Blizzard releases his stunning "mental health-driven" album - 'Demons Living Rent Free'!

Blizzard is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most talented artists that this grime scene has. From the countless showcases of his amazing lyrical ability, to some of the most jaw-dropping production that we have to offer, Blizzard has cemented himself as a Manchester legend and one of the UKs finest. His next step in his career is to drop his brand new album - Demons Living Rent Free. I might as well be straight to the point - this album is nothing short of incredible. This project is a throwback to when albums were celebrated; you can tell that Blizzard has put all of his craft into every single aspect of the album, having self produced each track as well. Alongside this, he brings the album into 2023 and beyond, experimenting with his sound and pushing the boundaries of the genre of grime. It's a very heavy listen, covering some dark topics regarding his mental health, and every single one of the 60 minutes of its duration gives you something to think about. The journey that this album takes you on is like no other that we've seen in the grime scene to date. It's an essential listen for any grime fan and for people who want to hear new sounds and emotions that people don't talk about but everyone experiences. Personally, this album is right up there as my favourite of the year so far and could be called a masterpiece. It demonstrates the mental chaos of dealing with anxiety and depressive bouts, whilst still having the control over the music and the record that is needed for an album to translate to the listeners. I urge everyone reading this to take an hour, sit down and just take in the sounds that this LP offers because you will not regret it at all.

I couldn't not get an interview with the man himself, as I had a lot of questions regarding the process of making this album and I'm sure you all do as well. Read the interview below and make sure to pick up a physical copy of the album on Blizzard's Bandcamp!

How do you think you’ve defined your sound on this album?

For me it’s all about honesty and integrity - as I’ve got older I’ve realised I’ve got a less to prove and I don’t need to make music for the sake of being universally liked - in the past when I’ve made music with that purpose, it’s been the music I’ve been the least satisfied with when I’ve revisited it later down the line. But this is just me in my rawest form, my most vulnerable. I’ve got more comfortable with experimentation due to not worrying any more about how it’s perceived. Of course I want people to like it but that’s secondary to me, as long as I make a body of work that I can safely say: “yes, that was true to me”, that’s all that matters.

What are your writing methods when making a record as deep and as emotional as this?

A lot of introspection, a lot of therapy, a lot of feeling uncomfortable and worried. I’m not very good at emotions when I’m not putting it in a written format. I showed the project to my wife and even she was impressed with how deep I managed to get!

How were you able to get across your messages on this album?

Half way through the project I realised it was going to be an album and not just an EP, before that I was just going track by track and just going with what felt right to me. Because I record and produce everything in my flat, I’m at my most natural anyway. When I realised that the music I was coming out with was all following a similar theme, that’s when I decided to go the full yard and work on a full hour of material. I wanted the project to feel like a diary, so I just went through a bit of a mental journey to see what hadn’t been included and made some songs around those topics, leaving nothing to ambiguity, and that’s how Demons became what it is today.

What was the most important song to make for you?

For me probably it was Sleeping in the Spare Room and Hospital Bed. Those are the ones where I feel people will take a lot from them as it’s the kind of stuff everybody goes through in their adult life, but you don’t hear music touching on those topics. Everybody goes through mental health episodes whether they admit it or not, and if you’re in a long term relationship you’re going to have arguments and disagreements where it feels like everything is crumbling. But those experiences make you stronger and you can always look back at those moments and learn from how you reacted. These tracks were legitimately written during those moments and they’re not retrospective flashbacks. I wrote Hospital Bed in a hospital bed and I wrote Sleeping in the Spare Room whilst in a very bad patch with my wife. They’re snapshots to real situations and not reminiscing on something with fresh eyes. That’s how you get the real gems.

You speak honestly about your disgruntled feelings towards the music scene on this album. What would you like to see change, not just with your recognition but with the scene as a whole?

I’d like it if people focused on the music more and not the brand. Music to me has become so business centric and transactional and it taints the material. In my opinion, if people still listened to albums as they were intended, a whole complete body of work, rather than singles and 1 minute videos on social media, I think we’d appreciate music more as a whole and the craft/energy it takes to create art.

Finally, what would you say is the main takeaway from this album?

Don’t be afraid. If you’re going through something, you’re not alone. I could’ve chosen a different path where I didn’t advocate for mental health and just went the generic route, pushing music out that I didn’t expect to have shelf life, but it’s not something I want to do. Maybe it’s because I create everything from the beats up, I have a lot of pride about getting things right and I feel like a mental health driven project at this point in my life made the most sense. This is a swan song to my 20s which was a very clumsy and uncomfortable period where I had no sense of identity or understanding of my greater purpose, and I genuinely think it’s my best work I’ve ever done. And anybody can do it. Our minds go through turmoil and trauma every day and rather than suppress it i felt it right to be documented.