Sunday Night Blackout

Sunday Night Black-out whips out rock ’n’ roll that smells like butt rock and tastes like danger. They’re Iron Maiden processed with Mötorhead—from “Aces High” to “Ace of Spades.” The Seattle-based band probably isn’t concerned about such comparisons to 1980s metal and hair bands, mostly because they play music with just as much unironic dedication, though with their own dirty, garage rawk spin. Johnny Blackout and Omar S. nail almost every wily guitar callisthenic, and even when it gets sloppy it never gets boring, especially with frontman Neil Ofsteel singing like he’s J
ohnny Thunders fronting AC/DC. Ofsteel languishes in baby-come-aww-n! flourishes and raspy lines like, “My girl is hummin’ in the stereo, she’s sweeter than gypsy wine—she sets me free!”

“Burnout” takes the album on a brief tangent of Dwarves-like gleefulness with, “I got no remorse ringing in my ears and a body count in my wake…” But “Blackout Tonite!” brings it all back to more innocent partying with clap-happy breakdowns, the clink of bottles and drunken chortles. No half-assed vocal snarls, or wimpy guitar solos, or pretentious lyrics here. Just plain rock about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll—which is as meta as Sunday Night Blackout gets, thank goodness. (Erika Fredrickson) - Missoula Independent

Sunday Night Blackout
[BUTT ROCK] Chock-full of neck-snapping guitar solos, frantic drums and barely a hint of irony, Seattle’s biggest purveyors of classic, AC/DC-inspired riffage play butt rock for the hipster generation—kind of like if the Darkness were into shotgunning Sparks instead of doing lines of coke. Who needs Chinese Democracy when the local stuff is this, well, kicking? (MM). Rotture. - Willamette Week

Long-standing hard-rock purists Sunday Night Blackout apparently hopped the dry wagon long enough to produce a self-titled debut featuring 10 uncompromising tracks of straight-up, no-apologies rock ‘n’ roll. Sunday Night Blackout is for the guitar-rock proletariat, the type who scoffs at terms like “postpunk” and “indie rock.” Revered as a volatile live act, SNB execute Blackout like a set of downright apt musicians. Take “Son of Stone,” where speed-addled drums break way to frenetic dual-guitar work, galloping bass, and staunch percussion, all of which subsequently take shotgun to terse vocals from frontman “Neil of Steel,” who takes a whiskey and Coke on Sunday night. Fans of the rock: You have your marching orders. GRANT BRISSEY - The Stranger

If any band at REVERBfest has the power to induce a midday buzz, it’s definitely Sunday Night Blackout. Aside from the obvious connotations of their name, their formula is simple but effective: A foundation of classic rock, a smidge of vintage punk, and plenty of heavy-metal muscle inform their sound. If you haven’t felt inspired to hit the Smoke Shop for a Jack and Coke yet, then take this band as your cue. HANNAH LEVIN - Seattle Weekly

Maybe it’s just me, but 3:00 in the afternoon seems so early lately. Nonetheless, we dragged ourselves
out of bed and headed up the hill to the Capitol Hill Block Party. Dodging door guys with Supersoakers, we hit Neumos to hear Sunday Night Blackout. A local band, their sound is kind of a cross between Judas Priest, AC/DC, and some classic Van Halen/David Lee Roth. The live broadcast of the show started out with the dj from KEXP f-ing up their name. “The Saturday Night Blackouts?” That’s like calling Judas Priest “Judas Nun.” C’mon KEXP, everyone blacks out on Saturday
nights. Only rock stars and junkies black out on Sunday night. Read the stats, man. I tell myself to shake it off as Neil of Steel, Der Rock, Miss Simona, Omar Superstar (Stranger’s Drunk of the Week), and Johnny Blackout lay down their first note. Ah the sweet sound of dirty rock. Their song, Blackout Tonight, transported me to teenage rainy days spent laying under my poster of Tommy Lee listening to Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil.” Those were the days when rock stars were rock stars and they didn’t have a reality TV dating show. Why doesn’t Bret Micheals just marry Pam Anderson and be done with it?? Everyone else does. Anyway, back to Sunday Night Blackout at Neumos...
The crowd must have been feeling the Crue vibe, too, because I saw lots of headbanging, air
guitar, and metal fists in the air. I was having a blast, and just when I thought it couldn’t get better, a miraculous thing happened. A dude dressed in a hamburger costume, and a dude in a bong costume
crashed the show. It sounds like a joke: “A hamburger and bong walk into a bar...” Evidently they were rock fans, because the hamburger and bong danced on the stage, stage dived, and started a mosh pit. It was, um, very entertaining and the music was still freaking killer. Eventually, the bong costume was ripped to shreds, the toy tank (!?) that was on stage was smashed to peices, we were all hot and sweaty, and it was time for the next band. As the show ended, I consoled myself. I’ll always have Sunday Night. Um, what DID I do on Sunday night? I did WHAT on Sunday night? A bong and a cheeseburger? Whaaa? - fourwaymirror.com

SUNDAY NIGHT BLACKOUT:
Any self-respecting fan of "the rock" already knows Sunday Night Blackout are playing the Block Party. They also know that if they wanna continue respecting themselves, they can't miss this set. It's the big moment for the Seattle quintet who are clearly stoked on Iron Maiden; they're finalizing a debut album produced by none other than Seattle's Kurt Bloch. Can we expect a special Block Party visit from the giant crowed-surfing bong? Anyone who still knows what I'm talkin about can only hope.
- The Stranger

Something about Sunday Night Blackout's self-titled debut breeds a craving to play Guitar Hero. At first, this was an unexplained phenomenon, but further investigation reveals that just about the whole album sounds like "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You" by Spinal Tap, which is featured in Guitar Hero II. Sunday Night Blackout is faster and sharper but the tie is undeniable. And it's hard to say that the similarity is a bad thing. Most of the record blends into a butt-rock mash in which one song is hard to discern from another, but it still rocks. And there are memorable moments like the dueling guitars in "Son of Stone/The Succubus" and the fist pump-inducing verse of "Open Fire". It's not meant to be taken seriously and it's a hell of a good time.
ROB E. MILLER

STANDOUT TRACKS:
"OPEN FIRE"
"SON OF STONE/THE SUCCUBUS" - Seattle Sound Magazine