Life's Blood was an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band formed by four first-year college students in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1987. It consisted of Adam Nathanson on guitars,

Neil Burke Neil Burke is an American musician and artist. He is known as a former member of several hardcore punk and noise rock bands, most notably Born Against and Men's Recovery Project. Burke is currently a poster artist, graphic designer and screen ...

on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and Combined Effort all ages shows promoter and

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

editor Jason O'Toole on vocals. They were part of the scene associated with

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

's Sunday matinees and Some Records. Life's Blood gained a loyal following for their aggressive sound that blended East Coast hardcore-punk with melodic

Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was ...

, as well as their intelligent lyrics. Life's Blood played live on

WNYU WNYU-FM (89.1 FM) is a college radio station owned and operated by New York University. Its offices and studios are located at NYU's campus in lower Manhattan. WNYU's main transmitter is located at University Heights in the Bronx, the former lo ...

and

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...

, and played 26 shows throughout New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Life's Blood performed alongside acts including

Sheer Terror Sheer Terror are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band was one of the first to combine elements of heavy metal with a hardcore punk base, pioneering a heavier style of hardcore that would create many bands in the followi ...

, Beyond, Judge, Project X, and

Soulside Soulside, also spelled Soul Side, was an American post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area. The original name of the band was Lunchmeat which was formed by high school students Bobby Sullivan, Chris Thomson, Scott McCloud and A ...

before breaking up in 1989. Nathanson would go on to form

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as being a problem within the p ...

with

Sam McPheeters Sam McPheeters (born 1969) is an American artist, journalist, novelist, and performer. Early life Raised in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York, he became a published author at age 12, with ''Travelers' Tales'', a collection of r ...

on vocals. Kriksciun went on to play drums for Collapse and

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

, among other acts. Burke, an artist who works in visual and audio mediums, played in

, Sinking Body and Men's Recovery Project. In 1992, O'Toole performed and recorded with Factory in a lineup including past and future members of Intent, Hail Mary, Brown Cuts Neighbors and

Limp Wrist Limp Wrist is an American punk rock band, who formed in 1998. Featuring members of Los Crudos, Hail Mary, Devoid of Faith, By the Throat, and Kill the Man Who Questions, the band plays short, fast hardcore music, and covers themes concerning t ...

. In 2011, O'Toole sang for My Rifle on a self-titled EP backed by former members of Our Gang, Hell No, and Absolution, on Wardance Records. This may be the only punk record to receive a glowing review from

Maximumrocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily featur ...

despite the vocalist's 20 years in law enforcement. Life's Blood's songs have been covered live and on recordings by bands from Sweden and Japan as well as American hardcore acts. A notable cover of "It's Not in Your Heart" by MK-ULTRA appeared on the ''Teen Angst'' compilation. Finland's Down My Throat covered "Youth Enrage" on their album ''Real Heroes Die''. Among Life's Blood's recordings are ''Defiance,'' originally on Combined Effort, the

Vermiform Records Vermiform Records was an American independent record label that specialized in releasing punk rock music from 1990 until 2002. Vermiform released 58 albums and relocated many times, being headquartered in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Isl ...

compilation EP ''Murders Among Us'', the

New York Hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

compilation ''

Where the Wild Things Are ''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...

'' on

Blackout Records Blackout! Records is an independent record label which specializes in hardcore punk. It was formed in 1988 by Bill Wilson and Jim Gibson. In 1989, the label released its album, a New York hardcore compilation album entitled ''Where the Wild Thin ...

, the New Breed compilation, a split 7-inch with Sticks And Stones, as well as a rash of bootlegs. Vermiform released a CD containing the original "Defiance" ep along with extra material. Prank Records is releasing the complete Life's Blood discography in early 2016.

References

Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups from New York City {{US-punk-band-stub