Band:	Blackout
Album:	Blackout
Style:	Heavy metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	2002

01. Keys Of Time
02. Hidden Borders
03. Wasted Life
04. I Used To Live

Blackout is a young band hailing from France, and let me tell you that I didn't expected much from this guys, because, you know, they're new in the scene, and this is their first work (besides a Demo in 1999), Man I was wrong! Blackout really surprised me, and I can tell you, that indeed, I discovered a hidden gem in the scene.

Let's start with the music, what are they playing? Well, they play EVERYTHING, they mix so many metal styles, that a categorization in any sub-genre would be an impossible feat. Maybe the predominant styles are Progressive and Melodic Death Metal, but also in the brew is some Power Metal, Doom, Trash, Black and so on? the great thing is that all this styles entwine in perfect harmony.

Musically the music has a lot of atmosphere, delivered by excellent keyboard use, the guitar play is magnificent, in every song are so many different melodies, that each one of them could easily be a completely different song. The vocal Duties are just great, the singer uses both growls and clear vocals, and both are great (but I prefer the clear one?)

So, this 4 song Mcd is one of the best surprises this year so far, just great, don't forget this name BLACKOUT, because I'm sure we're going to hear from this guys again. Can't wait for their first full-length album.