Psst . . . Blacklistt used to be Blindspott. If you hadn't already worked it out, the sibilant back-end of the name gives the game away, really.
Yet, there are a few differences in the new line-up, which offers a back-to-the future theme: gone is original drummer Shelton Woolright; in come former members Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini (turntables and keyboards), who join founding members Damian Alexander (vocals) and Marcus Powell (guitar).
First, a little history.
Blindspott, hailing from West Auckland, called it quits in 2007. At the time, Woolright and Powell put it to the other members of the group, Alexander, guitarist Brandon Reihana and bass player Dave McDermott, that the only way forward was a move overseas. However, other priorities (family and more stable incomes) precluded any exodus.
However, ''we had a few differences'', Powell explains earlier this week.
''We called it Dempsey before changing it to I Am Giant, but that fell through - and I'm quite happy it did.
''When I got back home about four years ago, I hooked up with Gareth and Karl and started jamming. We then showed the songs to Damien and he said, right, let's get Blindspott back together.
''We were offered a spot at the Homegrown festival as Blindspott so we tried to contact Shelton and ask him if he was OK with that ... we then got a letter from a lawyer. We had to come to an agreement and that was fair enough - Shelton did have a huge part to do with Blindspott - but it got a bit ridiculous so we just decided to move on,'' Powell says.
The first two songs off Blacklistt's self-titled debut, released on its own imprint yesterday, offer references to this chapter. Opening track Tell Me Who includes the line ''they say you can't succeed until you fail'', while follow-up From the Blind Spot states, ''you're dead to me''. Enough said.
So to the future.
In Karl Vilisini, Blacklistt has reintroduced a turntablist to its line-up. Vilisini was a member of Blindspott for a time, his hip-hop beats helping outsiders label the group in the ''nu-metal genre'' as defined by the likes of American act Linkin Park. However, by the time of second album End the Silence* , the group had swapped the turntables, and thus Vilisini, for a second guitarist.
(*Released in 2006, End the Silence topped the album charts, giving Blindspott the distinction of being the first New Zealand band to achieve two number one album debuts. End the Silence went platinum within weeks of its release. Blindspott's 2002 self-titled debut album reached platinum status (15,000 units sold) in its first week. Now a triple-platinum release, it features the singles Phlex, Nil by Mouth, Room to Breathe and S.U.I.T.)
Significantly, Blacklistt's debut album has been released on its own label, though distribution is being handled by New Zealand company Rhythm Method.
''We had a few record companies contact us but we thought we could do this ourselves,'' Powell says.
''We have 100% creative control. We co-produced the album and I think it's more of an honest representation of our music.
''I get more pleasure out of working as a team, rather than someone saying, `This is how I think it should go'. I'm interested in how others might interpret something I have come up with.''
Certainly, the album is varied, ranging from the mellow, finger-picked Home, the slow-burning dynamics of Worth Fighting For, the wall-of-guitar attack of Icon to the deceptive, churning rhythmic shifts of Red Hush.
''We had the freedom to get into York Street [Recording Studios] and do whatever we liked. We had done a few shows to save up enough money. We probably spent a month there all up, though more time was spent on it overall. We went over budget so we need to recoup on that somehow.''
The band has a chance to do that later this month when it embarks on a national tour during which Powell expects to see fans both old and new.
''There are plenty of diehards at the shows. One guy has a Blindspott tattoo on one side of his neck and a Blacklistt tattoo on the other.''
See them
Blacklistt performs at Re:Fuel, Dunedin, on October 3.
