What’s New With… Blindside

Fans of hard rock music have likely been scratching their heads over what Blindside’s been up to over the past four years in between albums. Though there’s been some international touring, much of it was spent focusing on family according to guitarist Simon Grenehed, which has since translated to the group’s creative rebirth across the comeback collection With Shivering Hearts We Wait (INO Records/Sony RED).

CCM: What accounts for the lengthy hiatus in between albums and what can fans expect this time around?

Simon Grenehed: After [2005’s] The Great Depression, we came into a dark mood and it took a lot of work to get out of that [frame of mind]. We didn’t want to release another album like that even though we’re very proud of it, so we did a lot of experimenting on [2007’s] The Black Rose EP and it was fun doing that, but the label we were on at the time didn’t work out. Everybody started families, then kids came into the picture and we weren’t sure if we wanted to go towards more of a hobby level band or try to make the best album we could full out. So we prayed about it, started writing these songs and got reconnected with [producer] Howard Benson [P.O.D., My Chemical Romance]…There are new elements, like wanting to let in some string sections over some bombastic moments or electronic sounds. We didn’t feel the need to fit into any frame and it was very freeing.

CCM: You’ve had a lot of crossover success in the past and I’m wondering if this album steers more towards the Christian or mainstream market?

Grenehed: We don’t write like that. [Singer] Christian [Lindskog] writes from a personal perspective, and when he explains the relationship between God and man, it could also be interpreted as a relationship between a man and woman. It’s been like that since day one with this band and we want listeners to relate whether they’re a Christian or not.