Description
A Thought Crushed My Mind is the sophomore studio album by the Swedish hard rock band Blindside, released on the Swedish indie label Day-Glo Records in 1999. Also released in the US the following year on Solid State Records, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. The album was recorded by Eskil Lövström at Tonteknik Studios in Umeå, Sweden; with André Jacobsson and the band producing. Mixed by Eskil Lövström at Tonteknik Studios, assisted by André Jacobsson and band members Simon Grenehed and Tomas Näslund. All tracks written by the band.
Featuring Christian Lindskog on lead vocals; Simon Grenehed on guitar and background vocals; Tomas Näslund on bass; and Marcus Dahlström on drums.
Having already received much attention due to their critically acclaimed debut release in ’98, Sweden’s Blindside return with an equally stunning follow up. ‘A Thought…’ is not only a progression in both sound and vision, but also a mile stone within the hard music genre. Revealing a distinctively progressive edge to their music, Blindside think nothing of experimenting with new compositional ideas, as in the neo classical «Nothing But Skin», complete with passages of folk-tinged string arrangements. Funky album closer «Phatbat 1303» even goes so far as to incorporate dance rhythms into the mix, resulting in a bizarre hard core hybrid that is bound to turn a few heads. In fact, what awaits the listener is a sonic rollercoaster ride, which meanders at speed between accessible, identifiable signatures and chaotic rhythms of varying intensity, often times within the same song. Throughout ‘A Thought…’, producer Andre Jacobsson encourages and maintains a high level of musicianship, maximising the impact of each song, all of which have been intelligently written, in such a way as to precisely convey the mood and tone of each piece. A groundbreaking release from one of Sweden’s finest exports. [Alex Figgis, Cross Rhythms, June 2000]
After nearly two years since their stunning debut album, the Swedish heroes of emotional hardcore have finally unleashed their sophomore album upon an increasingly impatient public. With this release, a new musical direction is pursued. Gone are those grooves that you can’t help but move to, and the majority of the mellow singing parts that make you want to cry. Instead of creating melody in the midst of chaos, the band pursues a much more straight forward hardcore/punk sound complete with faster upbeat verses and scream-along choruses. Occasionally, there is a hint of the artsy hardcore the band used to play; they even have string arrangements for a couple of songs. But overall, the grooves and melody are almost completely replaced by frenzied hardcore. It’s as if someone slipped some speed in their orange juice just before they went into the studio. The vocals sound a lot more strained and hoarse in this one, but still powerful and convincing nonetheless. Check out track eight («Nara»). The boys give a nod back to their native roots as vocalist Christian sings / screams the whole song in Swedish. Hearing the difficulty he had making the words fit, would lead me to believe that English is a much easier language to sing in. To be honest, I miss the schizophrenic instability of the first album; the painful melodies that would suddenly explode into monstrous grooves. This is in no way saying that this is not a good follow-up release; on the contrary, this latest release from our favorite Swedes will blow hardcore fans away. But for those of you expecting more of their debut, prepare yourself for change. [David M. Pogge, HM, Jan/Febr 2000, Issue 81]
> Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/0kPpqPyqNLJtj5qy4JZMtJ)
CD tracklist:
01. Vow Of Silence
02. As You Walk
03. King Of The Closet
04. My Mother’s Only Son
05. Act
06. Silver Speak
07. Where Eye Meets Eye
08. Nära
09. In The Air Of Truth
10. Across Waters
11. Nothing But Skin
12. [Phatbat 1303]
Note: Track 12 is a hidden track provided by Marcus Dahlström located at the 13:03 mark of track 11. The album was re-issued by DRT in 2005 with the addition of 5 bonus tracks.
“King of the Closet” (MUSIC VIDEO)
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