Their first single, “Save Me” was released in October 2013 and reached the Finnish radio waves in only one week, because of this Blind Channel were selected to Finnish radio station Ylex’s “basement band” of the week. Iltalehti, one of Finland’s biggest newspaper media’s noticed the band’s first music video and in a couple months the views have reached over 20, 000 views. The band initially established their profile actively by performing live shows all around Finland (including the southern metropolitan areas) and later released "Antipode" on March 21st 2013 - produced by Mikko Mäkitalo. The single’s B-side “Naysayers” saw daylight one week before the actual release, and the A-side “Calling Out” premiered on a local radio station Radio City one day before the release. The premiere also included an interview with the band. The second music video came out the same day.
The following Summer they played in Finnish festivals JääliCityRock, Provinssirock, Ilosaarirock, Qstock & Nummirock where they won the Wacken Metal Battle in Finland so they also played their first gig ever abroad in the world's biggest metal festival in Wacken Open Air in Germany to over 6000 people at The Wet Stage. Upon winning this competition, Finnish record label Ranka Kustannus also signed the band and they began recording their debut album Revolutions. Their debut studio album Revolutions was released on September 29th 2016. The album includes the singles "Unforgiving", "Don't", "Darker Than Black", "Deja FU” and "Enemy for Me". The band proceeded to tour throughout Finland and surrounding countries following this release. Huge pop music fans, in March 2017 they released a cover of American hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's hit single "Can't Hold Us".
They released their second studio album Blood Brothers on April 20th 2018. The album includes the singles "Alone Against All", "Sharks Love Blood", "Wolfpack" and "Out of Town". They also embarked on several tours both as headliners and supporting acts such as Amaranthe, Royal Republic, Simple Plan, Hollywood Undead, Enter Shikari and in late 2018 completed their first UK tour supporting All That Remains and Sevendust.
The band’s third studio album,Violent Pop was released on March 6th 2020. The album includes the singles "Over My Dead Body", "Timebomb (feat. Alex Mattson)", "Snake (feat. GG6 of Amaranthe)", "Died Enough for You", "Fever" and "Gun". The band had pre-booked a tour in Autumn/Winter 2020 around Sweden/Finland and festival slots as part of a touring cycle for Violent Pop which was cancelled as the Coronavirus pandemic came into affect. In May 2020 the band performed an acoustic livestream from 45 Oulu, the oldest rock bar in Oulu, Finland which included the live debuts of Violent Pop album tracks “Feel Nothing”, “Enemies With Benefits” plus a tribute cover of Linkin Park’s “Numb” in honour of the late Chester Bennington. In July 2020, they released a studio version of Anastacia’s “Left Outside Alone" and accompanying music video to critical success.
After meeting DJ and producer Aleksi/Alex Mattson several years prior after Joel approached him to potentially remix a Blind Channel track, the band soon after discovered they had a lot of similar musical tastes and began collaborating, eventually releasing “Timebomb” together which featured as a single on the band’s third studio album Violent Pop. After a live festival show in October 2020 featuring Aleksi on sample/percussion, the band officially asked Aleksi to join Blind Channel as a full-time member and they became a six-piece.
In February 2021 the band participated in the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the modern nu-metal track "Dark Side". They won the selection with 54.3% of the vote (the highest in UMK history) and in May 2021 represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in sixth place with a total of 301 points. Blind Channel received 218 of their total points from televoting, while 83 points were received from juries. The band painted their middle fingers red for their performance of "Dark Side," after being informed that they could not lift a middle finger to the audience on the Eurovision stage due to the shows family friendly nature. On 19 May 2021 the band signed to Century Media/Sony Music.
In June 2021 the band recorded a collaboration of their song “Dark Side” with fellow Finnish artist Lauri Ylonen of The Rasmus. The band has stated that a follow-up single to “Dark Side” has been mixed and will be released late Summer 2021. On July 4th 2021 the band announced that “Dark Side” is currently the most streamed Finnish song of 2021 with over 700,000 streams to date, beating out larger Finnish bands such as The Rasmus and HIM. The band have also announced a 15-date Finnish headline tour across July-August 2021.
In early 2021 the band shared that they had already began writing new material and in June 2021 shared footage from their studio showing them recording material for a currently untitled forth studio album set for release in Spring 2022.
Trigger
Blind Channel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tonight the world's so far!
What a time to be alive!
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
(Yeah!)
Here we are!
We've come this far!
(We're past the point of turning back!)
So lock and load!
Somebody's about to get hurt!
Cold caught my throat
Burn or be burnt!
You feel that curtain rise!
Tonight the world's so far!
What a time to be alive!
I'll take a thousand lives!
I'll die a thousand times!
(So don't close your eyes!)
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
Bitch!
Yeah!
Curtain call...
This house is like a heart attack
Do you want more?
We want our money back!
Show must go on- we're only here for a while!
So what, bro? You're having the time of your life!
You'll see a curtain rise!
Tonight the world's so far!
What a time to be alive!
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
I'll take a thousand lives!
I'd die a thousand times!
(So don't you close your eyes)
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
Dance, you rebels
You'll see a curtain rise
Tonight the world's so far!
What a time to be alive!
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
You'll see a curtain rise!
Tonight the world's so far!
What a time to be alive!
(What a time to be alive!)
I'd take a thousand lives!
I'd die a thousand times!
(So don't you close your eyes!)
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
The lyrics to Blind Channel's "Trigger" call out to those who feel overlooked or forgotten in the world. The curtain is rising, and they are ready to take the stage and make their voices heard. There's a sense of rebellion in the words, and a warning to not close your eyes when you pull that trigger - meaning that you should be aware of the impact your actions have on the world around you.
The song is a call to action for those who have been held back or held down to take control and make their own futures. There's an undercurrent of anger and frustration that runs throughout the lyrics, but it is channeled towards a positive goal - using your voice and your actions to make a difference in the world. The line "Do you want more? We want our money back!" speaks to how the marginalized have been taken for granted and exploited, and now they are demanding to be heard and paid attention to.
Overall, "Trigger" is a rallying cry for those who have felt forgotten or invisible in the world. It encourages them to take back control, and not to shy away from the power of their own voice and actions.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll see a curtain rise
You are about to witness an event happening.
Tonight the world's so far!
Tonight is far from ordinary, something big is about to happen.
What a time to be alive!
The present moment is one of unprecedented opportunity, positivity, and optimism.
Don't close your eyes when you pull that trigger!
Do not be oblivious to the consequences of your actions.
Here we are!
We've finally arrived at the place we had hoped for.
(You wanted me, so here I am!)
I've come because you desired me to be here.
We've come this far!
We've progressed to a point where options are limited and returning becomes less of a choice.
(We're past the point of turning back!)
The point of no return has passed, we must keep moving forward.
So lock and load!
Prepare yourself to take action that may have severe consequences.
Somebody's about to get hurt!
An inevitable outcome of these actions is the harming of someone or something.
Cold caught my throat
A feeling of discomfort or unease has crept up on me.
Burn or be burnt!
There are two options - put yourself on the line to win or lose, or become consumed by the flames of indecision.
I'll take a thousand lives!
I am prepared to go to great lengths to achieve my goals.
I'll die a thousand times!
I am willing to sacrifice my own life to reach my objectives.
(So don't close your eyes!)
Don't be ignorant or blind to what is happening around you.
Bitch!
An expression of frustration or anger towards someone or something.
Curtain call...
The performance is coming to an end.
This house is like a heart attack
The tension and chaos within this space is overwhelming and possibly life-threatening.
Do you want more?
Are you ready for the intensity and danger of what is to come?
We want our money back!
We demand a refund or compensation for what we've experienced.
Show must go on- we're only here for a while!
No matter how tough or dangerous the situation becomes, we must continue to move forward because life is short.
So what, bro? You're having the time of your life!
We may be in danger, but at least we are experiencing life to the fullest.
Dance, you rebels
Gabbing the musical moment and enjoying life with a rebel attitude.
Writer(s): Joel Hokka, Joonas Porko, Niko Moilanen, Olli Matela
Contributed by Kylie V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.