New York post punk/dark rock veterans Blacklist are gearing up for the release of the band's highly anticipated sophomore full-length record "Afterworld", which will be coming out on October 28 via Profound Lore Records. In support of the new album, the band has just released the fourth and final single "Nightbound", streaming here:
Joshua Strachan comments: We wrote the first four new songs that informed the direction of 'Afterworld' in June of 2021. I was coming off of a spring Queensrÿche binge and into the summer listening constantly to the most recent Vain record. I'd bought an old ESP guitar online, and I was learning lots of classic Dokken and Iron Maiden tunes in my basement in Virginia. You can really hear all this on "Nightbound." I had this vague idea, inspired by Maiden's "Somewhere In Time," of doing a guitar synth record. Something that had always been missing from the early Blacklist stuff was synth - we were, after all, on Wierd Records at the time! I tried an old Korg, but this was one case where analog and vintage wasn't better. I landed on the Meris Enzo pedal, which proved really inspirational. Suddenly playing these Jake E. Lee-type riffs sounded like Simple Minds - which couldn't be more Blacklist.
He continues: Lyrically, it pulls together a couple of things - firstly, it's a 'band of outsiders' anthem which has always been something we've taken from metal as much as from bands like Suede, and cast in a heavily political light. Secondly, in the same way "Language of the Living Dead" embraced Slavoj Zizek's use of this horror trope to talk about communication, this one embraces cyberfeminist Donna Haraway's description of the vampire as "…the one who pollutes lineages on the wedding night; the one that effects category transformations by illegitimate passages of substance; the one who drinks and infuses blood in a paradigmatic act of infecting whatever poses as pure." I love this because the rising forces of fascism adore pure lineages and hate category transformations. So here the gangs we imagine from films like The Lost Boys or Near Dark can be thought of as a nightbound brood of blood corrupters.
I also think that over the last several years, some of the most sophisticated, intellectual horror films have been vampire films. For a long time I think bands have been worried to play in that bloodbath for fear of being immediately categorized as adolescent and unserious. It's pretty clear to me that the mall goth implication is pretty outdated and there's definitely room for a re-imagining of how these images and ideas can function in a musical context.
Featuring ten brand new tracks packed with the band's captivating and distinctive sound, Blacklist's upcoming album seamlessly picks up where its critically acclaimed predecessor "Midnight of the Century" (2009) left off: Powerful and dark anthems, blending elements of shoegaze and heavy metal with coldwave in a fluid motion. "Afterworld" was produced by Joshua Strachan at Primal Architecture Studio, Appalachia, VA and mixed by Sanford Parker (Darkthrone, Yob, BLOODYMINDED). The album is available for pre-order HERE
Furthermore, Blacklist have announced the official album release show, which will take place on November 12 at Mercury Lounge in New York, USA. If you’re around, make sure to catch them live! Tickets are available HERE