The Black Box Revelation

Lore & Background

Jan Paternoster and Dries Van Dijck, friends from Dilbeek, began playing together as teenagers in a band called The Mighty Generators, which included Jan's brother Tim Paternoster on vocals and Christoph Marquez on second guitar. Their jam sessions laid the foundation for Black Box Revelation. In 2005, they placed second in Belgium's Humo's Rock Rally contest. The New York Times described their sound as mixing slow bluesy passages with drum-machine beats and overdubbed percussion, creating a 'happy, trashy crash.' They toured Europe with acts such as dEUS, Ghinzu, The Raveonettes, Eagles of Death Metal, and Iggy Pop, and played major festivals including Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, and Sziget Festival.

In June 2008, the band began their first US tour, performing in San Diego, West Hollywood, and New York City. They later played at SXSW and toured the US in June 2011 with the Meat Puppets, at Bonnaroo Music Festival, and on tours with The Morning After Girls and Meat Puppets. Their debut EP *Introducing: The Blackbox Revelation* (2006) was met with unanimous Belgian press enthusiasm, leading to many club gigs and festival appearances at Dour and Pukkelpop.

Their debut album *Set Your Head on Fire* was produced by Triggerfinger drummer Mario Goossens, mixed by Greg Gordon, and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Over 30,000 copies were downloaded in Belgium alone. The single 'I Think I Like You' topped radio charts and was later licensed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Their second album *Silver Threats* reached number one on the Flemish Ultratop chart in February 2010, and the band won two Music Industry Awards in Flanders in 2010 for Best Live Act and Best Rock/Alternative music. Their third album *My Perception* was recorded with Alain Johannes in Hollywood and released worldwide on 30 September 2011, supported by US label Merovee Records, partially owned by David Letterman.

Reader's Guide

Black Box Revelation emerged as a significant force in the Belgian garage rock scene, blending raw blues riffs with punk energy. Their early success, marked by high-charting albums and festival appearances, established them as a prominent live act. The band's ability to cross over into the US market, including tours with Meat Puppets and support from David Letterman's label, highlighted their international appeal. Their music appeared in popular TV shows such as *Entourage* and *Sons of Anarchy*, broadening their reach. While their sound drew comparisons to The White Stripes and The Black Keys, they maintained a distinct identity through their use of varied percussion and bluesy guitar work. Their legacy lies in their energetic performances and the critical and commercial success of their first three albums, which helped define late-2000s garage rock in Europe.

Did You Know?

• The band originally formed from jam sessions of the earlier group The Mighty Generators, which included Jan Paternoster's brother Tim.
• Their debut album *Set Your Head on Fire* was downloaded over 30,000 times in Belgium alone.
• The single 'I Think I Like You' was used by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

From Dilbeek Jam Sessions to the Belgian Stage

Jan Paternoster and Dries Van Dijck were two friends from the Belgian town of Dilbeek who first picked up instruments together at the ages of twelve and fourteen. Alongside Jan's brother Tim on lead vocals and a second guitarist named Christoph Marquez, they called themselves The Mighty Generators. Those early jam sessions in a shared musical space became the creative bedrock for what would later crystallize into Black Box Revelation. Their first major public test came in 2006, when the group entered Belgium's well-known Humo Rock Rally contest. They finished in second place behind The Hickey Underworld and advanced to the quarter-finals, gaining early visibility in the domestic music scene. By 2007 the duo had refined their identity enough to release a debut EP, supported by a music video for the track 'Kill for Peace (And Peace Will Die).' Belgian music journalists responded with near-unanimous enthusiasm, which translated into a steady stream of club bookings. That same summer they found themselves on the stages of Dour and Pukkelpop, two of the country's largest open-air festivals, signaling that a teenage garage-rock project had genuinely broken through.

A Consistent Studio Partnership

The production chain behind Black Box Revelation's first two full-length records reveals a deliberate commitment to a specific sonic palette. Mario Goossens, best known as the drummer for Triggerfinger, produced both Set Your Head on Fire and Silver Threats. Mixing duties fell to Greg Gordon in Los Angeles, an engineer who had previously shaped records for Wolfmother, Jet, and Soulwax. Final mastering was handled in New York by Fred Kevorkian, whose client list included Iggy Pop, U2, and The White Stripes. This trio of collaborators gave the duo's raw garage energy a polished, international sheen without stripping away its reckless edge. Set Your Head on Fire, recorded from mid-2007 onward, crossed thirty thousand downloads in Belgium alone, while Silver Threats, released in February 2010, climbed to the top of the Flemish Ultratop albums chart. For their third album, My Perception, the band shifted to Hollywood and worked with Alain Johannes of Queens of the Stone Age, marking a notable step up in production pedigree while they recorded in Los Angeles.

Crossing the Atlantic

Black Box Revelation's first foray into the United States came in June 2008, with a short run of shows in San Diego, West Hollywood, and New York City. That initial trip opened a door that kept swinging wider over the following years. They returned multiple times for SXSW and, in 2011, undertook a full American tour alongside the Meat Puppets, headlined Bonnaroo Music Festival, and shared the road with The Morning After Girls from mid-September through mid-October. Their third album, My Perception, was backed by the American label Merovee Records, partially owned by talk-show host David Letterman, and the band spent several months on the road opening for major acts including Jane's Addiction and Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye. Back in Europe they had already built a substantial touring résumé, sharing bills with dEUS, Ghinzu, General Fiasco, The Raveonettes, Eagles of Death Metal, and Iggy Pop, and appearing repeatedly at major festivals such as Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Pinkpop, Sziget, and Rock en Seine. The New York Times captured their live energy, noting the duo could dial things back to a slow, bluesy groove yet just as readily pile on drum-machine beats and overdubbed percussion for what the paper called a 'happy, trashy crash.'

Chart Toppers and Television Screens

Recognition for Black Box Revelation arrived from multiple directions simultaneously. In January 2011 the duo collected two Flemish Music Industry Awards, taking home both best Live Act and best Rock/Alternative music. Their second album, Silver Threats, had already hit number one on the Flemish Ultratop in February 2010, and the single 'I Think I Like You' shot to the top of Belgian radio charts. The song's commercial reach extended further when Peter Afterman and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club acquired the rights to use it. Television placements added another layer of visibility: 'Cold Cold Hands' appeared on an episode of Entourage in August 2009, while two tracks from the Silver Threats era, 'I Think I Like You' and 'Where Has All This Mess Begun,' were featured in separate episodes of Sons of Anarchy in October 2011. In June 2012 the band performed 'High on a Wire' live on the Late Show with David Letterman, and the same song later played during an episode of MTV's Teen Wolf. These appearances, spanning comedy, drama, sports, and teen programming, underscored how widely the duo's sound had permeated popular culture beyond the rock-festival circuit.

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