A Thought Crushed My Mind [Original recording remastered, Extra tracks]

Blindside | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Label: Drt Entertainment
• ASIN: B0007ZEP2C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,110 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Album Crushed My Mind, May 24, 2005

By 

Manythings "manythings711" (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Thought Crushed My Mind (Audio CD)

This is the album that put BlindSide on the map. At this point you either loved thenm to death or you hated their guts. No band goes from alternatve rock to hard core metal but this band managed to somehow pull it off and with style. From the crazy opening of the now classic "King of the Closet" to the beautifully structured epic "Nothing but Skin" this album mixed all the harmonic elements of their first album with a new sound that caught everyone by surprise. It's light years better than "Silence" and matched only by the sonic velocity of "About a Burning Fire". The bonus tracks are a real treat and the bonus cover art makes this one really worth getting. If you own the first release of this record (and its probably worn out by now) than you owe it to yourself to get this version.

Since this record BlindSide have moved on from the hardcore scene but you can still see the remnants of it in their new songs.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four and a half stars for blindside's best, January 21, 2004

By 

Aaron Baldassare "alarmadillo" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thought Crushed My Mind (Audio CD)

I am an avid listener of all of Blindside's music. This is decidedly the most beautiful, passionate, gut-wrenching, and innovative of Blindside's albums. It is the album that gained the attention of reviewers and establishes Blindside as a potential, devastating force to establish a new realm of heavy rock/punk/metal what-to-call-it?!!. Silence, while a good album, only shows they can also conform well to popular standards. Their real art is right here. This is not a first-listen album! It is, in the words of disappointed reviewers, "screamy." The guitars are thick, more than the comfortable power chords people are used to, the harmonies, phrases, and meters are very untraditional. They will switch between 4/4 and 6/8, throwing your ear for a loop. On "Where Eye Meets Eye" there is even a section in 9/8! The sound is raw, the vocals are loud, passionate, and beautiful. The use of strings in several of the tracks, especially cello is especially impressive. At first listen, "A Thought" sounds like an unrelenting, noisy mess. But acclimating yourself to the havoc is certainly a rewarding experience. A handful of the tracks, "My Mother's Only Son," "Nara," "Nothing But Skin," "As You Walk," and "King of the Closet" stand out among the rest, but all contribute something of a punk/hardcore artfulness to the whole album. I listen to Silence regularly, the self-titled now and again, but A Thought Crushed My Mind is the album I return to most of all, especially for catharsis in moments of angst. Nothing I've heard, outside an orchestra performing the beautiful, despairing modern works of the likes of Shostakovich, can quite compare. This album is most suited for those who are young, not easily queazy, apt to stray far from the pop fold, used to loud guitars and screaming, and ecclectic in their approach to music. For everyone else, including fans of Silence, enter at your own risk.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great way to witness the evolution of a powerful metal band, May 17, 2005

By 

George Dionne (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thought Crushed My Mind (Audio CD)

The Good
The best part about having both of the Blindside re-issues is that you get to hear how they evolved and defined their sound. On their self-titled debut, Blindside struggle with finding their sound. You can hear that they become torn between sounding sort of like Clutch or sort of like Shadows Fall. "Invert" comes barreling at you like a 16 wheeler out of control on a steep hill (long way to go for a simile), with its monster riffs and manic vocal delivery. It's almost like Blindside is messing with you on "Born". The track takes a completely different direction with more subdued vocals and minimal distortion. The track is defined by a simple guitar lick.

It's back to releasing the fury on "Empty Box". This time theirs a soulful bass line matched by heavy breakdowns. A meaty chugga-chugga riff runs rampant on "This Shoulder". The vocals are melodic yet still edgy. "Teddy Bear" has a clean arpeggio lick and somber drum rhythm. By the time the chorus kicks in, the riffs become thunderous and driving. It's nice to be able to compare the four demo bonus tracks to their final product.

On A Thought Crushed My Mind, Blindside have settled on what they want to sound like (more like Shadows Fall). It's also apparent that they had a bigger production budget when this was originally released. "Vow of Silence" is everything but silent. It's pure assault of heavy distortion and furious vocals. It's amazing that vocalist Christian Lindskog's lungs haven't exploded. "King of the Closet" is a tale of vampires that chugs along with breakneck unruliness.

"My Mother's Only Son" briefly flirts with the soulful sounds of Blindside's debut, but reverts to the angst they so relish in. Think bass riffs take hold of "Nara". The intensity builds when the guitars and vocals kick in. Instead of including demos with this reissue, Blindside decided to include two hard to find 7" vinyl releases and two previous unreleased tracks. If you want to hear a completely different side of the group, listen to the final track "[Phatbeat 1303]".

The Bad
Nothing

The Verdict
The Blindside reissues are a great way to witness the evolution of a powerful heavy metal band. It will also hold over their fans with demos and unreleased material, until their new album is released later this year.