Niki N. Phaser

          Mark Hoppus has announced that Blink 182 will be touring Europe for a few weeks, during the summer of 2010. No exact dates or locations have been published yet, but in the following months, everything will be revealed. To be sure that you are not missing anything, check the band’s official site for future information. Since the band reformed, there has been talk of a new album, but there is still nothing certain. Drummer Travis Barker has been working on his solo record, which will feature, among others, RZA and Chester of Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise. It will be out next year, under the title Mr. Barker’s. Mark Hoppus has been in the studio also, producing a lot of new bands, while Tom DeLonge’s side project, Angels and Airwaves is about to release a new album, Love, and also an experimental movie of the same name. The first single, Hallucinations, has been released as a free download, as will the entire record. However, some sources state that the band will be working on a new Blink 182 album before touring Europe in 2010. Their last one was released in 2003.

While we are waiting… and waiting… and, you guessed it… for Blink 182 to release some new material, we should all take a moment and remember the wonderful non-single masterpiece that was Violence, song which appeared on as of yet still their final album, the self-titled (or untitled) from 2003. Because of this album, the band’s 2005 hiatus was even harder, because it marked the beginning of a new sound for the band. While still punk and pop, this album had more serious tones. Unlike previous stuff, it talked about love, not about dating, about intimacy, not about hanging out. The sound was hinted at by earlier songs like Stay Together for the Kids or Adam’s Song, but Blink 182 is the album where the boys grow up, they are done with practical jokes, because they feel new things and they need to get them out there. Violence is by no means the highlight of the album. It shares the title with I Miss You, All of This or I’m Lost Without You, but, still, Violence probably has the best chorus on the entire thing. The live version sounds great, too, but you kinda notice the lack of the slight reverb on the “You kill me” line. It makes all the difference.

Album Version

After stating at the Grammys that they are officially back together, pop-punk idols Blink 182 seem to have been followed by a stream of good, but not quite what we expected, news. They are touring this summer, that is for sure, but the tour will also make them postpone the recording of the new album. Maybe they are eager to get in touch with the public or maybe they are just reclaiming their spot as a powerful player in American rock before the release of the future album. They have, at least, promised a new single entitled Up All Night before they embark on their massive tour, where the new track will be played. The album will probably be put off even more, as Tom DeLonge is also involved in a movie-music artsy project with formerly side-band then main-band now side-band again Angels & Airwaves. As for fan worries regarding Travis Barker’s health and drumming abilities, they can be put to rest by this recent footage of the inky drummer in session with Shwayze.