Review: Blind Channel — Exit Emotions (2022)
Attempt number five and the unexpected rebirth of the band Blind Channel
After the middle of 2022, my paths with Blind Channel diverged, and I barely paid attention to what they were doing. There was no longer any point in monitoring every step of the band—I was not managing their official page here, and I did not feel any specific connection to them to do it for myself. So, there will be no backstory of the creation of EXIT EMOTIONS here, colored by personal impressions. Not this time.
However, I would be lying if I said that I had lost interest in the band. I was curious to watch where they were heading on their new journey.
Ultimately, they released four controversial singles, the last of which also became a collaboration that sometimes made me want to shut the song off to hell, and then it became known that the album would come out in the spring. In terms of its release date, EXIT EMOTIONS almost coincides with my beloved Violent Pop.
My credit of trust was literally at zero. I expected nothing from this album because all expectations had previously been slightly spoiled by the singles I had already heard.
However, I would be lying if I said that I had lost interest in the band. I was curious to watch where they were heading on their new journey.
Ultimately, they released four controversial singles, the last of which also became a collaboration that sometimes made me want to shut the song off to hell, and then it became known that the album would come out in the spring. In terms of its release date, EXIT EMOTIONS almost coincides with my beloved Violent Pop.
My credit of trust was literally at zero. I expected nothing from this album because all expectations had previously been slightly spoiled by the singles I had already heard.
For some reason, it seemed to me that they had shown the best part of the album, as had been the case with Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous. However, this time, they turned the game upside down.
While the album successfully delivers twelve full-length songs instead of the usual eleven—with one shockingly turning out to be an intro—the overall experience feels like a mix of major highlights and noticeable flaws. On the positive side, the album offers a real variety of tracks where you can truly find a song for almost any taste, and in some places, you really want to praise Hokka. The release features powerful guitar parts and Moilanen's rap, and although the singles were mostly deprived of this good stuff, there was plenty of it on the album itself. Unfortunately, the choice of songs for singles remains one of the weaker decisions of this release.
Other downsides include a lack of recording quality in some places; given that the album was partly recorded while on tour, the questions do not disappear, of course, but they do find answers. The band also leans into excessive romanticizing of their idols' work, various forms of self-infatuation with their own previous albums, and a heavy dose of sound processing, screaming “more autotune for the autotune god!” Furthermore, there is too much fixation on the theme of death and tangible vibes of wanting to give up and drown in the darkness, which stands in stark contrast to what Blind Channel usually promoted. Finally, song length proves to be an issue. Out of the entire tracklist, the longest song is “ONE MORE TIME… AGAIN,” which lasts nearly four minutes, but its last fifty seconds are packed with random noise. This directly recalls the situation with “Thank You For The Pain” from the previous album, almost half of which was occupied by nostalgic memories in the form of interviews.
While the album successfully delivers twelve full-length songs instead of the usual eleven—with one shockingly turning out to be an intro—the overall experience feels like a mix of major highlights and noticeable flaws. On the positive side, the album offers a real variety of tracks where you can truly find a song for almost any taste, and in some places, you really want to praise Hokka. The release features powerful guitar parts and Moilanen's rap, and although the singles were mostly deprived of this good stuff, there was plenty of it on the album itself. Unfortunately, the choice of songs for singles remains one of the weaker decisions of this release.
Other downsides include a lack of recording quality in some places; given that the album was partly recorded while on tour, the questions do not disappear, of course, but they do find answers. The band also leans into excessive romanticizing of their idols' work, various forms of self-infatuation with their own previous albums, and a heavy dose of sound processing, screaming “more autotune for the autotune god!” Furthermore, there is too much fixation on the theme of death and tangible vibes of wanting to give up and drown in the darkness, which stands in stark contrast to what Blind Channel usually promoted. Finally, song length proves to be an issue. Out of the entire tracklist, the longest song is “ONE MORE TIME… AGAIN,” which lasts nearly four minutes, but its last fifty seconds are packed with random noise. This directly recalls the situation with “Thank You For The Pain” from the previous album, almost half of which was occupied by nostalgic memories in the form of interviews.
Rating: 7/10
- Tuuli TalvinenFounder & Editor-in-ChiefInterviewer