song ends with cellos and soft guitar. Don't sit down yet though, cause "King of the Closet" is next and it will have you jumping up and down on your furniture and throwing your friends in the air. This song will rock your world. The vocals and background singing are very similar to the style in "Vow of Silence". "My Mother's Only Son" is next and is a terrific song that just bleeds with emotion. I really like how they mix the singing styles and throw in stuff like cellos and softer guitar. It might annoy some headbangers, but I think it does nothing but make the songs that much more creative and much more emotional. The last album was a great album, but this one will definitely get more time in my CD player. The lyrics are very good as well. Especially in "Silver Speak" and "Where Eye Meets Eye". In "Where Eye Meets Eye" Christian cries out "I will never praise You again because of duty...I want my heart to break for the things that make Your heart break." The cellos come in again on the last song "Nothing But Skin". This song almost sounds like the guys spent that day listening to Sixpence None the Richer. But don't worry, their heavy guitar influence was also present that day. Great song. I guess the biggest down point was that for some reason, sometimes when I get near the end of the record (last 3 or 4 songs) it doesn't always hold my attention. I like all of the songs, so it doesn't really make sense. Also, the lyrics on 3 songs did not make it into the CD booklet. However, they did include the lyrics to "Nara" which is sung in Swedish for all you Swedish speaking headbangers. Overall, a great release. No sophomore jinx here. (Review by Matt)
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