Blackhouse is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

band based in

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...

. Blackhouse plays what has been cited as "primo industrial rock", contrasting with

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

styles promulgated by artists such as NIN, Klank, or

Circle of Dust Circle of Dust is an industrial music project from New York City created by Klayton, who later became known as Celldweller. The project was active from 1988 to 1998 and then re-started in 2015 after Klayton gained back ownership of his old albu ...

. Blackhouse was formed in 1984 and is cited as the first band to make industrial music for the Christian market.

Background

Musically acclaimed and sometimes cited as being a founding band of the entire genre, Blackhouse has ensued for over three decades, and the band has produced a myriad of releases in that time. Often the band finds itself riding the fine line between artistic expression and forming a message in a way that could be accepted in the broad Christian community. One album featured a cover showing a rabbit crucified, with the thought of exposing the real meaning of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. The sound that Blackhouse offered was far outside the norms of Christian music at the time of the band's formation, and live performances met with resistance from both the

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

and

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

youth organizations. The Neo-Nazi groups protested the religious content, which was unusual in a genre more known for espousing negative themes including

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

sadomasochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

, and

drug culture Drug cultures are examples of countercultures that are primarily defined by spiritual, medical, and recreational drug use. They may be focused on a single drug, or endorse polydrug use. They sometimes eagerly or reluctantly initiate newcomers, ...

, and the Christians took point with the style that the band offered, again due to its association with negative elements of society. After a time the band went underground, focusing on producing recorded material rather than touring. Their music continues to be on the cutting edge of creativity and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elemen ...

. One review of their 2006 collaborative project ''Beetu Lathri Kwan'' found that their genre-mixing produced what was deemed an "intentional dissolution of traditional concepts of... music." The music's effect on the reviewers has shown a great variety of responses. One reviewer reported that the sound finds the "border of our conscious and unconscious thinking", while others have insisted that the sound is "barely good for background noise" or "more frustrating than enjoyable". Lyrics are generally noted as being few and far between, but containing positive messages and espousing Christian faith.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Pro-Life'' (1984) *''Hope Like A Candle'' (1985) *''Five Minutes After I Die'' (1986) *''Holy War'' (1987) *''We Will Fight Back!'' (1988) *''Stairway To Heaven'' (1989) *''The Father, The Son, And The Holy Ghost'' (1990) *''Material World'' (1990) *''Hidden Beneath The Metal'' (1991) *''Stairway To A Gospel World'' (1994) *''Shock The Nation!'' (1995) *''Shades Of Black'' (1998) *''Lawnmowerman'' (1998) *''Sex Sex Sex'' (1999) *''Dreams Like These'' (2000) *''Heart Of Black'' (2002) *''Yuen'' (2015) *''Ignite Blackhouse Youth'' (2016) *''X Communicator'' (2023)

Compilation albums

*''Dribbles'' (2005) *''25th Years Anniversary + Hope'' (2010) *''Beyond The Gates Of Good & Evil'' (2012) *''One Man's Collection'' (2019)

Video albums

*''Thirty In 30'' (2012)

Split albums

*''Ice Skin / The Gospel According To The Men In Black'' (1991, split with Nightmare Lodge) *''Comin' On Strong'' (2011, split with Hypnoskull) *''Sacrificium Messiae'' (2016, split with

Maurizio Bianchi Maurizio Bianchi (born 4 December 1955 in Pomponesco in the Province of Mantua) is an Italian pioneer of industrial music, originating from Milan. Biography 1979–1983 Bianchi was inspired by the music of Tangerine Dream, Conrad Schnitzler an ...

)

Singles

*"Reason For The Season" 7" (1997) *"y2k / Millennium" 7" (1999) *"Material World" Video CD-R (2005) *"Robots" 7" Picture Disc (2018)

Members

Brian Ladd is the sole permanent member of Blackhouse. Early releases were credited to Ivo Cutler and Sterling Cross. Ladd has explained this was because "I always thought of Blackhouse as being SUPERMAN and I was merely a Clark Kent" Blog entry by Brian Ladd on Blackhouse's official MySpace

References

External links

Official site''Cross Rhythms'' artist ProfileDiscogs page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackhouse American industrial music groups Power electronics (music)