Taking over the charts in their home country, Finnish nu-metal outfit Blind Channel are on the road to spreading that stardom internationally with their fifth album Exit Emotions (Century Media Records). The album expands on their shameless blend of Metalcore, Rock, Hip-Hop, Electronic and Pop for a sound that is familiar, yet distinct and accessible to a wide range of audiences. Upbeat melodies are accompanied by bouncing and booming riffs, while breakdowns are emphasized with gleaming synth effects. 

To make it clear that their most prominent influences come from Metal, “Where’s The Exit” opens the record with some beefy guitars and unabashed screams. The vocals then rapidly shift back and forth between screaming and rapping, all while flawlessly flowing alongside the rhythmic guitar. 

The shadowy “FLATLINE” combines the ferocity of the heavy vocals with the effortless rap flow, using every drum hit and guitar strum to exclamate each lyric. One moment this song sounds like a nu-metal rampage, and the next it sounds like a dramatic dance number. Once the breakdown drops, it’s full-on theatrical nu-metal that you could either mosh or dance to. 

Songs like “Deadzone” and “Happy Doomsday” especially embrace Blind Channel’s metalcore side, delivering massive hook-driven choruses before unleashing a raging breakdown—or, in the case of the latter, faking out the listener by dropping into a melodic instrumental instead. And  then there’s the radiantly raging “Red Tail Lights”, wielding colossal guitars, gritty vocal lines, luminescent electronics and a psychedelic solo that I wish was longer.

While most of the songs get their point across in under three minutes, the album definitely would have benefited from having a couple longer tracks. “PHOBIA” and “One Last Time…Again” feel like they’re rushing to get to the climax, only for the climax to be rushed through as well. They make each moment they have count, yet lack the necessary space to let the music breathe. 

Widely accessible yet unapologetically themselves, Exit Emotions is full of personality, darkness, and vibrancy all at once. Bridging the gap between the heaviest aspects of metalcore and the catchiest aspects of pop, Blind Channel know who they are and that confidence in their identity is what makes them special.

Buy the album here:
https://centurymedia.bandcamp.com/

7 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY