Life's Blood was an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band formed by four first-year college students in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 musician, poster artist, graphic designer an ...

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 enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

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 the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

'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 wa ...

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

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

, and played 26 shows throughout New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. 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, is an American post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area. History The original name of the band was Lunchmeat which was formed by high school students Bobby Sullivan, Chris Thomson, Scott M ...

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. Though Born Against received little media exposure while still together, they have since been described as "legendary" by the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ...

with

Sam McPheeters Sam McPheeters (born 1969) is an American singer, 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 collect ...

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, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

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

, Sinking Body and

Men's Recovery Project Men's Recovery Project was an American experimental noise rock band formed by Sam McPheeters and Neil Burke in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1993–2002. The group's post-modern absurdist musical attitude resulted in a diverse and consisten ...

. 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 punk, hardcore music, and covers them ...

. 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 online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...

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 (state), New York, New Jersey, Vi ...

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. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

compilation ''

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

'' 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 Thi ...

, 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