Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Bl'ast! - Whirlwind Demo



Label: Bootleg
Year: 1990(?)

I've been on a Bl'ast! kick lately for reasons not entirely known. The obvious guess would be; Bl'ast! fucking slay, why wouldn't you be on a Bl'ast! kick? And while the merits of this assumption are not totally without grounds, I have to probe a little deeper to really ascertain the basis of my current mania (a Manic Ride per chance?). I don't know dudes (and that one girl who may be out there), I really don't. 
This is one of those bands that I turn to when I want to hear hardcore music. It's basically, Black Flag, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Bl'ast!. Surely, I also rely heavily on Minor Threat, TSOL, Dead Kennedys, DOA, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, and on and on, but those first three are the ones that really speak to the "hardcore dude" still circle pitting round the insides of my brain. 
Ridiculous? Absolutely.
And then there are those who say, "why bother with Bl'ast! when you already have Black Flag?". I don't speak to those people. They don't get "it". Or at least, they don't get "it" enough. 
Bl'ast! were fantastic. 'Nuff said. 
Towards the end of their run, after the classic lineup had fallen away, and just before the band splintered into Spaceboy and Blackspot (later L'ab), they were starting to get away from the Black Flag-isms that defined their early material, and they recorded this demo, along with a couple others. It probably won't be what you expect if you know the band already, but that's kinda the point of the post right? I could post the albums, but that'd be too easy. Maybe one day, but today ain't that day. Today you get this weird fucking demo from a band about to implode. Merry Christmas!
Also, I couldn't resist including the photo of Rob "The Barn" Roskopp hoisting that huge head of his over Bl'ast! playing on the hip of the Combi pool. Classic.

DL 


7 comments:

Unknown said...

I got this album a while back. Those guys were so badass.

e normous said...

I keep hearing them mentioned in relation to Annihilation Time, who kick ass, so B'last must also be good. Do you like Annihilation Time?

James Joyce said...

It looks like Rob is about to bail on that cover, just like his 540s in Wheels of Fire.

ChrisC said...

Saw these guys a couple of times, always liked em.....

Druffmaul said...

Man, thanks for posting this. I've been a Blast fan since Power of Expression and I go on a "Blast kick" probably at least once a year. Back around '91/'92 I knew a guy who had all of their post-Manic Ride demos, and he offered me copies. But at the time, I was so turned off that I said no thanks. A few years later I really regretted that and I've been looking for them ever since.

I still hear a lot of Flag in this stuff. It just sounds more influenced by In My Head instead of Damaged.

Daniel said...

Fuck ya'...I had that Santa Cruz/Bl'ast poster,killer!!!!

richardstempkoski said...

Greetings, Can you please repost a new link? Been looking for this demo for a long time.

Thanks, Rich.

 
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