Blackgold: Back Again And Going Nowhere
The rumours are already beginning to swirl. Just Google the word ‘BLACKGOLD’ and the fourth result is from social media site Reddit, a thread dedicating to trying to work out exactly who the hell is behind the masks adorned by the British nu-metal upstarts. Yes, trying to figure out the identities of band that intentionally hide their face isn’t new, but it’s indicative of the buzz that surrounds this mysterious outfit barely two years after their first single It’s Art dropped on Spotify. Frontman Spookz, however, isn’t fazed by the speculation.
“Our sole mission is to make people bounce like it’s 1999, when nu-metal was at its absolute peak,” he explains. “Nothing else matters. When you go to see BLACKGOLD, you’re there for the music and the characters performing it; the actual humans behind them aren’t important. Besides, isn’t everyone getting tired of finding out devastating things about people you idolise and confirming the phrase ‘never meet your heroes’?”
To even be speaking to Spookz is a privilege. The band rarely do interviews, no doubt in part to limit the chances of an accidental reveal, but also because, as alluded to already, their whole journey is tightly centred about their art, their music, their craft, and to say that this ethos is working from them is a significant understatement. Last year saw them plucked, seemingly from thin air, to open for LIMP BIZKIT during the Spring, play major European festivals in the summer and then support SKINDRED in the autumn. Has Spookz had time to reflect on what an astonishing rise this is? In a word, no – because apparently, it was already planned.
“You won’t believe me, but I promise you, from the get-go, that we set LIMP BIZKIT as our first ever tour and Download as our first ever show,” he explains (Download would end up being later down the line). “The people we worked with conceded it was a very good goal, but slightly unbelievable, and then it happened. So, I took it all in before we actually did it!”
He is, however, quick to point out the big slice of fortune that BLACKGOLD have had in getting here. “If you’re just a fan of music and not an artist, you have no idea what lays in front of you – the hurdles, the disappointment, the heartache. It comes with every type of art, indeed any expressive thing that makes you feel great. If you can achieve what you set out to do, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. We just got there quicker.”
In May, BLACKGOLD are, quite literally, Back With Another One, as it’s the title of their new EP. Whilst still as bouncy and carefree as their previous material – and featuring perhaps the first ever use of the term ‘cock block’ within a musical context – there’s still a progression. Songs like Social Blackout and excellent closing track Rains In My Life are more harder-hitting in terms of lyrical content, a side that hasn’t been too prevalent before.
“We don’t need to tell you that the world is fucked, I think we all know it is,” explains Spookz, “so we’re going to give you some glimpses of hope and tell you that we relate with you. We also get stuck on social media watching videos of people trying to burst watermelons with elastic bands, whilst wishing for the holiday that Debbie is on right now, so we’ll give you that message of empathy while we have some fun at the same time.”
The release of the EP will coincide with BLACKGOLD’s first ever headline show at the Dome in London, an event that, if not already, is extremely close to selling out. As one might expect, Spookz is remaining very tight-lipped about what the show will entail, but the intention is to make a statement in every sense. “I promise you, there’s some bits in our headline show that nobody is doing right now, absolutely nobody, and within a year or two people are going to catch on to what we did at this show and try it for themselves. I know our first ever London show was Wembley Arena, but to be doing The Dome is absolutely mega.”
Quite where BLACKGOLD are going to end up on such a sharp, upwards trajectory is really anyone’s guess, even Spookz, but he knows this is bigger than all the members combined. “SLIPKNOT always talk about being part of a machine that they just can’t stop, and we’ve found this out already. Yes, we planned to play Download and open for LIMP BIZKIT, but that’s happened because this journey is growing quicker than we ever could imagine. We’re just going to keep fuelling this machine and see where it takes us, but we’re hyped about what’s ahead.”
Back With Another One is out now via self-release.
For more information on BLACKGOLD like their official page on Facebook.