The Blackout

The Blackout fuse metal, punk, and indie rock into an electrified sound whose melodies sharpen the overall force, and the six-piece outfit formed in 2003 in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Gavin Butler and Sean Smith handle vocals, James Davies and Matthew Davies play guitar, Rhys Lewis covers bass, and Gareth Lawrence sits behind the drums. The group issued the three-song demo EP Pull No Punches in 2004 and, inside two years, had established a strong presence on the U.K. club circuit. Fierce Panda Records, a prominent London independent, signed them in 2006 and promptly issued the single “Hard Slammin’.” Later that year the six-track EP The Blackout! Blackout! Blackout arrived, spotlighting the single “I’m a Riot? You’re a F***ing Riot.” Their debut full-length, We Are the Dynamite, surfaced in fall 2007; soon afterward the band shared bills with Funeral for a Friend, Avenged Sevenfold, and Thrice, and appeared at the 2008 Give It a Name Festival in London and Sheffield alongside Paramore, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Alkaline Trio. In early summer 2009 the sextet delivered The Best in Town, their first release for Epitaph, then spent 2010 and 2011 touring the album nonstop, including U.S. dates with The Urgency and Silverstein plus another U.K. run supporting Paramore. Following those two years of live activity the band returned to the studio—minus Gareth Lawrence, who had broken his arm just before recording began. Kids in Glass Houses’ Phillip Jenkins and Hexes’ Tom Winch filled in on drums for the 2011 album Hope. In 2012 a countdown timer on the group’s website heralded the single and title track of their 2013 full-length, Start the Party.