BLACKRAIN - FRANCE

Black Rain - 2006 - Thundering
License To Thrill - 2008 - Thundering
Lethal Dose Of... - 2011 - Wagram
It Begins - 2013 - Columbia
Released - 2016 - UDR
Dying Breed - 2019 - Steamhammer
Untamed - 2023 - Steamhammer


BlackRain image
  
 
Members
Vocals
SWAN HELLION [MATHIEU MOLLIEX]

Guitar
SWAN HELLION [MATHIEU MOLLIEX] - MAX 2 [AXEL CHARPENTIER]


Bass
HEINRICH [MATTHIEU DE LA ROCHE]

Drum
Crysalid>>Kenny Snake [Sebastien Perrad]>>Crysalid, J.C. Jess, Amon Sethis - Iann Lewis - Frank Frusetta





History & Biography
The band hails from Southern France and was formed in 2001 by Swan and Max 2. The group initially played covers of bands with a glam orientation like W.A.S.P. The members were school-mates. A six-track demo appeared in 2003 before the band issued a 2006 album through Manitou/Thundering. The band would express dissatisfaction with the label later, but the release allowed the group to tour Japan in the summer of 2006. The band’s second album was discussed in 2008 and apparently had a more sleazy hard rock bent than the speedy debut. A 2008 EP was issued through Thundering. It was called Innocent Rosie.

It Begins was issued through Columbia Records. It was produced by Jack Douglas and mixed by Warren Huart, Aerosmith’s sound engineer, in Los Angeles. The act went totally pop and appeared on France’s Got Talent.

The group signed with Steamhammer in the spring of 2019 and announced it would tour Europe in support of Kissin' Dynamite. The band played at Hellfest in the summer and toured Europe in the autumn of 2019. Untamed was accompanied by several videos. Franky Costanza took over the drums and was heard on the Death Drive single. The band was booked at several concerts in France and England the summer of 2023.


Reviews

BLACKRAIN - Same - PERVADE/MANITOU  
Black Rain is an oddball group. The band’s monicker hints at mid-'80s underground metal, but in fact the quartet is French and contemporary. The name and the jagged crushed skull on the cover cry 'extreme' despite how the group straddles the line between the glam sounds of the '80s and US metal. Think of BlackRain as a band that will appeal to both Omen and Helix enthusiasts. The same can be said of the band’s image. The album features several ballads, at least one of which takes one back to the vintage slow songs of Accept and the Germans’ early '80s output.
The last note goes to the distance between Black Rain and the concept of originality. Not only are there several other bands - and at least one film - with the same name out there, but also what can one think of song titles like Kill Em All, Gods Of Metal or No Life Till Metal? - Ali “The Metallian”


Interviews







BlackRain