BlöödHag was an American

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Self-described by the genre "edu-core", the group played short songs with lyrics consisting of biographical and bibliographical information, observations, and abstractions of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, and seminal

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

authors.

History

BlöödHag was formed in 1996 as a two-piece, four-track recording project with Dr. J.M. McNulty on guitar and Professor Jake Stratton singing but soon added Sir Zachary Orgel on bass and a drum machine dubbed "Philthy 'The Drum Machine' Taylor". After playing local Seattle clubs for 2 years, BlöödHag added live drummer Rodd Karp who was subsequently replaced by Ambassador Brent Carpenter. BlöödHag was accredited by the King County Library System as fitting the criteria for a literacy program. BlöödHag has embarked on several tours of libraries in the Pacific Northwest, as well as playing in traditional music venues. BlöödHag has since toured libraries all around the country including

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

/ St. Paul,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The band played at the 2004

Nebula Awards The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

in Seattle, Washington. In 2006, the band was signed to the

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

label who released their full-length CD and record entitled ''

Hell Bent For Letters ''Hell Bent for Letters'' is the second full-length album by the Seattle, Washington-based literary-metal band BlöödHag. It is their first release for Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. It was produced and recorded by the band's guit ...

''. Members of the band have subsequently had some of their short fiction published in the compendium, ''Mecca, Mettle'', a collaboration with

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nomination ...

and

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

-winning artist

Tim Kirk Tim Kirk is both a professional artist and an American fan artist. He worked as a senior designer at Tokyo DisneySea, as an Imagineer for the Walt Disney company. He began his professional art career during the mid-1970s as an illustrator at ...

. ''Mecca, Mettle'' is published by Payseur & Schmidt. From 2009-2010, BlöödHag stopped touring and slowed their schedule of live performances. Their last show was held on April 9, 2010, at the Seattle club, The Funhouse, alongside the groups Captured! by Robots from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and Stovokor from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Media

The documentary, ''BlöödHag: The Faster You Go Deaf…The More Time You Have To Read'', premiered at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Film Festival in 2001. It won the Audience Award for best short at the San Francisco Independent Documentary Film Festival and was chosen by The

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

(YALSA) as one of the top DVDs and Videos for Young Adults for 2003. The documentary has been shown on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

stations in the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. BlöödHag has been featured in ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' (''Northwest Life'' main story Sep 20, 2002), ''

The Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'', '' The Stranger'', and '' The Rocket''. They have been featured nationally on the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Newswire, ''

The Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practi ...

'', '' American Libraries'', ''

Flagpole Magazine ''Flagpole Magazine'', often abbreviated to simply ''Flagpole'', is an American alternative newsweekly that focuses on the cultural, liberal scene of Athens, Georgia, and its surrounding communities. Athens is known in Georgia and nationally ...

'', ''

The San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

'', ''

Thrasher Magazine ''Thrasher'' is a skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello. The publication consists primarily of skateboard- and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews. The magazine also ...

'', and ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

''. A library show in Bellevue, Washington, was the subject of an NPR ''Weekend Edition'' report. Internationally, BlöödHag has been the subject of stories on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, Canadian AP Newswire, and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (London). On August 18, 2017, Stratton allegedly teased media personality Alex Jones as Jones broadcast live video from Seattle. Stratton or a person resembling him was filmed throwing a thermos of tepid coffee at Jones. Subsequently, Stratton told Jones and his Infowars live audience, "I got to get to work. Where they have more coffee." Jones proceeded to confront other people on the street.Will Worley, Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones mocked by police 'after having boiling coffee thrown in his face', The Independent, August 19 2017.
/ref>

Members

In keeping with the literary theme, the band has conferred upon themselves both academic titles and bibliographic histories: *Dr. J.M. McNulty ( Deus Ex Libris the Plagiarazor) ‒ guitar *Professor J. B. Stratton (a.k.a. Grimoire the Expectorator) ‒ vocals *Sir Zachary Orgel (a.k.a. Logos the Rythmaticist) ‒ bass *Ambassador Brent Carpenter (a.k.a. Codex 23 the Chronomaster) ‒ drums

Former members

*Lieutenant Governor Rodd Karp (a.k.a. Lexikhan the Chronomaster) ‒ drums

Featured authors

Some of the authors to have been featured in songs include the following: *

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowshi ...

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

* Robert A. Heinlein * Anne McCaffrey * Michael Moorcock *

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also e ...

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

* Roger Zelazny *

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

* Thomas Pynchon *

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work exp ...

Select discography

Albums

*2001: ''Necrotic Bibliophilia'' (Rock & Roleplay) *2006: ''

Hell Bent for Letters ''Hell Bent for Letters'' is the second full-length album by the Seattle, Washington-based literary-metal band BlöödHag. It is their first release for Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. It was produced and recorded by the band's guit ...

'' (Alternative Tentacles) *''Appetite for Deconstruction'' ‒ unreleased tapes

Singles/EPs

*1997: ''The Dewey Decibel System'' (Spork!) *1998: ''Hooked On Demonics'' (Spork!) *1999: ''Gorgeous Ladies of Writing'' (Rock & Roleplay)

Compilations

*1997: Blue Collar, Muscle Bitches, Inertia, BlöödHag, pro' ton (n.) ‒ ''New World Hors D'oeuvres (Volume One)'' (Extravertigo Recordings) *2005: BlöödHag, Thomas M. Disch And X's For Eyes ‒ ''Mecca, Mettle'' (Payseur & Schmidt)

References

External links

Official website
(SFWA Bulletin, Winter 2002)
Myspace profileBlöödHag discography at discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodhag Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1996 Alternative Tentacles artists