Block Out (band)
Encyclopedia
Block Out is a grunge
/alternative rock
band from Belgrade
, Serbia
. Their musical style is a combination of artistic alternative rock, punk rock
, doom metal
and psychedelic rock
. The band was one of the few representatives of grunge
music in Serbia
.
), Danilo Pavićević (guitar
), Vladan Lazarević (guitar), and Dejan Dimitrijević (drums
). Due to the existence of another band under the same name, they decided to change their name. The band chose the name from at the time very popular computer game, Block Out
. The slang meaning of the phrase refers to the moment before losing consciousness, which the band members found amusing. During 1991 Lazarević left Block Out and moved to live in Netherlands
and Nikola Vranjković joined the band as a new guitarist, soon becoming the central creative core of the band. Before his return to Belgrade he lived for four years in Russia
and worked with many groups, including the band Besiders, which consisted of experienced Russian musicians. On his return to Yugoslavia
, Vranjković did a tour with the band Ruž, and, along with Voja Vijatov performed with Satan Panonski.
At the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars
, the band moved to London
. They performed at the clubs Sick of Rock and Robby's, at Finsbury Park
and at the University Centre, where they performed songs with lyrics in English
. Also, they achieved the opportunity to release a single, but it never happened due to the fact the band were forced to return to Yugoslavia.
On their return to Belgrade, in 1992, Block Out released their first recordings on the tape-only release Live KST, Akademija (released in 1993), which consisted of live material performed in the Belgrade rock clubs KST and Akademija in 1991 and 1992. The band, beside Jovančić, Vranjković and Majstorović, now featured the drummer Miljko Radonjić. In 1993 Block Out released their debut album Crno, belo i srebrno
(Black, White and Silver). The first half of the album consisted of Block Out's earliest hard rock
-oriented tracks, and the second part of darker songs written by Vranjković. In the songs like the ironically titled "Rođendanska pesma" ("Birthday Song"), Vranjković's poetic lyrics deal with depression, hopelessness and misery caused by the crisis, war and total degradation of society in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia. At that time, inspired by various diverse bands such as Soundgarden
, Pink Floyd
, Slayer
, Discharge
and some older Serbian bands as Ekatarina Velika
and Luna
, the early hard rock concept of Block Out started to move towards a darker, heavier atmosphere and sound under Vranjković's songwriting. The band started to go further in this direction on the following releases. The album was promoted on their first independent concert, held at Belgrade
's SKC, featuring guest appearances by Aleksandar Balać on guitar and Leontina and Madame Piano on backing vocals. The album was pronounced the best rock record of the year 1996 according to the Belgrade
town assembly.
In early 1996, revolted by the current situation in Serbia
, the band recorded the track "Leto na Adi" ("Summer on Ada
), which, due to the lack of space on the album, was not released on their second album, but appeared as a bonus track for the 2001 reissue of Crno, belo i srebrno. During 1996 the band's second album Godina sirotinjske zabave
(The Year of Poverty Amusement) was released and featured the material written during the six years of the band existence. As the members of the band said, the main themes on this album were closely related to the end of socialism
. On the album, as new members, appeared Aleksandar Balać on bass and a former Ništa Ali Logopedi
member Dragoljub Marković became the new keyboardist. The album was produced by Aleksandar Radosavljević and as guests appeared Danilo Pavićević (guitar), Miša Savić (keyboard), and Nebojša Zulfikaprašić (guitar).
In 1998, Radosavljević produced their third album San koji srećan sanjaš sam
(A Dream You Are Dreaming Alone Happy), Block Out established a unique version of artistic rock. On this album the band captured a quite depressing picture of the reality of life in Serbia. This album was proclaimed as the best Serbian rock album of 1998 by some of the critics, but also as one of the all-time best albums in Serbian rock
. Meanwhile, video clips for Block Out's songs, created by singer Jovančić, started to became one more symbol of Block Out's originality. As guests on the album appeared Nebojša Zulfikaprašić (guitar), Orthodox Celts
member Dejan Lalić (mandolin), Eyesburn
frontman Nemamja Kojić
(trombone), Srđan Sretenović (violincello), and others.
(Between Two Evils). The following year, Vranjković released his poetry book Zaovdeilizaponeti (Forhereorfortake). The book included his poems as well as all his lyrics written for Block Out. In addition to the book came his solo CD, characterized by calmer, minimalistic and acoustic music, but still in the vein of Block Out's unique melancholic atmosphere.
In 2002, the band appeared on the Milan Mladenović
tribute album Kao da je bilo nekad... Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću (Like It Happened Someday... Dedicated to Milan Mladenović), with the cover of the Ekatarina Velika
track "Soba" ("Room"). During the late 2002, the band performed at several dates during which they performed a few songs which were to be released on their new album. On February, 2003 the band entered the studio under the working title Nema više lakih protivnika (No More Easy Opponents). In the meantime, Marković left the band and was replaced by Dejan Hasečić, former Speed Limit and Slaves member. On April 2004, the band released their fourth album entitled Ako imaš s kim i gde
(If You Have With Whom And Where). The album was produced by Vranjković, and featured twelve new songs. As guests on the album appeared Ana Đokić (synthesizer), Nemanja Popović (backing vocals), Darko Marković (guitar) and Dušan Živanović (percussion).
On December 2005, the band performed at the Dom Omladine in Belgrade, and the performance was recorded for the DVD, released in 2007. Block Out DVD
beside the performance, featured music videos recorded during the band's career. The following year, the band appeared on the Pankrti
tribute album, Pankrti 06, with the cover version of the song "Volkovi" ("People").
In 2007, the band performed as an opening act for Kaiser Chiefs
. At the same time, the band started writing new material, and some of the new songs, "Fotelja" ("Armchair"), "Nikad (Dve hiljade i kusur godina)" ("Never (Two Thousand And Something Years)") and "Sve što mogu reći" ("All I Can Say"), were performed live during 2008 and 2009.
song, featuring both the edited and album version of the song and a promotional video for the track.
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
/alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Their musical style is a combination of artistic alternative rock, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
and psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
. The band was one of the few representatives of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
music in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
1990s
The band Ad Hoc was formed at the end of 1990 by the Milutin Jovančić "Mita" (vocals), Dragan Majstorović "Trle" (bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), Danilo Pavićević (guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
), Vladan Lazarević (guitar), and Dejan Dimitrijević (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). Due to the existence of another band under the same name, they decided to change their name. The band chose the name from at the time very popular computer game, Block Out
Block Out
Blockout is a puzzle video game, published in 1989 by California Dreams, developed in Poland by Aleksander Ustaszewski and Mirosław Zabłocki....
. The slang meaning of the phrase refers to the moment before losing consciousness, which the band members found amusing. During 1991 Lazarević left Block Out and moved to live in Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Nikola Vranjković joined the band as a new guitarist, soon becoming the central creative core of the band. Before his return to Belgrade he lived for four years in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and worked with many groups, including the band Besiders, which consisted of experienced Russian musicians. On his return to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Vranjković did a tour with the band Ruž, and, along with Voja Vijatov performed with Satan Panonski.
At the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, the band moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They performed at the clubs Sick of Rock and Robby's, at Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park, London
Finsbury Park is an area in north London, England which grew up around an important railway interchange at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney...
and at the University Centre, where they performed songs with lyrics in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Also, they achieved the opportunity to release a single, but it never happened due to the fact the band were forced to return to Yugoslavia.
On their return to Belgrade, in 1992, Block Out released their first recordings on the tape-only release Live KST, Akademija (released in 1993), which consisted of live material performed in the Belgrade rock clubs KST and Akademija in 1991 and 1992. The band, beside Jovančić, Vranjković and Majstorović, now featured the drummer Miljko Radonjić. In 1993 Block Out released their debut album Crno, belo i srebrno
Crno, belo i srebrno
Crno, belo i srebrno is the debut album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by ITV Melomarket records in 1994...
(Black, White and Silver). The first half of the album consisted of Block Out's earliest hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-oriented tracks, and the second part of darker songs written by Vranjković. In the songs like the ironically titled "Rođendanska pesma" ("Birthday Song"), Vranjković's poetic lyrics deal with depression, hopelessness and misery caused by the crisis, war and total degradation of society in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia. At that time, inspired by various diverse bands such as Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Discharge
Discharge (band)
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...
and some older Serbian bands as Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika , sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock group from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia....
and Luna
Luna (Novi Sad band)
Luna was a Serbian and former Yugoslav post-punk/gothic rock band from Novi Sad.Formed on the ashes of the New Wave band La Strada and getting the name by the Bernardo Bertolucci film La Luna, Luna quickly gained the public's attention and established a cult status...
, the early hard rock concept of Block Out started to move towards a darker, heavier atmosphere and sound under Vranjković's songwriting. The band started to go further in this direction on the following releases. The album was promoted on their first independent concert, held at Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
's SKC, featuring guest appearances by Aleksandar Balać on guitar and Leontina and Madame Piano on backing vocals. The album was pronounced the best rock record of the year 1996 according to the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
town assembly.
In early 1996, revolted by the current situation in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, the band recorded the track "Leto na Adi" ("Summer on Ada
Ada Ciganlija
Ada Ciganlija , colloquially shortened to Ada, is a river island that has artificially been turned into a peninsula, located in the Sava River's course through central Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name can also refer to the adjoining artificial Sava Lake and its beach...
), which, due to the lack of space on the album, was not released on their second album, but appeared as a bonus track for the 2001 reissue of Crno, belo i srebrno. During 1996 the band's second album Godina sirotinjske zabave
Godina sirotinjske zabave
Godina sirotinjske zabave is the second album by the Serbian alternative rock / grunge band Block Out...
(The Year of Poverty Amusement) was released and featured the material written during the six years of the band existence. As the members of the band said, the main themes on this album were closely related to the end of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. On the album, as new members, appeared Aleksandar Balać on bass and a former Ništa Ali Logopedi
Ništa Ali Logopedi
Ništa Ali Logopedi were a Serbian alternative rock band from Šabac.- History :...
member Dragoljub Marković became the new keyboardist. The album was produced by Aleksandar Radosavljević and as guests appeared Danilo Pavićević (guitar), Miša Savić (keyboard), and Nebojša Zulfikaprašić (guitar).
In 1998, Radosavljević produced their third album San koji srećan sanjaš sam
San koji srećan sanjaš sam
San koji srećan sanjaš sam is the third album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by Metropolis Records in 1998. Considered to be one of best Serbian rock albums ever...
(A Dream You Are Dreaming Alone Happy), Block Out established a unique version of artistic rock. On this album the band captured a quite depressing picture of the reality of life in Serbia. This album was proclaimed as the best Serbian rock album of 1998 by some of the critics, but also as one of the all-time best albums in Serbian rock
Serbian rock
Serbian rock is the rock music scene of Serbia. During the 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s, while Serbia was a constituent republic of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbian rock scene was a part of the SFR Yugoslav rock scene....
. Meanwhile, video clips for Block Out's songs, created by singer Jovančić, started to became one more symbol of Block Out's originality. As guests on the album appeared Nebojša Zulfikaprašić (guitar), Orthodox Celts
Orthodox Celts
Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their unusual sound the band is one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene and has influenced several younger bands, most notably Tir na n'Og and Irish Stew of Sindidun.The band started their...
member Dejan Lalić (mandolin), Eyesburn
Eyesburn
Eyesburn is a Serbian hardcore punk/crossover thrash band with influences of reggae music.- 1990s :The band was formed in 1994, and the original line-up featured former Dead Ideas guitarist Nemanja "Kojot" Kojić , who simultaneously worked as trombonist in Del Arno Band and bass guitarist in...
frontman Nemamja Kojić
Hornsman Coyote
Nemanja Kojić , better known by his stage name Hornsman Coyote , is a Reggae/Dub musician of Serbian descent.- Personal life :Coyote resides in Belgrade...
(trombone), Srđan Sretenović (violincello), and others.
2000s
The band performance at the Belgrade's SKC on September 11, 1999, was recorded and released in 2001 on the double CD/triple MC release Između dva zlaIzmeđu dva zla
Između dva zla is a three part live album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, recorded in 1999, and released in 2001. The first, the second and the partially the third part were recorded live at the Belgrade SKC, on September 11, 1999. The volume 3 of the album was released only on the...
(Between Two Evils). The following year, Vranjković released his poetry book Zaovdeilizaponeti (Forhereorfortake). The book included his poems as well as all his lyrics written for Block Out. In addition to the book came his solo CD, characterized by calmer, minimalistic and acoustic music, but still in the vein of Block Out's unique melancholic atmosphere.
In 2002, the band appeared on the Milan Mladenović
Milan Mladenovic
Milan Mladenović was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician best known as the frontman of Serbian art rock band Ekatarina Velika.-Early life:...
tribute album Kao da je bilo nekad... Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću (Like It Happened Someday... Dedicated to Milan Mladenović), with the cover of the Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika , sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock group from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia....
track "Soba" ("Room"). During the late 2002, the band performed at several dates during which they performed a few songs which were to be released on their new album. On February, 2003 the band entered the studio under the working title Nema više lakih protivnika (No More Easy Opponents). In the meantime, Marković left the band and was replaced by Dejan Hasečić, former Speed Limit and Slaves member. On April 2004, the band released their fourth album entitled Ako imaš s kim i gde
Ako imaš s kim i gde
Ako imaš s kim i gde is the fourth studio album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by Multimedia records in 2004.- Tracklisting :All tracks written by Nikola Vranjković....
(If You Have With Whom And Where). The album was produced by Vranjković, and featured twelve new songs. As guests on the album appeared Ana Đokić (synthesizer), Nemanja Popović (backing vocals), Darko Marković (guitar) and Dušan Živanović (percussion).
On December 2005, the band performed at the Dom Omladine in Belgrade, and the performance was recorded for the DVD, released in 2007. Block Out DVD
Block Out DVD
Block Out DVD is the self-titled DVD release by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out. The DVD, featuring the December 23 2005 Dom Omladine live recording and all the promotional videos the band recorded throughout their career, was released by Multimedia records in 2007.- Live at Dom...
beside the performance, featured music videos recorded during the band's career. The following year, the band appeared on the Pankrti
Pankrti
Pankrti were a punk rock band from Ljubljana, Slovenia, active in the late 1970s and during the 1980s. They were known for provocative and politically engaged songs and billed themselves "The First Punk Band Behind The Iron Curtain"...
tribute album, Pankrti 06, with the cover version of the song "Volkovi" ("People").
In 2007, the band performed as an opening act for Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
. At the same time, the band started writing new material, and some of the new songs, "Fotelja" ("Armchair"), "Nikad (Dve hiljade i kusur godina)" ("Never (Two Thousand And Something Years)") and "Sve što mogu reći" ("All I Can Say"), were performed live during 2008 and 2009.
2010s
In 2011, the band released the CD single "Beograd spava", a cover of the U ŠkripcuU Škripcu
U Škripcu was a former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, notable as participant in the Artistička radna akcija project as well as for their later works.- Formation and breakup :...
song, featuring both the edited and album version of the song and a promotional video for the track.
Discography
- Crno, belo i srebrnoCrno, belo i srebrnoCrno, belo i srebrno is the debut album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by ITV Melomarket records in 1994...
(1993) - Godina sirotinjske zabaveGodina sirotinjske zabaveGodina sirotinjske zabave is the second album by the Serbian alternative rock / grunge band Block Out...
(1996) - San koji srećan sanjaš samSan koji srećan sanjaš samSan koji srećan sanjaš sam is the third album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by Metropolis Records in 1998. Considered to be one of best Serbian rock albums ever...
(1998) - Ako imaš s kim i gdeAko imaš s kim i gdeAko imaš s kim i gde is the fourth studio album by the Serbian alternative rock band Block Out, released by Multimedia records in 2004.- Tracklisting :All tracks written by Nikola Vranjković....
(2004)