Blindside comes from the southern suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. They formed in 1994 as Underfree and became Blindside in 1996. The lineup is singer and main lyricist Christian Lindskog, guitarist Simon Grenehed, bassist Tomas Näslund and drummer Marcus Dahlström.
From Day-Glo to Solid State
Their debut album, Blindside, was released in Sweden on Day-Glo Records in 1997. Its songs drew on what was going on in Lindskog's life at the time. Tooth & Nail licensed the band that year, and a US version mixing the album with the Empty Box EP followed. A Thought Crushed My Mind (2000) was harsher and closer to hardcore, and Lindskog wrote about missing his wife, Elina, while he was on tour. It was their last album for Solid State.
P.O.D. opens a door
Touring with P.O.D. in 2001 changed everything. P.O.D. got behind them and signed them to Elektra through P.O.D.'s own Three Points imprint. Silence (2002) gave them "Pitiful," "Sleepwalking" and "Caught a Glimpse." It reached No. 83 on the Billboard 200 and got them onto Conan O'Brien's late-night show. In 2003 they toured with Hoobastank, and they played "Pitiful" in the skateboarding film Grind.
About a Burning Fire (2004) debuted at No. 39, their best chart showing, and gave them a minor hit in "All of Us." Billy Corgan plays and sings on "Hooray, It's L.A." When Warner Music folded Elektra into Atlantic, Blindside left the label. A headlining tour that year brought a bus crash, and later the theft of everything in their rental van, passports and money included.
On their own
The band went independent for The Great Depression (2005), which brought in jazzy touches, and The Black Rose EP (2007). After some time off, With Shivering Hearts We Wait arrived in 2011. The singles "Gravedigger" (2019) and "Dead Weight" (2025) came later, and they played Furnace Fest in 2022 and 2024.
Shekina
Blindside's spiritual side runs through the music without much preaching. On About a Burning Fire they called one song "Shekina," a Jewish and Christian name for the outward presence of God's glory, and sang part of it in Swedish. They came up through Tooth & Nail and Solid State before making the jump to a major label.
The Swedes on the roster
Blindside were the Swedish chapter of the Tooth & Nail and Solid State story, moving from post-hardcore to alternative metal with big choruses. Their ties to P.O.D. go deep. The two bands toured together in 1999 and 2001, and their street teams worked side by side. They also toured with Project 86 early on.
