1 Dec 2023
Blindspott - Single Review: Pretty Violent
19 Oct 2022 // A review by Kev Rowland
What can you say about Blindspott which
hasn’t already been said? When it comes to metal icons from NZ, there are few
who exist in the same rarefied atmosphere as these guys, and when I saw them play
recently there was no doubt they were among friends who knew all the words to
every song. Their new singe, Pretty Violent, is the next instalment to
their forthcoming album, Volumes, and is about toxic love and the
moments and emotions that go with that situation. Blindspott have that rare ability
of taking incredibly heavy music and turning it into something which is more palatable
to many with a commercial melodic vocal line over the top of the nu-metal
groove.
There are times when this is pure metal, and then others when Damian lifts over the top and totally changes the approach, even though the rest of the guys are still pumping the noise. Just under four minutes in length, this number keeps changing and morphing as it takes us on an emotional rollercoaster with the threats of violence in one place, reconciliation there, all fraught with tension. The arrangement is sublime in that there are times when the guitars take a back seat to keyboards and drums, but when they come back, they bounce and the ground shakes beneath them. Until the album drops, I somehow feel this will be on repeat being played loud, very, very loud.
Rating:
( 5 / 5 )
About Blindspott
This record marks numerous departures for the band that has evolved considerably since they burst onto the local music scene in 2002 with their self-titled debut.
Blindspott’s grassroots fan-base was such that that their first album debuted at number one in the New Zealand charts. It was an album that spawned multiple hits including the singles 'Phlex', 'Nil by Mouth', 'Room to Breathe' and 'S.U.I.T'. It was a shot in the arm for the country’s metal scene, and provided the impetus and confidence that has subsequently lead to the genre now thriving. The impact the band had on the otherwise arid scene spotlighted them for bigger things. They went onto major league success throughout South-east Asia, playing to crowds as big as 70,000 in Indonesia.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Blindspott
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