Blood Has Been Shed was an American
metalcore
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band based in
Granby, Connecticut
Granby is a town in northern Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 10,903 at the 2020 United States cen ...
. The band came together in 1997 and has featured members of
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...
,
Diecast,
Light the Torch
Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (n ...
,
Red Tide
A harmful algal bloom (HAB), or excessive algae growth, sometimes called a red tide in marine environments, is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, water deoxygenation, ...
,
Terror,
Walls of Jericho,
Bury Your Dead
Bury Your Dead is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The current lineup is guitarist Chris Towning, lead vocalist Mat Bruso, drummer Mark Castillo, and bassist Aaron Patrick. To date, they have had eight relea ...
,
The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain is an American deathcore band that was founded in 2001 and originally based in Chicopee, Massachusetts, but now based in Albany, New York. The group is currently signed to Rise Records and initially consisted of high school f ...
,
On Bodies, and
As Friends Rust
As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez, and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, F ...
. Blood Has Been Shed has released three full-length albums—''I Dwell on Thoughts of You'' (1998), ''Novella of Uriel'' (2001) and ''
Spirals
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects.
Two-dimensional
A two-dimension ...
'' (2003)—and was signed to
Ferret Music
Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by metalcore band NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an ...
and
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
. The band was a frequent performer at metal festivals
Hellfest
Hellfest (), also known as Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...
and the
New England Metal and Hardcore Festival
The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival is an annual festival held in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The weekend-long concert of heavy metal and hardcore punk bands along with a merchandising and promotional area for record labels ...
.
Though Blood Has Been Shed never announced a formal breakup, it is generally considered to be inactive since 2005. The band has not performed a concert since April 2005 (at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival),
has ceased to publish any news since August 2005 (the announcement of their cancelled UK mini-tour)
and has not released material since October 2005 (Roadrunner Records' Japanese release of ''Spirals/Novella of Uriel'' double-album compact disc).
The band's dissolution is usually attributed to two of its members' then-obligations to Killswitch Engage.
Blood Has Been Shed has announced several plans to perform reunion shows and release new material over the years, but none have come to fruition.
History
The members of Blood Has Been Shed had previously come together under the name Release in 1993 and were based in Columbus, Ohio. In 1995, the band relocated to Granby, Connecticut (where guitarist Corey Unger was originally from) and renamed itself Driven. Driven recorded a sixteen-song self-titled album in 1996, which was self-released on cassette tape. One of the songs from this recording session was also used on a four-way split 7-inch vinyl with
Bane
Bane may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman
* Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series
* Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy
* Bane the Druid, a Gua ...
, Capgun and The Rolemodels, released through Somers, Connecticut-based record label Solution Records in early 1997.
In December 1996, Driven's original drummer departed and the band opted to start a side-project named Veiled, which saw Driven's bassist John Lynch switch to playing drums. Veiled played a handful of shows throughout 1997. By the end of the year, the members decided to resume Driven, merging both Driven and Veiled songs into a single band, but opted for another name change. Blood Has Been Shed was officially started at the end of 1997. The band played its first show as Blood Has Been Shed on February 28, 1998, at the Hanover House in
Meridan, Connecticut opening for
Candiria
Candiria is an American band from Brooklyn, New York, mixing progressive metal, metalcore, jazz fusion and hip hop. They are part of the precursors of the mathcore genre with bands like Deadguy or Lethargy.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in N ...
, Ground Zero, Torn Between and Tinstarwill.
Blood Has Been Shed recorded their debut album, ''I Dwell on Thoughts of You'', in 1998. It was self-released on compact disc in the summer of 1998, and was eventually picked up for distribution through Very Distribution, and later in 1999, by
Ferret Music
Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by metalcore band NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an ...
. One of their big breaks came when they opened for death metal band
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
at Club Infinity in Springfield, Massachusetts on April 18, 1999. After several line-up changes, the band recruited bassist
Richard Thurston
Richard Thurston (born January 6, 1973) is an American musician. He notably performed in such hardcore and metalcore bands as Timescape Zero, Culture, Blood Has Been Shed, Until the End, Diecast, Terror, Walls of Jericho, On Bodies and A ...
(formerly of Florida metalcore bands
Timescape Zero and
Culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
), with whom they wrote and recorded their sophomore album ''Novella of Uriel''.
Its release was delayed considerably, during which time Thurston switched to guitar (the band recruiting bassist Joseph Krewko), then departed, and was replaced by guitarist Daniel Daponde. Thurston immediately joined
Diecast, and later played in such bands as
One Nation Under,
Terror,
Walls of Jericho,
On Bodies, and
As Friends Rust
As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez, and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, F ...
.
During the summer 2000, the band toured with
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...
.
Ferret Music ultimately released ''Novella of Uriel'' on February 7, 2001. The band toured heavily throughout 2001 and 2002, which included stretches of shows with Killswitch Engage,
Twelve Tribes,
Every Time I Die
Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams, ...
,
Martyr A.D.
Martyr A.D. is an American metalcore band formed in late 1999 from former members of the band Disembodied. Joel Johnson (guitar), Tara Johnson (bass) and Justin Kane (drums) joined with newcomers Charlie Johnson (guitar) and Mike Fisketti (vo ...
and
Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in October 1995. The band broke up in April 2007, less than a year after their major label debut was released through Epic and Trustkill Records. After over a ...
. Blood Has Been Shed also made their first of three appearances at Hellfest, performing on Sunday, July 8, 2001, on the Second Stage of
Hellfest 2001.
In September 2001, drummer John Lynch returned to playing bass when Blood Has Been Shed recruited
Justin Foley, formerly of
Red Tide
A harmful algal bloom (HAB), or excessive algae growth, sometimes called a red tide in marine environments, is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, water deoxygenation, ...
, on drums. The band then began writing and recording new material for a planned EP to be released in early 2002; this EP was however shelved. In April 2002, Blood Has Been Shed toured with
Poison the Well,
American Nightmare and
From Autumn to Ashes
From Autumn to Ashes is an American post-hardcore band based in Long Island, New York. The group formed in 2000 under the name Who's to Blame. While the band had gone through many lineup changes, the members include Francis Mark (lead vocals, ...
.
In June 2002, Blood Has Been Shed's vocalist
Howard Jones joined Killswitch Engage, replacing their original singer
Jesse Leach. Blood Has Been Shed and Killswitch Engage both performed at
Hellfest 2002 (Jones' first show with Killswitch Engage). Killswitch Engage performed on Friday, July 12, 2002, on the B Stage while Blood Has Been Shed performed on Sunday, July 14, 2002, on the C Stage. Killswitch Engage's heavy touring schedule and obligations to major record label
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
forced Blood Has Been Shed to slow down considerably. Unger wrote most of the band's third release ''
Spirals
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects.
Two-dimensional
A two-dimension ...
'' while Jones was touring with Killswitch Engage.
''Spirals'' was released through Ferret Music on June 27, 2003 and the band briefly toured in support of the album with
Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of guitarists Jon Donais and ...
,
God Forbid
God Forbid is an American metalcore band formed in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. Initially breaking up in 2013, they have been semi-active since reuniting in 2022.
History Early career (1996–2004) ...
,
Walls of Jericho and
Full Blown Chaos
Full Blown Chaos is a metalcore band from Floral Park, Queens, New York. According to the band, their whole direction "is to keep a wide range of music, not to necessarily pigeonhole ourselves into metal or hardcore". They are well respected i ...
, whenever holes in Killswitch Engage's schedule permitted. Blood Has Been Shed also made their third and final appearance at
Hellfest 2K3, performing on Friday, July 4, 2003, on Stage A. In mid-October 2003, the band filmed a music video for the single "She Speaks to Me" with director Jason Arambulo. The music video was filmed only a few days before Justin Foley joined Killswitch Engage as their new drummer, shortly before the recording of their album ''
The End of Heartache''. The music video for "She Speaks to Me" premiered on
Fuse's television program
''Uranium'' on January 21, 2004.
The music video was later included on Roadrunner Records' Various Artists DVD compilation ''Roadrage 2005'', released on September 12, 2005.
Also in January 2004, Ferret Music signed a deal with Roadrunner Records to license ''Spirals'' for the United Kingdom.
The Roadrunner Records re-issue was however delayed until Blood Has Been Shed was able to honor a tour of the United Kingdom. During the delay, the release was upgraded to a double-album compact disc release, combining ''Spirals'' with ''Novella of Uriel''.
Initially announced for release on March 28, 2005, ''Spirals/Novella Of Uriel'' was pushed back by a week to April 4, 2005, and featured an updated artwork comprising both original artworks.
The band performed at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival's Second Stage on Saturday, April 23, 2005 (this later turned out to be the band's last show).
Blood Has Been Shed announced a three-day mini-tour of the United Kingdom with dates in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
from September 28–30, 2005.
The UK mini-tour was however cancelled on August 1, 2005, citing conflicts with Killswitch Engage's touring schedule.
Killswitch Engage was however not booked to play any shows during the month of September 2005, nor for the first half of October 2005. On October 12, 2005, Roadrunner Records released the ''Spirals/Novella of Uriel'' double-album compact disc set in Japan.
The Japanese release coincided with Killswitch Engage's
Taste of Chaos Tour which took them to Japan and was part of a 3-CD promotional campaign, paired with Killswitch Engage's ''
The End of Heartache'' and ''
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...
'' remastered re-issues.
The band did not announce any formal breakup and no news have since been published.
Band members
Final members
*
Howard Jones – vocals
* Corey Unger – lead guitar, backing vocals , rhythm guitar
* John Lynch – bass , drums
*
Justin Foley – drums
Former members
*Shane Uras – drums
*Chris Alibrio – bass
*Todd Beaton – rhythm guitar
*Samson Contompasis – bass
*
Richard Thurston
Richard Thurston (born January 6, 1973) is an American musician. He notably performed in such hardcore and metalcore bands as Timescape Zero, Culture, Blood Has Been Shed, Until the End, Diecast, Terror, Walls of Jericho, On Bodies and A ...
– bass , rhythm guitar
*Joseph Krewko – bass
*Daniel Daponde – rhythm guitar , bass
*Dave Sharpe – rhythm guitar
*David Sroka – rhythm guitar
*Brendan MacDonald – rhythm guitar
*Josh Venn – rhythm guitar
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
* ''I Dwell on Thoughts of You'' (1998)
* ''Novella of Uriel'' (2001)
* ''
Spirals
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects.
Two-dimensional
A two-dimension ...
'' (2003)
Compilation albums
* ''Spirals/Novella of Uriel'' (2005)
Singles
* "She Speaks to Me" (2004)
References
External links
Myspace
{{Authority control
American mathcore musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
Musical groups reestablished in 2012
American musical quartets
Heavy metal musical groups from Connecticut
Ferret Music artists
Metalcore musical groups from Connecticut
1997 establishments in Connecticut