Blackbox (album) explained

Blackbox
Type:	studio
Artist:	Major Parkinson
Cover:	Blackbox (album).jpg
Recorded:	2016
Studio:	Duper Studio & Degaton Studios
Genre:	Rock
Label:	Degaton Records
Prev Title:	Twilight Cinema
Prev Year:	2014
Next Year:	2022

Blackbox is the fourth studio album of the Norwegian band Major Parkinson. It was released on 27 October 2017. The album features a new lineup and has an emphasis on dark, ambient electronica mixed with pop and prog rock.^{[1] [2]}

The critical reception to the album has been positive.^{[3] [4] [5]} In 2023, Loudwire mentioned the album in their list of the best progressive rock & metal albums of each year since 1983.^[6]

Track listing

1. "Lover, Lower Me Down!"
2. "Night Hitcher"
3. "Before the Helmets"
4. "Isabel: A Report to an Academy"
5. "Scenes from Edison's Black Maria"
6. "Madeleine Crumbles"
7. "Baseball"
8. "Strawberry Suicide"
9. "Blackbox"

Cultural references

Just like Twilight Cinema, Blackbox features many cultural references, mostly from 19th and 20th century historical figures. The opening title "Lover, Lower Me Down!" includes a play on The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, while Hemingway himself is later mentioned in "Baseball". Several philosophers are named in "Isabel: A Report to an Academy" - Plato, Nietsche, Heidegger, Russell, while works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Hieronymus Bosch are referenced.

Personnel

Major Parkinson

• Jon Ivar Kolbotn – Lead vocals, lyrics, songwriting, arrangement
• Eivind Gammersvik – Bass, production, arrangement, backing vocals
• Lars Bjørknes – Piano, synth, organs, programming, notation, backing vocals
• Sondre Skollevoll – Guitars, backing vocals, additional synths, arrangement, microKORG (track 4)
• Sondre Sagstad Veland – Drums, perc, typewriter, arrangement, backing vocals
• Øystein Bech-Eriksen – Guitars, arrangement
• Claudia Cox: – Violin, backing vocals, arrangement

Additional personnel

• Linn Frøkedal – Lead vocals
• Carmen Boveda – Cello
• Jonas Flemsæter Hamre – Saxophone
• Joar Lemme – Trombone
• Gunleik Gisletveit – Tuba
• Logan Arndt – French horn
• Andreas Hesselberg Hatzikiriakidis – Trumpet
• Nataniel Hjønnevåg – Xylophone
• Thomas Rolland aka Lip Shaw – Whistling
• Megan Kovacs – Backing vocals
  Female choir by Volve Vokal:
• Thea Meidell Sjule
• Idunn Strøm Myklebust
• Frida Ekerhovd
• Kaja Linder Henriksen
• Ann Christin Jenssen
• Kristine Norebø
• Signe Wiger
• Kine Granum
• Malene Moen Sætre
• Solveig Foldnes Dybsland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hatton. Thomas. 2021-01-19. Interview with Lars Christian Bjørknes (Major Parkinson, Moron Police). 2021-03-13. Proglodytes. en.
2. Web site: Wors. Andy. 2018-01-05. Major Parkinson - An Interview with Jon Ivar Kollbotn.. 2021-03-13. nordicmusicreview. en.
3. Web site: Wors. Andy. 2017-11-04. Major Parkinson - 'Blackbox' Album Review. 2021-03-13. nordicmusicreview. en.
4. Web site: Hatton. Thomas. 2018-05-24. Album Review: Major Parkinson, "Blackbox". 2021-03-13. Proglodytes. en.
5. Web site: Mind. The Prog. 2017-10-09. Major Parkinson – "Blackbox". 2021-03-13. The PROG Mind. en.
6. Web site: Best Progressive Rock + Metal Album of Each Year Since 1983 . . 13 December 2023 .