Blast (stylized as BL'AST!) is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. After breaking up in 1991, they reunited in 2001 and again in 2013. To date, Blast has released three original studio albums (the latest being 1989's ''Take the Manic Ride''), and they have gone through several lineup changes, leaving vocalist Clifford Dinsmore and guitarist Mike Neider as the only constant members.

History

Blast released their first album, ''The Power of Expression'', in 1986. They recorded the album three times before releasing it. They first were signed by Green World Records. Blast caught the attention of

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

, who signed them for their next release, 1987's ''It's in My Blood''. That same year, a 7-inch was released, including a cover of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's " School's Out". They also were releasing new music on Santa Cruz Skateboard videos. SST and Santa Cruz Skateboards began shared videos and merchandise bridged by Blast as Neider had worked for the skateboard company for many years. The band's third release for SST was ''Take the Manic Ride'', released in 1989. Blast broke up in 1991 while working on their next album. Neider and Torgerson began Blackout, releasing one 7-inch under that name, and then LAB, who put out a 7-inch EP and a four-song CD and continued into the late 1990s, playing many shows with

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. Former

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...

and Fu Manchu drummer

Brant Bjork Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along with ...

moved to Santa Cruz to briefly join LAB before joining up with Fu Manchu. In 2001, Blast reunited for shows on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. On September 3, 2013,

Southern Lord Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include arti ...

and

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

released a remixed and remastered version of ''It's in My Blood'', titled ''Blood!''. Following that release, original vocalist Clifford Dinsmore and guitarist Mike Neider recruited bassist

Chuck Dukowski Gary Arthur McDaniel (born February 1, 1954 ), better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician most well known for being the bass player, and occasional songwriter for Black Flag. Career Early years Dukowski ...

and drummer

to a new Blast EP ''For Those Who've Graced The Fire'', which was released on Rise Records. Mike Neider and Clifford Dinsmore have recruited bassist

Nick Oliveri Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...

and drummer

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

to a new Blast lineup, with plans to tour and record new material.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Power of Expression'' (1986) * ''It's in My Blood'' (1987) * ''Take The Manic Ride'' (1989) * ''Blood!'' (2013) * ''The Expression of Power'' (2014)

EPs and singles

* ''For Those Who've Graced the Fire'' (2015) * ''BL'AST! / eyehategod split'' (2016)

Demos

* ''Whirlwind'' (1991)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1983 establishments in California Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 SST Records artists