Blind Channel enthusiastically describes their music as “violent pop.” One listen to their bombastic and melodic nü-metal revival reveals the Finnish band delivers on that promise.
Already a sensation in Europe and the United Kingdom, Finland’s biggest contemporary rock export adds “world domination” to their “to-do” list with the captivating Exit Emotions.
Destined to enthrall pop-rock, hip-hop, and aggressive metal devotees in equal measure, Exit Emotions is a brilliant follow-up to Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous, the epic 2022 album Kerrang! recommended to fans of Bring Me The Horizon, Linkin Park, and Hollywood Undead. Songs like “Flatline,” “Happy Doomsday,” and “Deadzone” reach beyond the confines of metalcore and alt-rock with a combination of huge pop hooks and crushing riffs.
The band’s incredible fifth LP is the culmination of a meteoric rise that began in Oulu in 2013.
Guitarist Joonas Porko, bassist Olli Matela, and drummer Tommi Lalli were just 15 when they started their first band together. Joel Hokka sang in a rival band and recognized the same crazy outcast passion in the other guys. They met Niko Moilanen, Blind Channel’s co-vocalist, at a high school house party. The band released their debut album, Revolutions, in 2016. Blood Brothers arrived in 2018, followed by the breakthrough third LP, Violent Pop, in 2020. Aleksi “Alex Mattson” Kaunisvesi, one of Scandinavia’s most famous EDM DJs, joined the same year.
“Dark Side” amassed over 71 million streams on Spotify alone after being selected to represent Finland in 2021’s Eurovision Song Contest. The track went to No. 1 on various European charts and No. 3 on the UK’s Rock & Metal singles chart. “Dark Side” won Best Song at the Emma Awards, Finland’s version of the GRAMMYs, where Blind Channel swept all six categories they were nominated for in 2022, including Band of the Year.
It’s a path not dissimilar to globe-conquering Italian rockers Måneskin, who rode European momentum to massive success. Blind Channel cut their teeth on Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot. Today, the six-piece outfit crafts its own unique postmodern hybrid metal sound from a wide range of influences, including the theatrical pomp of My Chemical Romance, the ambitious shred of Avenged Sevenfold, and the attitude of hip-hop and EDM.
Exit Emotions is the “all-in” album for Blind Channel. Coming on the heels of two years of touring for its predecessor, the fifth album’s songs are built for the live show, where the kinetic connection between the band and their audience is palpable to all those in attendance.
The band worked closely with longtime collaborator Joonas Parkkonen and producer/songwriters Johnny Andrews (Three Days Grace, Motionless In White, In This Moment) and Dan Lancaster (Don Broco, Bring Me The Horizon, One OK Rock). Zakk Cervini (Blink-182, Machine Gun Kelly, Good Charlotte) handled mixing duties.
With lines like “true love is made of hatred” and “everybody has a death wish,” the chaotic “WHERE’S THE EXIT” sets the tone. Kickoff single “DEADZONE” immediately broke Blind Channel onto Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. “DIE ANOTHER DAY” mines the depths of hopelessness with a beautiful, melancholic guest contribution from English singer/songwriter RØRY and Finnish cello legends Apocalyptica. “ONE LAST TIME,” the album closer, treats romance as a bad habit, with a dark and spectacularly rousing chorus.
“We are Blind Channel, the Backstreet Boys of the metal scene,” they like to say. “A nü-metal boy band from the North. We like our riffs heavy and our live shows epic and explosive.”
It’s an ambitious album befitting a band whose sights are without limits. Finland is known for its Formula 1 drivers, hockey players, and metal bands. As part of the nü-metal revival, the group kicks off a new wave of exports. Blind Channel and its “Violent Pop” is for the world.
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