by Mark Deming
 
Playing a hot-wired mixture of metal, punk and indie rock with melodies that only increase the music's impact velocity, The Blackout are six young men hailing from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Featuring Gavin Butler and Sean Smith on vocals, James Davies and Matthew Davies on guitars, Rhys Lewis on bass and Gareth Lawrence on drums, the Blackout came together in 2003; they cut a three-song demo EP, Pull No Punches, in 2004 and within two years they became a name to be reckoned with on the UK club circuit. In 2006, the Blackout were signed to Fierce Panda Records, one of London's leading independent labels, and quickly released the single &Hard Slammin'&. A six-song EP, The Blackout! Blackout! Blackout, followed later that year, which featured the single &I'm A Riot? You're A F----ing Riot&. In the fall of 2007, the Blackout released their first full-length album, We Are The Dynamite, and the band was soon sharing stages with the likes of Funeral For A Friend, Avenged Sevenfold and Thrice as well as playing the 2008 Give It A Name festival in London and Sheffield alongside Paramore, Thirty Seconds To Mars and Alkaline Trio. In early summer of 2009, the band released their first album for new label Epitaph titled The Best in Town.