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General Media Music

[REVIEW+] Blindside – The Black Rose EP

Note: There’s also a review for this new CD from Blindside from JesusFreakHideout. So go there if you want a more “professional” review from someone you don’t know at all (as opposed to getting a somewhat mediocre review from a person you know and love!).

So we all know the story of Blindside: Swedish rock band with Christian lyrics, themes and BELIEFS, starts to make it big in US after Silence and planned to never record again after About A Burning Fire. And then they came out with The Great Depression, supposedly after Christian went to South Africa for either missionary work or volunteering.

Supposedly, The Great Depression didn’t sell good, and supposedly it was one of their worst CDs…opinions with which I disagree with, on the most part. Anyway, after The Great Depression, Blindside was dropped by their label and are now independent. On June 27, 2007 they released The Black Rose EP, which contains 5 new songs and 3 live recordings from the 2006 Hultsfred festival in Sweden.

The 5 new songs, “The Way You Dance”, “Slow Motion”, “Pretty Nights”, “The Color of My Eyes” and the title track “Black Rose”, supposedly take on the same “dark” theme that The Great Depression had. I don’t notice a necessarily DARK theme, but the lyrics are still very cryptic and metaphoric — you’ll need to do some more digging to find true meanings, or Christian references, for that matter.

Musically (instrumentally and vocally), Blindside maintains what they’ve been luring me with for the past few years. Christian screams as usual, though not as much, and his screaming is much more acceptable than that of say, EMERY. Blindside keeps on rocking the C-tuning with loudness that doesn’t hurt the ears after long sessions of listening, but at 32 minutes, the EP might get over played quickly — but that’s up to your listening.

The live tracks on the EP include “My Alibi”, “Fell In Love With The Game” and “When I Remember”, all of which are from the recent The Great Depression. I’ve never heard Blindside LIVE live before, nor have I really found their live videos on YouTube…so I guess these would be my more complete experience of lives. I wonder if I should really comment on the live sessions…but I guess if I had to, I’d say they weren’t absolutely mind-smashing, especially “Fell In Love With The Game”, because someone, I think the guitarist, is moaning into the mic when the part should be sung.

The EP is available online ONLY (unless you live in Sweden of course). I haven’t checked iTunes, but I think I’ve read that they’re available there. The best place to get the EP would be from Blindside’s MP3 store (via Klicktrak). For 4.99USD, I’d say you get a pretty DAMN good deal.

Overall score: 9/10
Hits:

  • 4.99USD; most of which goes straight to Blindside
  • 5 new crazy tracks with good ol’ Blindside goodness
  • 8 tracks total
  • Good looking cover design

Misses:

  • No digital booklet included with purchase; so now I’m manually typing them out!
  • Live tracks could’ve been better?

Now, for some lyrics…because they haven’t been uploaded anywhere yet (should be up after I’m done)…since there’s no booklet at all! Note: these are all of my interpretations…because there’s no booklet, so I can’t verify whatever Christian is singing! Things in [] are things I’m absolutely unsure about.

All lyrics ‘copyright’ by Christian Lindskog and Blindside.

“The Way You Dance”

Softly…like a touch of a dark angel (ah),
Her hand in yours, dressed to kill (ah),
Can she tell?

Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
Swing your partner to the left! (ah)
Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
It scares me, the way you dance!

She looks pretty,
her glittering Will, confetti (how does it feel, man!)
Hold steady,
Is she ready? Does she like it,
dancing on the broken glass?

Watching you from across the room (ah)
One hand on the waist, while the other [are crossed] (ah)
Are you holding on for dear life?
Well does she mind or know how to let go?

Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
Swing your partner to the left! (ah)
Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
It scares me the way you dance!

She looks pretty,
her glittering Will, confetti (how does it feel man?)
Hold steady, is she ready?
Does it like it, dancing on the broken glass?

I see you wearin’ your shoes; where are hers? (where are hers?)
I see you wearin’ your shoes; where are hers? (where are hers?)
I see you wearin’ your shoes; where are hers? (where are hers?)
I see you wearin’ my shoes.

I don’t want to [part in] the square dance,
everybody has to dance.
Everybody dance now!

Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
Swing your partner to the left! (ah) (Come on!)
Swing your partner to the right! (ah)
It scares me the way you dance!

She looks pretty,
her glittering Will, confetti (how does it feel man?)
Hold steady, is she ready?
Does it like it, dancing on the broken glass?

She looks pretty,
her glittering Will, confetti (how does it feel man?)
Hold steady, is she ready?
Does it like it, dancing on the broken dreams?

“Slow Motion”

Slipped away out of my hands,
like a [showboat] again,
hey, what a day,
gone for the night and then…

Rob my car and put yourself in, for the need of speed,
for another work week,
what a day, what a day, what a day…

Don’t wake up!
Oh no! [??]
Missed another day, watch out!
Put a chain [kickin’ down the door].
Runnin’ and runnin’,
they come across me stumblin’
Run with a knife,
you fall and you stick a hole in the bottom collide…
but my weapon is clean and I’m ready to go…

Run nicotine and caffeine through my veins,
don’t wake up, catch up but it seems [light].

Oh, I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion.

Hold your breath and count to three,
Now me, I gotta see what’s around the corner OK.
One, two, three, I gotta run!
I [saw them] around, you spin and dash, [come on faster!]
Higher above everything,
It smells like burning and [rub them ’round and rush you]
But I always one step behind you (one minute too late!)
One step behind… one minute too late!

Hey operator, could you collect me with a respirator?
I’m running off the life like a dog on a leash,
but life keeps on slippin’ away…

Oh, I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion.

We make it hard to synchronize,
Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
Stop [till your eyes get better]
[Mayday! For all the times you want]
Fifth emotion on the sixth sick sin,
Wait! Wait! I can’t hold your breath!
Stay! Stay! Well now you go away…
[All day I’ll] sleep with lions [so you’ll see, you won’t go away!]

And I’ve been running…
been running…out of time,
I’ve been running…
out of time…

I’ve been livin’ in…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion, I…
I’ve been living in slow motion.

“Pretty Nights”

The pace is picking up, but time is changing slowly, gradually, hardly noticeable.
One feet per minute, becomes two, and two makes four.
Now where is that door?

The reality [shake] me up,
[and in and out] of me,
small tariffs, its unbelievable,
[is this returnable?]
I think i better leave.

Pretty nights, flashing photo-lights.
I feel her eyes [go against mine shining, pride.]
What a game! What a night!
I feel [the rising sun],
Pretty nights, pretty nights.
But there’s nothing to say.

Who touched the volume knob,
has it always been this loud?
[Alone to go from one] does this one go to heaven?
I think I better leave.

Nothing is silent except the thoughts in my hands,
and all the words thats been said.
Feels unbelievable, are they [retrievable]…
Cause all I do is scream to over-power this noise.
To over-power this noise!

Pretty nights, flashing photo lights.
I feel the rise [of my sun shining with pride].
What a game! What a night!
I feel the rising sun…
Pretty nights, pretty nights,
But theres nothing the same.

The pace is picking up, tempo changing, the calm un-normal.
Normally my eyes are so paralyzed,
Turns and left us with a sadness.

And now its hovering in the air, in between our eyes.
I know we can find a way around, around if we can only find the time.
Time we don’t have, but has been given.

Pretty nights, flashing photo lights.
I feel the rise of [my sun shining with pride].
What a game! What a night!
I feel the rising sun…
Pretty nights, pretty nights,
But theres nothing to save.

“The Color Of My Eyes”

Take back that photograph – it breaks my heart.
And I will wait by that telephone, while in silence.
Precious, my ear drum.
I found a black and white withered person smiling sad at me,
Now I know I can’t get back that photograph once its been seen.

Promise you won’t let me fall asleep, not able to wake up,
Till my breath is gone, don’t let the colour around my eyes fade.
Promise you will find a way through the night,
While the angels call… you colour your heart on this night,
Fade.

Can’t get back that photograph once its been signed.
And I can’t stop thinking about your voice, and now its keeping me up at night.
I’ll find myself all black and white staring back at me, and now I know,
Can’t get back that photograph – it just needs colour.

Promise you won’t let me fall asleep, not able to wake up,
Till my breath is gone, don’t let the colour around my eyes fade.
Promise you will find a way through the night,
While the angels call… you colour your heart on this night,
Fade away…

Blood-drop on the black and white,
Its the only thing that can colourize these not coloured eyes.

Promise you won’t let me fall asleep, not able to wake up,
Till my breath is gone, don’t let the colour around my eyes fade.
Promise you will find a way through the night,
While the angels call… you colour your heart on this night,
Fade…

Promise you won’t let me fall asleep, not able to wake up,
Till my breath is gone, don’t let the colour around my eyes fade.
Promise you will find a way through the night,
While the angels call… you colour your heart on this night,
Fade away…

“Black Rose”

Black rose, where are you now?
White skin as cold as the snow we walked here in.
Your lips like midnight, that night we walked for hours and I remember…
But maybe I’m the only one who still remembers.

You slipped away, or why would you come back to say you already moved on?
You slipped away, but I come back to say that you’re not really gone…
You’re not really gone.

My black rose, where are you now?
And yes I’ve seen your black rose petal fall…
Fall down to the ground like glass,
Shatters, and turning into ashes,
But I’ve seen your colour and its like a blood-drop.
And maybe I’m the only one who still remembers…

You slipped away, or why would you come back to say you’ve already moved on?
You slipped away, but I’ve come back to say that you’re not really gone…
You’re not really gone.

So try to disappear, but my mind doesn’t slip that easy.
You can try to disappear, but my dear, you’re still standing here…
You’re still standing here.

Cause you slipped away, or why would you come back to say you’ve already moved on?
You slipped away, but I’ve come back to say that you’re not really gone…
You’re not really gone.

Started: October 15, 2007
Finished: October 16, 2007
Took me probably around 3-5 hours to interpret less than 28 minutes of very crafty music. Every bit was worth it though…so please enjoy the lyrics!

Categories
General Life Media Music

REVIEW: Thousand Foot Krutch – The Flame In All Of Us

You all thought I had stopped giving these crappy little reviews, didn’t you? Well, no longer cry, for here is another one!

Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) has definitely expanded their listener base since their main release, Set It Off (SIO), in 2000, with two smashing albums (Phenomenon and The Art of Breaking). They also re-released SIO in 2004, along with their first indie CD from 1998.

In this CD, Trevor promised that this CD would go back to their rock roots (a la SIO). At the time the CD was released, I was wondering if the CD could be any different from Phenomenon and The Art of Breaking…and today I definitely found out!

Vocally, Trevor maintains the consistent range of highs and pseudo-screams that he always employed in previous CDs. There was one point, in New Drug [??], he sounds exactly like Rain Maida of OLP. Then again, he sounds like Rain in a lot of the new songs.

Instrumentally, we return to the hardness we were introduced to in some SIO/Phenomenon tracks, which is a good thing. Though everything is louder, by no means does it make it less comfortable to listen to. Of course, this is a CD you want to turn the volume up for, in order to catch all of the musical parts, harmonies and rock-age. There are a LOT of harmonies, which I am loving. There are also a lot of under-lying string parts, as heard in the title (and opening) track, as well as throughout the CD! something I didn’t expect.

For those that were concerned about the “[w]ussy, slow songs” as described by some (referring to This Is A Call?? which I liked), TFK presents What Do We Know and Wish You Well…with variable “wussiness”. But really, these two songs are not considered wussy at all. There’s a track called Favourite Disease, which brings up thoughts of Demon Hunters’ Infected, which can also bring up some confusion as to what ideas/thoughts Trevor was trying to convey, but in the booklet Trevor explains…

My Favourite Disease (Explained)

The idea of having a “favourite disease” is obviously a little contradictory. I don’t usually like to explain the personal meanings of songs, because I want the listener to be able to raw their own conclusions and connect with the song on their own terms. But in this case, I felt the need to explain so that it could not be misunderstood. A persons’ passion and the thing that drives them can be given many names. I like to refer to it as a God given passion, and a blessings, and not something I have achieved, or obtained. If you’re passionate about something, it drives you, and sometimes even consumes you. If something consumes you, than other things in life, even if only for a brief period of time, take a back seat to that thing. In my case, music is one of the things I’m passionate about, and at times it has consumed me. In those times I remember feeling like the thing I loved so much, and have always used as a tool to heal, confide in, and share my life with, was actually killing me. It’s a very confusing feeling to have when you’ve spent your whole life devoted to a gift. I then realized more than ever, how easy it is to lose sight of the reason we do what we do, and why we started doing it in the first place. I thank God every day for his grace, and for allowing me to be a small part of what he wants to say and do through music as an art form. Our goal as a band has always been to share honesty, truth, and integrity with our listeners, and we’ve tried, and are still trying to achieve that. With that said, we hope you enjoy the song and the record.

-Trevor McNevan

And though there are slow songs, the CD still goes through pretty quickly…something that’s expected of a T&N release. But then again, if a band’s music is magical, the length wouldn’t matter too much would it? And that is the case here, we are presented with another quality recording (albeit testimony) from TFK discussing topics ranging from being filled with passion (The Flame In All of Us?), to the importance of preparing yourself for struggles (Learn To Breathe?).

Some useless stats:
CD Presentation (booklet, print): 9.5 / 10; The label is pretty (like the minimalistic booklet), and nice to touch

Extras (bonus sampler CD, ringtones): 7/10; The ringtones are basically useless unless you spend the money to buy them and are using AT&T. I’m not, so it’s basically useless to me. The bonus sampler CD, which is accessed through a site (and Java, which detects your CD), contained many tracks from other T&N artists. Some tracks were really new, such as Hotel Aquarium by Falling Up, from their upcoming CD Captiva…while some are already released, such as Kutless’ track from Hearts of the Innocent and Spoken’s from Spoken.

Replay value: 9/10; I think eventually, the CD might start sounding exactly the same as the others…but once songs are heard hundreds of times and lyrics are memorized, it could be on repeat forever?

Value: 10/10; I got the CD for $14 with taxes (and got 2 free CDs with it)…then again, I’m special! Later, retail will be 17.99 and then 21.99…so get it fast!

Things I’ve missed…I have no recollection, so leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!

Categories
General Music

Switchfoot – Oh! Gravity [REVIEW]

Three reviews in one day!? UNREAL! WHAT’S NEXT, FOUR!?
Quite possibly.