Blindead – Affliction XXIX II MXMVI

Releasedate: 27-02-2011; Label: Mystic Productions
By: Sabine van Gameren

Blindead is a Polish formation that started in 1999 under a different name, but changed to the name of Blindead in 2003. The album “Affliction XXIX II MXMVI” is the band’s third album.

The concept of this album is to tell the story of an autistic girl. This isn’t an easy task as besides the fact that you want to tell the story there seem to be the second aim for some understanding coming in. Trying to make people understand what is going on in the life of an autistic girl. What you can hear in the music is that this must not be easy. Complex structures are there to be found and a lot of sadness is there too. Luckily there seems to be some enlightment also which makes the music accessible. There are a lot of melodies in here and a lot of thickness leads to building tensions that really come to a climax in the last song of the album. If there is some element that makes it a bit harder it are the vocals that bring in the harder edge of the band as the instruments are mainly there to drag you into the music, captivate you and hold you to the end, a mission that more than succeeded.
This album is simply gorgeous, a jewel, a pearl. It is the perfect narrator for the story behind it, it sticks in mind and this band have surprised me in a rare way. Let’s hope the spring/summer wind blows these guys onto the road to the festivals and venues soon.

Line Up:
Nick Wolverine (Patryk Zwolinski) – Vocals
Havoc (Mateusz Smierzchalski) – Guitar
DeadMan (Marek Zielinski) – Guitar
Zvierzak (Piotr Kawalerowski) – Bass
Konrad Ciesielski – Drums
Bartosz Hervy – Soundscapes, Samples

Tracklist: 01. Self-consciousness Is Desire and 02. After 38 Weeks 03. My New Playground Became 04. Dark and Gray 05. So, It Feels Like Misunderstanding When 06. All My Hopes and Dreams Turn Into 07. Affliction XXVII II MMIX

Links:
Blindead Facebook
Blindead Official