Over the years we have seen blindside go from a completely hard-core screaming, make you want to mosh till you die, to the album “Silence” which calmed things down a little but kept the rawness of rock, to a couple albums later “The Great Depression”, which still had quite a bit of “mosh” rock, but the majority was a lot quieter, which was a definite risk for the band considering most of their fans expect hard rock from them.

So now these four lovely gentlemen from Sweden are back with their new EP “THE BLACK ROSE” which is 5 new tracks and 3 live songs from their last album. May I just add that these guys had no record label backing to make this album, they spent their own money on this album, and did all of their own promoting. That’s saying a lot about these guys and their passion for music. I am happy they were able to release the album, it’s just a total bummer that they couldn’t find a record label to support them without trying to change what their hearts desired to do.

First, let’s talk about the live tracks. They are a little rough on the recording end, but not terrible. I think “My Alibi” is the best live track. I love the passion Christian Lindskog puts in this song. You can feel his emotion through the intensity of his voice. “Fell In Love The Game” is my least favorite on the album. Great song but it’s the roughest track, just hard to get into.

“The Color Of My Eyes” is a well-crafted song. Each verse is lead by an atypical soothing voice of Christian. By the time the chorus rolls around the guitars, drums, and vocals rise quickly to change this track to a more typical “blindside” sound. “Slow Motion” is anything but slow motion. “Hey operator, could you connect me with a respirator. I’m running after life like a dog on a leash, But life keeps slipping away. I’ve been living in slow motion. We make it a hard synchronize. Stuck stuck in the lies you better leave leave because so many times I run 50 miles an hour and I get sick sick sick” The repetitive wording is catchy though. This is a much different song lyrically than those of the past, but I feel it’s a step in the right direction.

“Pretty Nights” is reminiscent of the song “Hooray it’s L.A.” from the album About A Burning A Fire. Not lyrically, but stylistically. “The Way You Dance” is my favorite song on the album. Strange as it may sound I really want to dance when I hear this song. “Swing your partner to the right… swing your partner to the left…” When I listen to this song I envision people dressed like that of the renaissance era ballroom dancing. The title Track “Black Rose” is an acoustic ballad that draws you in. The chords are simplicity at it’s finest, but you can’t help but love a song that tells a story.

Overall I think The Black Rose EP is an excellent album, although I feel it lacks songs with a spiritual meaning. It defiantly as eclectic mix of the “old” Blindside sound with the “progressing” Blindside sound, to the “new” Blindside sound. Defiantly worth the $4.99!

Remember you can only purchase this album through their website.
www.blindsideonline.com

Little known fact: if you go to the Blindside Union website
http://www.promotionscrew.com/blindside/exclusive/
You can download a remix of their song “Silence” from the album Silence. It’s pretty sweet.

Bandsite:
myspace.com/blindside
blindsideonline.com

Review By Tausha.