Blackhouse (band)

Last updated
Blackhouse
Blackhouse Industrial Music Artist.png
Promotional image of Brian Ladd, the sole member of Blackhouse
Background information
Origin Eureka, California
Genres Industrial, experimental, noise, avant-garde music, dark ambient, power electronics
Years active1984–present
Labels
MembersBrian Ladd
Website http://www.sonic.net/~lfmusic/blackhouse/

Blackhouse is a Christian industrial band based in Eureka, California. Blackhouse plays what has been cited as "primo industrial rock", [1] contrasting with industrial rock styles promulgated by artists such as NIN, Klank, or Circle of Dust. [2] Blackhouse was formed in 1984 and is cited as the first band to make industrial music for the Christian market. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

Musically acclaimed and sometimes cited as being a founding band of the entire genre, [4] [5] Blackhouse has ensued for over three decades, and the band has produced a myriad of releases in that time. Often the band finds itself riding the fine line between artistic expression and forming a message in a way that could be accepted in the broad Christian community. One album featured a cover showing a rabbit crucified, with the thought of exposing the real meaning of Easter. [4]

The sound that Blackhouse offered was far outside the norms of Christian music at the time of the band's formation, and live performances met with resistance from both the Christian right and Neo-Nazi youth organizations. [3] The Neo-Nazi groups protested the religious content, which was unusual in a genre more known for espousing negative themes including nihilism, pornography, sadomasochism, and drug culture, and the Christians took point with the style that the band offered, again due to its association with negative elements of society. [4] After a time the band went underground, focusing on producing recorded material rather than touring. [3]

Their music continues to be on the cutting edge of creativity and experimental, avant-garde music. One review of their 2006 collaborative project Beetu Lathri Kwan found that their genre-mixing produced what was deemed an "intentional dissolution of traditional concepts of... music." [6] The music's effect on the reviewers has shown a great variety of responses. One reviewer reported that the sound finds the "border of our conscious and unconscious thinking", [5] while others have insisted that the sound is "barely good for background noise" [7] or "more frustrating than enjoyable". [8] Lyrics are generally noted as being few and far between, but containing positive messages and espousing Christian faith. [7] [9] [10]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Video albums

Split albums

Singles

Members

Brian Ladd is the sole permanent member of Blackhouse. Early releases were credited to Ivo Cutler and Sterling Cross. Ladd has explained this was because "I always thought of Blackhouse as being SUPERMAN and I was merely a Clark Kent" [11]

Related Research Articles

Travail was an American, Christian nu metal/metalcore band based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas. Fronted by Matt Leslie, it had an intense following at Club 412, a local church-sponsored lounge and music venue located in southwest Fort Worth.

Poor Old Lu was a pioneering Christian alternative rock band based in the American Northwest. The band experimented with a variety of sounds and genres, particularly grunge, funk and psychedelic rock. The band consisted of Scott Hunter (vocals), Jesse Sprinkle (drums), Aaron Sprinkle (guitar), and Nick Barber (bass). Hunter was the lyricist who wrote on philosophical, metaphorical, and spiritually oriented topics. Common themes in the lyrics include introspective struggles with identity and spirituality, struggles with a superficial, secular, and modern society, and hope for life abundant. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music calls the band "One of the most accomplished and creative Christian bands of the '90s".

Dear Ephesus was an American Christian alternative rock band from Orlando, Florida. They were voted third-favorite new group of 1997 by HM Magazine readers, and went on to release two albums. The band broke up at the end of the 1990s.

The Electrics are a Celtic rock band from Dumbarton, Scotland. They formed in 1988 when former Infrapenny members Sammy Horner and Paul Baird (guitar) asked drummer Dave McArthur and sax/keyboard player Allan Hewitt to play a gig at Glasgow's Impact Festival. The band released a self-financed cassette album, Views in Blues, in 1989. Following this recording the band evolved a celtic rock sound, heavily influenced by The Waterboys and The Pogues. Subsequent recordings included Vision and Dreams (1990) which was distributed by Word Records, and Big Silent World (1993), on Germany's Pila Music label.

<i>Voices in Shadows</i> 1985 studio album by the Choir

Voices in Shadows is the first studio album by alternative rock band the Choir, released in 1985.

<i>Hey You, I Love Your Soul</i> 1998 studio album by Skillet

Hey You, I Love Your Soul is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Skillet. It was released on April 21, 1998 as an enhanced CD on ForeFront Records and Ardent Records. Hey You, I Love Soul introduces the industrial rock sound that carries onto Alien Youth, with songs like the title track "Hey You, I Love Your Soul" and "Take".

<i>Crawl to China</i> 1997 studio album by Tourniquet

Crawl to China is the fifth studio album by the American Christian metal band Tourniquet. It was initially released on Benson Records in 1997. This album took the band's music style to a more simplistic rock sound. The song "Claustrospelunker" includes bass guitarist Tim Gaines of the American Christian metal band Stryper. The lyrics of the song "The Tell-Tale Heart" are based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1843 short story of the same name. Crawl to China was later remastered by Bill Metoyer and released on Pathogenic Records in 2009; an instrumental version of "If I Was There" was included as a bonus track, the track listing was reordered, new album artwork was made by Rex Zachary, and a new booklet layout was designed with new band photos, lyric commentary, and musical notes. A music video for the title track was released in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dryve</span> American band

Dryve was an alternative/roots/pop/rock band from San Diego, California. The band's unusual instrumentation – including a Hammond organ, accordions, and a harmonica – gave them a unique sound. The San Diego music scene is well known for producing Christian rock bands such as Switchfoot and P.O.D., and despite its brief national life Dryve produced what the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music calls "stellar examples of Christian rock at its best."

Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced theology with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to CCM Magazine "Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."

Dan Donovan is a British singer, songwriter, and guitar player. Born in 1960 to a Welsh preacher, he produces music which uses metaphor extensively to draw on spiritual themes.

Split Level were a Christian rock band from Northern Ireland, active from 1986 to 2000.

<i>Church Music</i> (album) 2009 studio album by David Crowder Band

Church Music is the fifth full-length studio album and ninth overall by David Crowder Band, released September 22, 2009 through sixstepsrecords. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian albums chart, and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

<i>All Things Possible</i> 2012 studio album by Mark Schultz

All Things Possible is the seventh studio album by contemporary Christian musician Mark Schultz. The album is the first with Columbia Records and Fair Trade Services. This album was released on September 4, 2012, and the producers were Pete Kipley and Seth Mosley.

<i>Royal Tailor</i> (album) 2013 studio album by Royal Tailor

Royal Tailor is the eponymously named second and final studio album from Christian pop rock band Royal Tailor. It was released on October 22, 2013 by Essential Records, and was produced by Chuck Butler, Aaron Lindsey and Christopher Stevens. The album was well received by Christian music critics, and is Royal Tailor's highest charting release to date.

The Blamed is an American Christian hardcore punk band currently based out of Chicago. During their tenure they have played primarily hardcore punk, pop punk, punk rock, and emo music with some influences from metal as well. They originally are from California having relocated to Illinois after guitarist Bryan Gray moved to Chicago. The band originally formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2003. Members during this era of the band included Bryan Gray, Christopher Wiitala, Trevor Wiitala, Jeff Locke, Jim Chaffin, John Hansen, and Matt Switaj. They have released three albums, with Tooth & Nail Records, 21 in 1994, Frail in 1996, and Give Us Barabbas in 2002. The band released four albums, with Grrr Records, ...Again in 1998, Forever in 1999, Germany in 2000, and Isolated Incident in 2001. The band reformed in the summer of 2016 to play a one-off set at Audio Feed music festival. This has since lead to the band reforming and recording a split EP with the Chicago hardcore band The Satire, a band sharing multiple members with the Blamed. The split EP was released in November 2018 through Indivision Music.

Schaliach was a Christian metal band formed by Peter Dalbakk and Ole Børud from Hamar, Norway. Dalbakk served as the band's vocalist, while Børud handled all the instrumentation. The band released one studio album, Sonrise, in 1996 through Petroleum Records. Three songs from that recording were then featured on the Rowe Productions compilation album Northern Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation, which was also released in 1996. The band also contributed the song "Purple Filter" to the compilation album In the Shadow of Death: A Scandinavian Extreme Music Compilation, released in 2000 through Endtime Productions. Dalbakk was also part of the unblack metal band Vardøger, and Børud had joined the progressive death metal band Extol and also started a career as a solo artist. The two artists would years later, in 2015, team up again to found the progressive death metal project Fleshkiller. The genre performed by the band was described variously as doom metal, death metal, death-doom, gothic metal, black metal, melodic death metal, and progressive metal. Børud's guitar work was strongly influenced by classical music, with one reviewer describing it as a "metal symphony." Its lyrics were explicitly Christian, drawing heavily from the Bible and emphasizing the love of God for all humans. Schaliach has been compared to the output from Extol, Amorphis, Metallica, Solitude Aeturnus, Dream Theater, Threshold, Shadow Gallery, and Teramaze. Most critics were favorable to Sonrise — it was rated highly by HM writer Matt Morrow and by two reviewers from the Christian website The Phantom Tollbooth, and described by the webzine Chronicles of Chaos as "excellent". However, Rock Hard was less favorable and considered Schaliach boring.

<i>Sonrise</i> 1995 studio album by Schaliach

Sonrise is the debut studio album from the Norwegian Christian metal band Schaliach. It was released in 1996 through Petroleum Records to a mostly positive critical reception. In particular, the guitar work from Ole Børud was praised. In 2005, Momentum Scandinavia re-issued the album with an additional track - "Purple Filter", that originally appeared on a compilation album.

References

  1. ↑ "78RPM / We Will Fight Back". Cornerstone . 18 (90): 35. ISSN   0275-2743.
  2. ↑ "Hard News". HM Magazine (86): 25. November–December 2000. ISSN   1066-6923.
  3. 1 2 3 Rake, Jamie Lee (Winter 1986). "Interview with Blackhouse". Vortexx: 1–2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Powell, Mark Allan (2002). "Blackhouse" . Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp.  87–88. ISBN   1-56563-679-1.
  5. 1 2 Lewis, Chelsea (2000-11-07). "Blackhouse / Dreams Like These". The Phantom Tollbooth.
  6. ↑ Morris, James Richard (2007-01-17). "Blackhouse Beetu Lathri Kwan". Cross Rhythms . Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  7. 1 2 Spencer, Josh (1998). "Blackhouse / Shades of Black". The Phantom Tollbooth.
  8. ↑ Stafford, James (Feb 2001). "Blackhouse Dreams Like These". Cross Rhythms (61). Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  9. ↑ Bond, Jeani (Winter 1986). "Blackhouse / Hope". Vortexx: 10.
  10. ↑ Lobaugh, Rod (June 1998). "Blackhouse Shades Of Black". Cross Rhythms (45). Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  11. ↑ "Invalid Friend ID". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2010-10-26. Blog entry by Brian Ladd on Blackhouse's official MySpace


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.