Blood Feast
Blood Feast was a heavy thrash band from New Jersey. Their self-financed first album was called "Kill for Pleasure." Soon after it's debut Blood Feast went into the
recording studio once again for their second album, an EP entitled "Face Fate," on New Renaissance records. 1990's "Chopping Block Blues" was the bands last
recording, however in 1999 Blood Feast reunited to play various shows including the Milwaukee Metalfest.

Kill for Pleasure Blood Feast - Kill for Pleasure (New Renaissance) 1987

1. "Menacing Thunder" (4:29)
2. "Kill for Pleasure" (3:11)
3. "Cannibal" (4:03)
4. "Vampire" (5:11)
5. "Bloodlust" (4:39)
6. "Suicidal Mission" (5:02)
7. "Venomous Death" (3:58)
8. "The Evil" (3:28)
9. "Darkside" (3:53)
10. "R.I.P." (3:06)

"Kill for Pleasure" was Blood Feast's first recording. It was self financed and very roughly recorded. I was in college when this came out. My roommate at the time was working at the college radio station and was bringing home all sorts of free stuff. One day he brought in a big 'ol box from New Renaissance that included a vinyl copy of this debut. At the time we thought it was musically very cool. After all, who the heck listened to thrash for production values. If it was meant to sound clean they wouldn't have called it thrash. Musically the band was about speed and aggression taking as much of their influences from bands like the Misfits and the Dead Kennedys as they were from any metal bands. (Not unlike Dark Angel or early Sepultura) Well, my roommate gave this thing lots of radio play despite the poor production. Lyrically this band was typical for the times with tongue-in-cheek lyrics about death and evil in society. The upside down cross in the logo gave us the impression that they would have the typical Venom type lyrics, but this was not the case. The cover and logo were obviously used for shock value. Anyhow, Blood Feast built this cult following. This disc was finally re-released on cd a few years later. Copies were selling on eBay for close to $50 for a while but in 1999 a limited, numbered edition of this disc was re-released. Mine is #336.

Face Fate Blood Feast - Face Fate (New Renaissance) 1988

1. "Face Fate" (3:16)
2. "Blood Lust" (4:24)
3. "R.I.P." (3:09)
4. "Vampire" (5:09)

More horror incrusted thrash metal from the Jersey boys. This time around the production is stepped up a bit, but the underground punk ethic is still present. The music here is still comparable to that of early Slayer. This cd re-issue contains a short bio written by New Renaissance Records owner Ann Boleyn, who was responsible for signing these guys in the mid-80's. Apparently the reason this EP was released so soon after the release of their full length album was because the release of the debut was delayed for an extended period of time. Because of this the band had a bunch of new material they wanted to release, so instead they just released this four song EP. I found it interesting that their release was delayed because of the lawsuit against the Dead Kennedys. Ann gives an overview of the lawsuit and adds in some personal comments about the protection of free speech. She mentions that the lawsuit was about the album 'Frankenchrist' and that the charges stemmed from laws about distributing 'harmful materials to minors.' What she failed to mention was that the band was being sued, not because of their lyrics, music, or cover art, but because the album included a poster collage of several male sex organs inserted into the female sex organs. (Tried to say that tactfully.) One of the male's had a condom on, so as I recall, the band attempted to say they were promoting safe sex. OK! Whatever! In any case, because the distribution company was listed in the lawsuit, the Bloodfeast record was delayed. The cd re-issue was released as a limited, hand-numbered edition. My copy is 741.

Chopping Block Blues Blood Feast - Chopping Block Blues (Restless/Enigma) 1989

1. "The Last Remains" (3:26)
2. "Hunted, Stalked & Slain" (4:11)
3. "Chopping Block Blues" (4:13)
4. "Hitler Painted Roses" (3:09)
5. "Dropping Like Flies" (4:39)
6. "Born Innocent" (6:20)
7. "Turn to Dust" (6:17)
8. "The Chemically Imbalanced" (3:44)
9. "Spasmodic" (3:38)
10. "Remnants" (4:03)

I always thought of these guys as Slayer with a sense of humor. Imagine the riffs of early Slayer mixed with the humor of Anthrax and gory lyrics of death, guts, and blood. Early on the band even went for the whole cliché Satanic image, even using the upside down cross in their logo. By this, their last (?) disc, they dropped the entire charade and spent more time trying to be as gruesome as possible. Take a gander at the cover art which features the beheaded band members holding their craniums in their hands while a crow picks at their bloody innards. Musically though, if you can get past the Night of the Living Dead lyrics, this album contains some serious thrash riffs and even offers a small bit of social commentary in the lyrics, if you search hard enough.

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