Band:	The Blinded
Album:	Bedtime Prayers
Style:	Gothenburg metal
Release date:	January 2007

01. My Halo
02. Bedtime Prayers
03. Once Bitten, Twice Shy
04. Need
05. Revelation, Now!
06. 21st Century Holocaust
07. Aarons Sons
08. In Here
09. Heart

While an admirable attempt, Blinded Colony (now The Blinded)'s second album Bedtime Prayers falls short of being in the same league as their melodeath peers. Taking a page from fellow countrymen In Flames, Blinded Colony attempted to write their own chapter in the margins; while you can hear what the band are attempting, it feels like a second rate version of what you've heard before.

The album does start off well; "My Halo" and "Bedtime Prayers" are decent songs, and ones that see the band's abilities coalesce and collect into two neat packages, withh "My Halo" featuring the best performance by each member of the band for the duration of the album. While the rest of the album dips in quality, there are still enjoyable moments dotted around, with tracks "In Here" and "Revelation, Now!" being fun listens.

The band aren't bad at their instruments, but they do lack a unique identity beyond being a second rate Scar Symmetry or Soilwork. The riffs and hooks sound like they are B-sides of the former two; while not necessarily bad per se, you are eminently aware there are bands out there doing the same but better. The reason why you will forever see this band compared to In Flames is that vocalist Schuster borrows so heavily from Friden that he may as well borrow his name too.

It is this lack of unique identity that does the most damage to the band; if you are to remind listeners of somebody else you either have to better said band or offer up your unique twist. If you do neither like Blinded Colony do, then you sound less than that other band and give little reason for the listener not to drop you and listen to the better version you allude to. This is the constant theme for much of the album; it's not necessarily bad, but there is better out there that you could be listening to.

"Aarons Sons" is a good example of this, sounding like the band were aiming for Reroute To Remain but ended up with Siren Charms quality. Much of the rest of the album will find you trying to remember which Dark Tranquility song the band have drawn their inspiration from, seeming like the band took tracing paper to much of their fellow countrymen and tried to make a home in their niche.

Bedtime Prayers has an okay production job; while everything is clear in the centre, it does seem frayed around the edges, with certain elements tearing through the songs from their spot on the side. The cymbals in particular create a fuzzy ring that is damn hard to ignore once you hear it; it runs through every song on the album and I find myself having to give myself breaks to disconnect myself to be able to focus on the rest of the band. The rest of the album sounds clear though, if unremarkable.

If Bedtime Prayers does anything well, it is that it gives other bands a benchmark to compare themselves to; so long as they better this record then they know they at least have an ok record on their hands.