It’s one year ago that I contacted Kurt and Carlos from former German alternative rock band Blackmail. Since several years they run an own recording studio. That´s why I contacted them. One year ago I was searching for a studio to record my debut album. What made me considering them to record my debut album?
In January 2023 I was listening to Mailand by Pascow. Then I recognized that Kurt and Carlos were responsible for the recording of Pascow’s upcoming studio album.
So in my email to them first I mentioned the great work on Mailand. I added that based on Mailand I expected the success of Pascow’s former record Jade to be exceeded. I was on the right track. While Jade made it to No. 47 in 2019, Sieben finally dropped on No. 5 as part of the German Album charts.
But I additionally mentioned how much I appreciated their work with Blackmail. In this context I told them that I admired Bliss Please which had been released in 2001. The record is part of my list which captures my 50 most favorite rock albums.
After I had sent the email I got aware that one day I should dedicate some written thoughts to the great work of Blackmail. The point is that I had never understood why Blackmail had not become a famous rock band in the early 2000’s. Therefore until today I consider them as the most underrated band in alternative rock music.
To draw a clear picture what has led to this conclusion I will share some of my favorite Blackmail findings. If you haven’t listened to Blackmail yet, take these as an inspiration to deep dive into alternative rock music.
Frop
Frop is a straight forward alternative rock song due to it’s excellent drumming and great elongated melodies. These elements immediately state that everyone as part of Blackmail is aware what he’s doing on his instrument. Frop shows that Blackmail contain all the elements of a great rock band. Especially the part from 1:37 until 2:04 reminds me of the epic drive from Knights of Cydonia by Muse. Take Matthey Bellamy’s voice on this and put it on a Muse’s record and this one will have a million listeners. In this context it’s worth to mention that Frop is from 2001 and Knights of Cydonia is from 2006. Based on that no one can say that some copy cats were at work while producing Frop.
Club 45
Club 45 was the first song I discovered from Blackmail. I immediately enjoyed it. That’s how I got into Blackmail. I discovered Blackmail during a time while I was mainly listening to Nirvana. And I think that’s the main reason why I was so into Club 45. The point is that with Kurt Cobain’s voice on this I will not be able to distinguish Club 45 from a typical Nirvana song like Aneurysm or In Bloom.
It Could Be Yours
It’s the second song that I discovered from Blackmail. The verse is as strong as the chorus (maybe even a little bit stronger) which is a challenge by itself to achieve. It has been mastered here. The bass line in the bridge is simple but greatly emphasizes the overall spirit. I cannot imagine a different one here. Finally It Could Be Yours contains great parts throughout the whole song. Based on that it’s one of the greatest alternative rock songs I’ve listened to.
Friend
Listen to the part from 2:18 until 2:43 and try to distinguish it from Killing In The Name by Rage Against the Machine. Take Anthony Kiddies voice for the verse and we have a new Red Hot Chili Peppers song. Take Fred Durst’s voice for the chorus and it sounds like a demo version of Limp Bizkit’s The Truth. To sum it up, Friend contains everything from a soft rock song by additionally implementing hard rock and funk elements. As part of several parts light distorted guitars transport the energy of heavy ones which is another challenge Blackmail has mastered successfully.
Same Sane
I enjoy the speed of it. But maybe the only reason why this one was not chosen as a soundtrack for an American blockbuster movie is that it’s a little bit too fast for that. In this context I understand everyone who says that it’s difficult to distinguish Same Sane from a faster version of a typical Placebo song like e.g. Infra-Red. Nevertheless, with Same Sane Blackmail again clearly state that they contain all of the essentials which are required to become a famous rock band.
Find your jewels
These are some of my jewels. I will stop this listing now so that there are some left for you to detect.
Within the above I have referred to Muse, Nirvana, Placebo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Limp Bizkit and Rage Against The Machine. This does explicitly not mean that Blackmail do not have an own style. Moreover Blackmail expresses an unique style which combines essential elements from the bands listed instead of copying them. That’s simply great and I’m glad that I discovered Blackmail when I started playing the guitar by myself.
Note:
For several Blackmail songs listed here I mentioned that with a voice from a singer from a famous rock band it will be difficult to distinguish that song from that band’s repertoire.
What sounds offensive to the singer of Blackmail isn’t meant so. I would not write down these lines if that voice had not caught my attention that much. He’s a great singer equipped with a very appealing sounding voice which greatly emphasizes that discreet and secret attitude as part of Blackmail’s music. In no way I long for a different voice on these songs. I enjoy all of the songs listed exactly the way how they have been recorded. All of the instruments (guitars, voice, bass and drums) are a harmonizing match. Nothing left which would require amendment to make the song work. I simply want to state that I don’t get why these songs do not have more listeners. It seems that something went incredibly wrong when records such as Bliss Please as well as Friend or Foe? were promoted.
Currently they have 7,500 monthly listeners on Spotify. After all this time these records have been released that number still looks like a bad joke and it should be added by at least two more zero digits. That disproportion makes Blackmail the most underrated band in alternative rock music.
Any thoughts on this can be sent privately to send@realthoughts.me or publicly via the comment function below
Martin