The Blackout (band)

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For other uses, see The Blackout (disambiguation).
The Blackout
Origin Merthyr Tydfil,
South Wales, UK
Genre(s) Post-hardcore
Years active 2003–Present
Label(s) Fierce Panda
Website The Blackout
Members
Sean Smith
Gavin Butler
Matthew Davies
James Davies
Rhys Lewis
Gareth Lawrence

The Blackout are a post-hardcore band from South Wales. After some time backing Lostprophets on their Liberation Transmission Tour with Dopamine they released their first mini-album The Blackout! The Blackout! The Blackout!. As of October 2007 the band released their debut album, We Are The Dynamite. The band recently revealed in a MySpace blog that they were working on a new album.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The Blackout formed in 2003 in South Wales and drawing influences from across the board, they combine guitars, drums, screaming and melodic vocals.

The band has played shows in and around the UK with the likes of Lostprophets, Funeral for a Friend, Fightstar, Avenged Sevenfold, Reuben, Fairvail (now Cue To Eclipse), The Used, Dredg, 18 Visions, Thrice and Hidden in Plain View as well as opening up 'Give It a Name Festival' in April 2006. They played on the main stage at The Full Ponty 2007 with the likes of Lostprophets, Reel Big Fish and The Automatic

They were also nominated at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards for Best British Newcomer but lost out to Bring Me the Horizon.

The Blackout released their debut mini album entitled The Blackout! The Blackout! The Blackout! on October 23, 2006 through Fierce Panda Records and the only single taken from it is Hard Slammin'.

The Blackout released their debut album, We Are The Dynamite, on October 1, 2007 through Fierce Panda records. The first single taken from it is entitled The Beijing Cocktail and was released a week before the album. We Are The Dynamite is the fastest selling album ever released on Fierce Panda.

To coincide with the band's debut album release they have announced a 14-date headline UK tour with Flood of Red and Pierce the Veil

The Blackout joined the Taste of Chaos tour across Europe in November 2007 playing alongside, The Used, Rise Against, Aiden and Gallows.

The second single released from the album We Are The Dynamite will be It's High Tide Baby (which features Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins) released via Fierce Panda on 11 February 2008.

The Blackout are playing a headline UK tour in February with My American Heart supporting them.

The Blackout are currently on tour with american band Story of the year.

After their current touring schedule, they will begin writing a new album.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
UK Singles Chart UK Rock Chart UK Indie Chart
2007 Hard Slammin' - 100 100 The Blackout!The Blackout!The Blackout!
2007 The Beijing Cocktail 99 - 4 We Are the Dynamite
2008 It's High Tide Baby - - 1 We Are the Dynamite

[edit] Other Songs

[edit] Videos

  • Their first ever video for the track The Beijing Cocktail was released on YouTube on the 6th September 2007 and has since been added to the playlists of Kerrang! TV and Scuzz, two popular digital television music channels in the UK.
  • Their brand new video for the track 'It's High Tide Baby' has been added to the Scuzz, Kerrang! and MTV2 playlists. It features Ian Watkins of Lostprophets.

[edit] Notability

  • The Blackout were nominated for the Kerrang! Best British Newcomer award,[1] and will also be playing on the Kerrang! New Breed launch show,[2] The Blackout also have a song featured on the Kerrang! 'new breed', Hard Slammin'
  • In December 2006 The Blackout won best new Welsh act at the Pop Factory awards held in the Coal Exchange in Cardiff bay. The awards ceremony was televised on ITV1 Wales.
  • The Blackout were main support for Lostprophets on their "Liberation Transmission Phase One" tour, and were also opening support on the last four dates of the "Liberation Transmission Phase Two" tour.
  • Singer Sean Smith does guest vocals on the song "Everyday Combat" on Lostprophets' Liberation Transmission album (credited as "Sean Blackout").
  • Ian Watkins, singer of Lostprophets returned the favour by featuring on the track "It's High Tide Baby!".
  • Ian Watkins, also joined the Blackout covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted, Dead Or Alive" in a special invite only Radio One acoustic show.
  • The Blackout were mentioned in an issue of Kerrang! Magazine on the 'New Music heading your way' section of the magazine and have featured as interviewees in the magazine as well other well known rock magazines such as Rock Sound and Metal Hammer.
  • Vocalist Sean Smith featured in the once highly popular band When Reason Sleeps along with now members of Jump The Underground, From Ruin and The Guns who have also supported Lostprophets.
  • The Blackout featured in the January 2007 issue of Kerrang! in "The Hottest New Bands On The Planet!" section which also featured bands such as Enter Shikari, Kids in Glass Houses, I Am Ghost and Cute Is What We Aim For.
  • The band featured on the main stage of 2007's Full Ponty Festival alongside Reel Big Fish and fellow Welsh acts such as headliners Lostprophets.
  • They recently covered Limp Bizkit's "My Generation" for the Kerrang! "Higher Voltage: Another Brief History Of Rock" CD.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kerrang Awards nominations
  2. ^ Kerrang! homepage on November 13, 2006

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Blackout
Sean Smith · Gavin Butler · Matthew Davies · James Davies · Rhys Lewis · Gareth "Snoz" Lawrence
Albums:
Extended Plays:
Singles:
Hard Slammin' · The Beijing Cocktail · It's High Tide Baby