Blood Circus was a short-lived band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, formed in 1986 that has been described as

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

. Rock journalist Ned Raggett writing in

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

describes the band's music as "rough and ready, sludgy guitar rock with a bad attitude".

History

The band's first release was a single, 1988's "Two Way Street"/"Six Foot Under", on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

. Both

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

and

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

performed their first shows in Seattle opening for Blood Circus at the Vogue in 1988. In 1989 Sub Pop released the band's first and only album, a five-track EP called '' Primal Rock Therapy'' which, despite being now recognised as a milestone record of that time and place, was at the time panned by the critics and ignored by the public. This contributed to the split of the band in 1989 after a North American tour with the French band Les Thugs. Both bands played in San Francisco in June 1989. They briefly reformed in 1992, when Sub Pop re-released ''Primal Rock Therapy'' on CD with five additional unreleased tracks."Blood Circus Enjoys Reunion In Scene They Helped Create"
''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', October 23, 1992. The rerelease comprised almost all of the band's recorded output, except for the song "The Outback", which can be found on the ''

Sub Pop 200 ''Sub Pop 200'' is a compilation released in the early days of the Seattle grunge scene (December 1988). It features songs (all of them first releases and some otherwise unattainable) from Tad, the Fluid, Nirvana, Steven "Jesse" Bernstein, Mudhon ...

'' compilation. The band also briefly appeared in the 1996 film ''

Hype! ''Hype!'' (1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early b ...

'', a documentary about the rise of the Seattle scene. Blood Circus performed a one-off reunion show at Seattle's

Crocodile Cafe The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called The Croc) is a music club at 2505 1st Avenue at Wall Street in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened by Stephanie Dorgan as the "Crocodile Ca ...

in 2007."Where Have You Gone, Michael Anderson of Blood Circus?"
/ref> In April 2012 Geoff Robinson conducted a comprehensive audio interview wit
Music Life Radio
about Blood Circus, and his life. In May 2017 "Six Foot Under" was included on the deluxe reissue of '' Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''.

Discography

* ''Two Way Street/Six Foot Under'' 7" (1988) * '' Primal Rock Therapy'' EP (1988) * ''

'' – "The Outback" (1988) * ''Primal Rock Therapy'' (1992) CD re-release with 5 previously unreleased tracks from 1989. * ''Unreleased Ünd Live'' (2007) CD compilation with 12 previously unreleased live tracks from 1988 to 1989. * ''Dead Beats'' (2020) CD compilation of remastered tracks from Primal Rock Therapy and the Two Way Street / Six Foot Under single. Limited Self-release by the band through Bandcamp.

References

External links

Official Blood Circus WebsiteBlood Circus on Facebook
American sludge metal musical groups American grunge groups Musical groups from Seattle Rock music groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Musical groups reestablished in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 1988 establishments in Washington (state) {{US-rock-band-stub