BL'AST!: An Unreleased Recording Session Brought To Life By Dave Grohl Set For September Release Via Southern Lord
As
far as stories of lost and found recorded material go, few tales can be told
where all the pieces of the puzzle come together in fortunate ways, resulting in
a brand new recording that surprised even the band
themselves.
Having
formed in 1982, infamous Santa Cruz hardcore legends BL’AST! released
their first album, The Power of
Expression in 1985. This debut blew everyone away and went on to
become one of the highly sought after, “must- have” hardcore albums of the ‘80s.
BL'AST! was beyond intense, continually pushing the boundaries of
hardcore with their advanced musicianship, unstoppable energetic delivery and
explosive live performances. This overwhelming power caught the attention of SST
records, who released the band's second album, It’s In My Blood in 1987.
Their third LP, Take The Manic Ride, was then released by the label in
1989. BL'AST!'s wide-eyed, ambitious approach and intense perseverance
became an influence for many bands to come. Shortly after the release of Take
The Manic Ride, the band
broke up and their story was buried by time and dust....UNTIL NOW!
Earlier
this year BL'AST! guitarist Mike Neider contacted Southern Lord with news that he had
found some mysterious old BL'AST! master tapes in a abandoned storage
locker. Greg Anderson, a BL'AST! fanatic, wasted no time in sending the
tapes to a studio to be baked. Needless to say, after 25 years gathering dust,
the quality had deteriorated. Still, nobody could have anticipated what would
follow. With the audio digitized, Southern Lord contacted fellow longtime
BL'AST! fiend, Dave Grohl about mixing this recording, his
response was an enthusiastic “FUCK YEAH!, LETS DO
THIS”!
Whilst
inside Grohl's famous 606 Studios (and with the Neve console as featured in the
recent Grohl produced documentary Sound City) an astonishing discovery was made;
a completely unheard, unreleased BL'AST! recording session from the
mid-‘80s.
The
lineup of the band at the time of the recording included second guitarist
William Duvall (from Neon Christ, and now the current vocalist for Alice In
Chains) who had moved from his hometown of Atlanta out to Santa Cruz on a tip
from mutual friends, Corrosion of Conformity, to join the band. Unfortunately,
his tenure with BL'AST! was short-lived and no recordings from that
lineup were ever released.
From
the thunderous bass intro of “Only Time Will Tell” to the apocalyptic warnings
of “It’s In My Blood,” the album completely rips and rages from start to finish.
All parties involved were completely amazed at how vibrant, unique and fresh
this newly-discovered material sounded. All things considered, it is miraculous
the record survived this long and that everyone who was involved in bringing
this recording to life, could be. Everything fell into place, when it could have
easily crumbled along the way. This record is a time capsule that is meant to be
heard!
There
is no doubt in our minds that Blood will be a crucial purchase
for any current hardcore fiend as well as punk/hardcore fans who loved the band
back in the day. START THE
MACHINE!
Blood
will see release via Southern Lord in North America on September 3, 2013. Stay
tuned for further details to be unearthed. For now, check out a brand new visual
trailer including the cover art for Blood and more RIGHT
HERE.
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