Finnish post-hardcore, “violent pop” collective Blind Channel came, played and conquered their short but sweet UK tour dates to promote their new album, “Lifestyles Of The Sick & Dangerous” – via Century Media Records.
All six UK dates were sold out: Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Nottingham – where we caught their incendiary set – and closing in Birmingham. Fellow Finns Lost Society were an admirable support act.
Blind Channel were the most successful artist at the recent 2022 Finnish ‘Grammy’ awards, where they received six awards including two for “Dark Side” (Song Of The Year and Most Streamed Song) and Band Of The Year, Artist Of The Year (by public vote), Rock Band Of The Year and the Export Award – the latter testament to their rapidly rising international profile, having spent almost the entirety of this year on the road throughout the US, the UK and Europe.
The six-piece is made up of: Joel Hokka – vocals and guitar, Niko Moilanen – vocals, Joonas Porko – guitar, Olli Matela – bass, Tommi Lalli – drums and Aleksi Kaunisvesi – samples, percussion, DJ.
Their live set, like their latest record, offers up gargantuan riffs meeting frenetic rap while synths and huge pop hooks run wild. The album features the previously released multi-million streamed and award-winning singles ‘Bad Idea’, ‘Dark Side’, ‘Balboa’ and ‘We Are No Saints”.
The band played a number of high-profile festivals in their homeland, including a number of headline slots, before hitting the road for a full European headline tour taking in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and the UK.
Furiously fighting their way into the worldwide mainstream, the six-piece have always embraced their influence, from nu-metal iconoclasts to pop and hip-hop behemoths.
Live photos @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham: By Rothschild
Posed band photo and album cover image: Supplied by the band via PR
