BLACKLISTED: Track by track review + interview.

For the rabid “fans” with short attention spans, here is the short version:
I LIKE THE ALBUM, AND PURCHASED A COPY. Have a nice day.

After dealing with all the comments from the other day, I did all I could to get this album as fast as possible. I also reached out to the band and its label for interviews. The band declined, but Deathwish co-founder Jacob Bannon agreed. I never bothered to ask for a copy of the album, because I figured it would be declined. But I knew I could trust the loyal fans of the band to post the album illegally shortly after its release. They did not let me down. I went to one of my regular torrent sites and had the album in my iTunes about 10 minutes later. So, the music…

01. Our Apartment Is Always Empty
This is by far the longest song on the album, despite only being 4:38 long. It opens the way a Portishead song might. You heard that right, Portishead. Yeah, I was as surprised as you. But around 30 seconds in they get down to more standard business. The barking verse starts, “Let me sleep on your couch, and your floor, even in your bed…” it sets the tone for what is a mostly rambling song, vocally. The surprisingly catchy hook snaps in with “As the world fell in love with me, you fell out or so it seems”. It’s already clear that this is not your average hardcore record. Unfortunately, it ends with some screaming “da da da da da, da da da da da’s”. If it had been sung, it could have been cool. But yelling them seemed kinda silly.

02. Everything In My Life Is For Sale
After 15 seconds of squealing feedback, we’re treated to 1:30 of some serious kick ass rock n roll. I think someone slipped some Helmet records into Blacklisted’s collection, because that’s exactly what this sounds like. And that’s cool, since I love Helmet.

03. J.M.N. (interlude)
52 seconds of a slow, straight drum beat and some random feedback noise behind it. Seriously, that’s it.

04. No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me
It’s clear that feedback plays a huge role in the sound of this album. It’s everywhere. The verses on this track are pure bass-heavy Alice In Chains… with Oscar The Grouch singing. The chorus is huge with repetitive yells of “No one will ever come for me” (I think). A very solid track.

05. G.E.H. (Interlude)
55 seconds of a weird background nose with a trumpet being played over it. Oh and a few cymbal hits. Totally hardcore.

06. The P.I.G. (Problem Is G.)
Hardcore unplugged. Acoustic guitar strumming, minimal drums, and soft vocals. It’s interesting ground for this band to tread on, but it feels slightly half-assed. It’s under two minutes and never really changes musically. With more complete arrangement it would have had more impact. Think Nirvana unplugged, with little voice cracks and all.

07. I’m Trying To Disappear
Track 7 opens with around 40 seconds of a very moody, somber guitar, but gets slightly ruined when the vocals break in with that same gritty yell that he seems to do over anything the musicians are playing. This stuff would be SO much cooler if the vocals were as varied and expressive as the music. It’s a shame. And yeah, this one is full of guitar feedback too.

08. Palisade
This one reminded me of Obsession-era Eighteen Visions for some reason. The chorus here is a great rock riff. And I do mean ROCK riff. This is just a really good, fast-paced heavy rock jam. Even calling this album “hardcore” is false advertising. Great song, but again it’s not even two minutes long.

09. Skeletons
Holy shit, this is full-blown rock city! With brief moments of Angus Young guitar noodles (that’s AC/DC’s guitar player for you hardcore kids), and tons of catchy riffing, this is straight up fist in the air, kick ass, rock-dude Rock. This is surely one of the best tracks on the record. Err, MP3.

10. I Am Extraordinary
Sadly, this is another great musical piece that gets almost ruined by the bland cave-man vocals. They bring in a female vocalist to add to some of the more mellow parts, but it only goes so far toward saving the song. When the song gets heavier it isn’t as much of a problem, but the fact remains, this dude just can’t come soft. They should find someone who can, or stop writing soft parts. Hell, leave em instrumental even. Ironically enough, the track ends with “I am extraordinary” being repeated about 20 times. And let me not forget to mention, this song features a hardcore rainstick.

11. S.M.F. (Interlude)
By definition, an interlude is something that goes between two other things. Not only are Blacklisted redefining hardcore, they’re redefining words in the dictionary, because this interlude is an outro. It’s a minute and a half of some sparse piano over some wacky jangling noise and what sounds to be an old rotary phone dialing. And some creaky door sounds. xHardxCorex dude.

Overall, this is a very cool record. I’m not in love with the vocals sometimes, and the interludes seem to be a weak attempt at some art-rock Dredg type shit. Nevertheless, the complete picture is a good one. I feel like the band took some brave steps in crafting an album that strays away from what they’re known for. Moves like this have been known to kill some bands, and in other cases it launches them to the next level. Unfortunately I feel that the band and/or its label lacked some confidence in how fans would react to this change. Not a single snippit of this album was allowed to be heard online before fans blindly plunked down the cash for the vinyl. I have my own theory on why that is, and the label has its own stance.

All told, the album cost me $15.77, which is over $1.60 per minute. Pretty pricey, considering that the large majority of music in the world is available for .99 or less per song. But I paid it because I enjoyed the album, and I don’t mind supporting local talent, even if they’ve outgrown “local” status.

After listening to the album, I conducted my interview with Jacob Bannon (Deathwish Music LLC).

What is your role at Deathwish?
JB: I started Deathwish about 10 years ago with my good friend Tre McCarthy. Together we run the label.
(officially, he is listed as: Label Management, Art Direction, AR)

I’ve been told that the choice to go exclusively vinyl was the bands? Does the label have a say in that?
JB: We work for our affiliated bands, so in the end we do what they want us to do. Every band is unique and view their music and art in different ways, so we do what we can to accommodate that. If a band wants a vinyl only release, we then do what we can on our end to make that possible.  In the end the media doesn’t matter, just the music that it carries.

Would you say it matters to a genuine Blacklisted fan without a record player? Do you mind the possibility of alienating that group of fans, or is the assumption that all “hardcore fans” have one?
JB: There are no assumptions, it just is what it is; A decision to present an album in a specific form. Any calls in that department are exclusionary, but they are up to the creator of the art/music to make and we respect that. It does make sense from the perspective of engaging a listener. The process of listening to a vinyl release is a bit more personal, physical, and engaging than other medias.

Admittedly, the sound on the new record is a bit of a departure and uses uncommon instruments. Is this why none of the music was available to listen to ahead of release?
JB: Because the band wanted it that way. They wanted the release to be experienced purely as a full length release to its listeners. As a label we respected that and did what we could to make that happen.

What was the reason for not having a release date or pre-sale, as the band has always done in the past?
JB: The band wanted the album to be presented and available in its final form all at once. No other reason really needs to be given for that.

Did the band (or label) feel that if fans heard the new music first they would be less inclined to buy it?
JB: Not at all. When bands write music for an album, in many cases, it is meant to be experienced as a whole unified piece or art. Digital listening habits have changed that and in turn how people first experience music. The band wanted to control that a bit and do things on their own terms.

What exactly IS the reason for none of the music being heard without buying?
JB: I think I sort of answered this question already. Blacklisted are a hardcore band that have evolved with every release, they know that and their audience understands that. People who are educated and interested will be drawn to that, others who are not, won’t be.

Is there any desire to attract new fans with the new album, or are the band and label content with the current following?
JB: Bands aren’t necessarily always concerned with growth, sometimes it’s just about expressing themselves. That’s where Blacklisted is at right now.

Does the band/label feel that the amount of fans that prefer modern delivery methods (CD or MP3) are small enough to be able to exclude by going vinyl-only?
JB: If we were to make a release a CD only release (which we have in the past) do we need to have this sort of conversation? Not likely. In the end it’s not about the media, it’s about the music. I find it to be interesting that people are talking about a resurgence in vinyl when we are not part of one. We’ve never not released vinyl in the 10 years we’ve been a label. Predating that, Tre and I both had other labels in the early 90’s that only released vinyl (for example I released my own band’s 7″EP in 1991, and 12″LP in 1994). Vinyl is part of hardcore/punk culture, and continues to be. With that said there is no resurgence on our part, we are just doing what we’ve always done.

Do you see a major difference between this album and all of the bands albums that are available on iTunes?
The current presentation of the album is different. They are different songs, etc. So yes, I see a difference in this album and the others for sure.

If MP3’s can be downloaded after the fact with a download code, why not make buying the digital version an option from the start? Fear of piracy?
JB: No fear. As a label in the past we’ve given away direct downloads immediately with purchasing a release on any format. As I mentioned, we do things on a case by case basis. There is no formula, and never has been with us. We just do what a band and release need on a case by case basis. In this case, it’s simply what the band wanted to do. Ie: Engage people with a full album, with full packaging and presentation as it was intended. No marketing schemes, no nonsense. Just a band being a band and a small label helping to make their vision become a reality.

Is it likely that this album will become available for sale digitally at some point in the future? Maybe if/when the vinyl records sell out?
JB: We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we are just focused on the release in it’s current form.

What are your thoughts about the album already being posted on blogs and torrent sites?
JB: That’s something that as a label we can police but can’t control. We are just happy that people are paying attention to the efforts of one of our affiliated artists. If they dig it, we hope that they will support the band through purchasing a physical copy, apparel, or attending a show.

There you have it. If you want to hear some of the old material that has absolutely nothing to do with what the band is up to currently, go to their myspage page: myspace.com/blacklisted

About Joseph Rose

Joseph is a father, a music production teacher, and a front man. He consumes as much music as he does pizza. And that's a lot.