Blunt Blade’s Forgiveness feels like a direct shot from the gut. It’s a seven-track album that leans confidently into rock but isn’t afraid to mess with the edges. There’s a cinematic streak running through it, and several tracks bring in subtle synth elements that keep things from getting too predictable. It sounds like someone who’s absorbed a lifetime of music and decided not to pick sides.
Originally from southeast Minnesota, Blunt Blade’s background in multiple instruments – vocals, guitar, drums, piano, bass – shows in how layered and self-contained the music feels. This is someone who’s clearly been doing this for years and has stopped caring about checking boxes. His influences range from Zappa to Tool, and that mix of experimental weirdness and heavy structure comes through.
Tracks like “Justified” and “Sprawling” feel like they could sit in a mid-credits scene or the slow build of a thriller. There’s tension, but it’s earned. “Helpless” and “Hindrance” carry more emotional weight and lean closer to introspection, but without ever dipping into cliché. Synths show up just enough to give the music a modern edge without taking over. It’s rock, but it’s not stuck in the past.
The title track, “Forgiveness,” wraps things up without trying to overexplain anything. Just a steady sense of resolve, like someone walking away from something heavy.
What makes this album stand out is its refusal to pick one lane. It’s not indie rock, not prog, not retro, not cinematic – but it pulls from all of those, depending on the moment. That’s probably why it works. It doesn’t sound like anything trying to go viral. It sounds like someone doing what they’ve always done.
Forgiveness is out now and deserves a closer listen, especially for fans of genre-crossing rock that still knows how to land a punch.
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