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Blackbox (album)

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Blackbox
Studio album by
Released27 October 2017 (2017-10-27)
Recorded2016
StudioDuper Studio & Degaton Studios
GenreRock
Length47:45
LabelDegaton Records
Major Parkinson chronology
Twilight Cinema
(2014)
Blackbox
(2017)
Valesa - Chapter 1: Velvet Prison
(2022)

Blackbox is the fourth studio album of the Norwegian band Major Parkinson. It was released on 27 October 2017. The album features a new lineup and has an emphasis on dark, ambient electronica mixed with pop and prog rock.[1][2]

The critical reception to the album has been positive.[3][4][5] In 2023, Loudwire mentioned the album in their list of the best progressive rock & metal albums of each year since 1983.[6]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "Lover, Lower Me Down!"
  2. "Night Hitcher"
  3. "Before the Helmets"
  4. "Isabel: A Report to an Academy"
  5. "Scenes from Edison's Black Maria"
  6. "Madeleine Crumbles"
  7. "Baseball"
  8. "Strawberry Suicide"
  9. "Blackbox"

Cultural references

[edit]

Just like Twilight Cinema, Blackbox features many cultural references, mostly from 19th and 20th century historical figures. The opening title "Lover, Lower Me Down!" includes a play on The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, while Hemingway himself is later mentioned in "Baseball". Several philosophers are named in "Isabel: A Report to an Academy" - Plato, Nietsche, Heidegger, Russell, while works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Hieronymus Bosch are referenced.

Personnel

[edit]
Major Parkinson
  • Jon Ivar Kolbotn – Lead vocals, lyrics, songwriting, arrangement
  • Eivind Gammersvik – Bass, production, arrangement, backing vocals
  • Lars Bjørknes – Piano, synth, organs, programming, notation, backing vocals
  • Sondre Skollevoll – Guitars, backing vocals, additional synths, arrangement, microKORG (track 4)
  • Sondre Sagstad Veland – Drums, perc, typewriter, arrangement, backing vocals
  • Øystein Bech-Eriksen – Guitars, arrangement
  • Claudia Cox: – Violin, backing vocals, arrangement
Additional personnel
  • Linn Frøkedal – Lead vocals
  • Carmen Boveda – Cello
  • Jonas Flemsæter Hamre – Saxophone
  • Joar Lemme – Trombone
  • Gunleik Gisletveit – Tuba
  • Logan Arndt – French horn
  • Andreas Hesselberg Hatzikiriakidis – Trumpet
  • Nataniel Hjønnevåg – Xylophone
  • Thomas Rolland aka Lip Shaw – Whistling
  • Megan Kovacs – Backing vocals
    Female choir by Volve Vokal:
  • Thea Meidell Sjule
  • Idunn Strøm Myklebust
  • Frida Ekerhovd
  • Kaja Linder Henriksen
  • Ann Christin Jenssen
  • Kristine Norebø
  • Signe Wiger
  • Kine Granum
  • Malene Moen Sætre
  • Solveig Foldnes Dybsland

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hatton, Thomas (19 January 2021). "Interview with Lars Christian Bjørknes (Major Parkinson, Moron Police)". Proglodytes. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  2. ^ Wors, Andy (5 January 2018). "Major Parkinson - An Interview with Jon Ivar Kollbotn". nordicmusicreview. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  3. ^ Wors, Andy (4 November 2017). "Major Parkinson - 'Blackbox' Album Review". nordicmusicreview. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  4. ^ Hatton, Thomas (24 May 2018). "Album Review: Major Parkinson, "Blackbox"". Proglodytes. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. ^ Mind, The Prog (9 October 2017). "Major Parkinson – "Blackbox"". The PROG Mind. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Best Progressive Rock + Metal Album of Each Year Since 1983". Loudwire. 13 December 2023.