There are elements of hard-core, punk, crust, noise rock, heavy post rock and indie rock in BLESSINGS' sound... there are moments that remind of AT THE DRIVE IN and moments that remind of CONVERGE, sometimes even in the same track, and the Gothenburg 4-piece merges these very disparate ends of the spectrum of heavy guitar music into a cohesive, intriguing and idiosyncratic sound.
BLESSINGS' debut album 'Bittervatten' was a harsh and noisy affair, inspired by bands like Unsane, Breach, Black Flag and Darkthrone... but the Gothenburg, Sweden - based four-piece soon developed into a bit of a different direction. Still loud and confrontational, the elements of repetition and trance incurring moods and riffing became more prominent in their sound on sophomore release Biskopskniven.
'Biskopskniven' is truly a joint creative effort on all the band members parts, they agreed that they would not give this album out of our hands and into the world until it was precisely the record they wanted it to be. A deep sound with texture stacked upon texture, and new things to discover with every listen.
The driving force behind BLESSINGS has always been the shared attitude and chemistry between the band members, all coming from a DIY punk/hard-core background, and having paid their dues in hard touring bands like Anchor, Gust, Disavow, Obstruktion, Nightbloomer, Amalthea, Gamla Pengar, Fä and Swedish indie-legends Chester Copperpot. Next to SCRAPS OF TAPE and BARRENS, BLESSINGS is yet another band that the prolific and eclectic artist and musician JOHAN G. WINTHER is involved in.
The album title, which means 'The Bishop's Knive' in Swedish, represents not only a particular artefact, but more importantly a shared state of mind, or an attitude shared between the band members which is personal and which they wish to keep open to interpretation for the listeners. The artwork is a painting created by Swedish artist and musician Johannes Brander.
Biskopskniven, recorded by the band themselves and mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of CULT OF LUNA, is an extraordinary album full of intriguing layers to be discovered and uncloaked. Dig into it.
FOR FANS OF: Young Widows, Trap Them, Converge, Victims, Unsane, Breach, Darkthrone, Wovenhand, Swans
SIDE A
1. The Hound
2. Strings Of Red
3. A Belly Full Of Stones
4. The Whip Hand
5. Komskottsknallen
SIDE B
6. Iron Heel
7. Old Bones
8. Allting är jättebra
9. Black Vestals