The Blackout www.myspace.com/theblackout

Back in Spain next May. How do you feel about returning to play here?

We can’t wait to get back. We have such an amazing tine whenever we’re there.

For anyone that has not seen The Blackout the previous time, what can people expect?

We love playing live, it’s what we started a band to do. So expect blood, sweat and tiers.

By the way, how has the tour been going so far?

We’re only a few days into it but it’s been amazing. We’ve known the Funeral for a Friend guys forever but this is the first time we’ve done a proper tour. So we’re really gonna enjoy this one.

Why have you chosen “Hope” as your album title?

We were struggling for a title for quite some time. So we took a look at the lyrics from the songs to try and find some inspiration. The word Hope appeared in the lyrics to a few of the tracks on the album unintentionally. So we decided to go with that, it has two meanings it can have a positive connotation but it can also be a bit sad as in you can hope for something but it may never really happen. It suited the issues the lyrics dealt with which is basically the up and downs of life.

Is said that “Hope” has a wave more heavier and clear than your previous LPs, is it a natural evolution in the band or something you wanted?

It was a natural evolution I think. We never really sat down and said ‘this album needs to be’. We just all brought our ideas to te table and went from there. We never discard a song because it’s too heavy or too poppy, if it’s a good son it stays.

People have a certain expectation in this new album. Has it been hard writing it?

We’d had some time off before writing and as we all write in the band that time was spent writing individually. So when it came to us writing the record we all had around 6 ideas each so by the end of the first day we’d got the basic ideas for over 20 songs. Then we all worked on them together bringing in different ideas and cut them down to the best 11.

You have recorded with Jason Perry again. What is it his contribution to the sound of the band?

He has amazing ideas when it comes to song writing and always puts them out there for us to take or leave if we want to. He knows how to get the best out of each if us when it comes to recording too. That and he is a 5 year old in a 40 year olds body, so funny.

You have many fans of pop and metal. In which style do you feel better?

Like I said early we don’t think we have to put ourselves in any genre if we want to write a metal song we will and it goes the other way too. It’s all about the quality of the song not the genre.

You’ve recently been signed to Cooking Vinyl. How did this come about?

We left Epitaph at the end of last year after we came to a point where we couldn’t carry on together. It was an amicable split and something that both parties knew had to happen. So we recorded the album and looked to lease it to another label. Cooking vinyl came back with the best offer and the most enthusiastic response. We loved their ideas and saw that they were willing to give us a big push. So it was a bit of a no brainer, we had to sign with them.

You have played in many countries, even Japan and Australia too. How did you feel about that? Where do you want to play now?

It blows my mind thy people in Japan and Australia even know who we are never mind class us as one of their favourite bands. If it wasn’t for the band I don’t think I would have ever visited these amazing places and for that im thankful to our fans in all these different countries.

We’ve never played Russia or China which I think would be fun to do, even Indonesia and India. Places that I think a lot of bands don’t regularly go to.

In closing, is there anything you would like to say to the Spanish public?

Just thank you to all the people who have support us in Spain and we look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Thanks a lot, see you soon in Madrid!

Thanks. Gav

By Juan Rodriguez

Photo the blackout myspace: Marianne Harris