My Top 40 Albums - #15

#15
Blindside - "Silence"

Year: 2002
Label: Elektra / Wea
Favorite songs: Time Will Change Your Heart, She Shut Your Eyes, Sleepwalking, Pitiful, Thought Like Flames
Lyric sample: "Caught a glimpse of Your eye / Everything freezes / I'm in an old photograph / I'm back from the start / Caught a glimpse of Your eye / Everything freezes I'm / I'm ready to give You my heart"

Third "hard" album in a row, huh? Perhaps Blindside can actually be called hardcore. After all, if their previous release A Thought Crushed My Mind wasn't hardcore, it's hard to imagine what is. Silence is smoothed out a bit, and watered down a bit, in terms of sheer heaviness. What this accomplishes is to make the music more accessible and listenable. I'm sure purists were probably upset, but I was thrilled; because this is a record I not only enjoy, but praise among my favorite albums.

I received Silence as a gift after showing interest entirely on the strength of the popular single "Pitiful." I wasn't overly thrilled when I first popped it into my CD player. After all, the first track "Caught a Glimpse" sounds kind of like the stereotypical hard rock record, starting out kind of quietly with a down-tuned but clean guitar intro before bursting into distortion, cymbals and screaming. Yet somewhere in that I noticed a few things that stuck out to me. This wasn't just mindless noise. I think at some point I recognized a chromatic riff that was nicely juxtaposed with the melody in a way that I hadn't expected. The band was using cleverly placed passing notes to create pockets of tension before moving on. That and the choruses were melodic. That was enough for me to know I should stick it out.

Turns out Blindside is an exceptionally gifted group, and this record shows it. First of all, they are basically a three-piece band with a singer. Their music is neither banally simple nor achingly complex, by virtue of the fact that there is only one guitarist who must work with the rhythm section to hold down the bottom while throwing in lead licks and accents where appropriate. The production and the performance work hand in hand here to give us something that has energy and weight but also has enough space within it that it doesn't feel small or muddy. The second asset is just as important. I'm of the opinion that if a band is going to have an extra member just to do vocals, he'd better be dynamite. Christian Lindskog (yeah, that's right, they are from Sweden) is possibly the most remarkable vocalist I have heard doing this style of music. His range, versatility, purity and aggression is simply astounding. He has the enviable ability of being able to launch into a harsh hardcore scream, segue into a beautiful, crystal clear singing note, and back again, all in the same breath. His strength and style is a huge selling point. If not for him, I don't think Blindside would even receive much notice. And that would be a shame, because the writing is what sells this album for me.

Blindside actually got me interested in music again after I had been going through something of a dry spell. I simply hadn't heard anything new in months that made me sit up and take notice. Nothing was surprising, fresh, captivating. Then I gave Silence a listen, and I was shocked to find not just one but several songs that were striking and invigorating. The one that got my attention is "She Shut Your Eyes." The chord choices in the chorus of this song contrasted against the melody are just perfect. It's dynamic and exciting. Then as I listened I found more favorites - in the fierce, break-neck "Time Will Change Your Heart," the somewhat strange "Thought Like Flames" and the pounding, emotional "Sleepwalking."

As it turns out, there's not a poor song out of 13. Some like "You Can Hide It" and "Midnight" don't stand out, but given the high caliber of the rest of the recording, that's not surprising. Probably on a more average rock record, those songs would be among the better tracks. Almost every time I listen, I find a new reason to love Silence. It's an album that engages from the outset and ages with grace. Definitely required listening for hard rock enthusiasts.

Start rocking with this video of "Sleepwalking." "Pitiful" is a cooler video, so you might want to check that out too, but I think I prefer this song. Plus it's not as well known.