Blood Axis

Blood Axis is an American Neofolk/Post-industrial band consisting of journalist and author Michael Moynihan, music producer Robert Ferbrache and musician and author Annabel Lee.[1]
Contents[hide] * 1 Overview * 1.1 Early Blood Axis (1989-1999) * 1.2 Contemporary Blood Axis (2000-present) * 2 Discography * 2.1 Albums * 2.2 Collaborations and split releases * 2.3Witch-Hunt: The Rites of Samhain * 3 References * 4 External links |
[edit] Overview
[edit] Early Blood Axis (1989-1999)
Moynihan formed Blood Axis in 1989 after touring Japan at the request of experimental music pioneer, Boyd Rice. Moynihan had previously founded Coup de Grace, a multimedia project that produced live performances and cassettes and also released booklets of images and texts,the last of which was Friedrich Nietzsche's The Antichrist.[2] The first output from the new appellation were two songs, "Lord of Ages" (employing lyrics from Rudyard Kipling's poem on Mithras [3]) and "Electricity", which appeared on a German music sampler. These tracks were well received in Europe and were followed by two more songs that appeared on the seminal compilation, Im Blutfeuer.[4]
In1995, Moynihan released the first full length studio LP, The Gospel of Inhumanity with the help of Robert Ferbrache.[5] The album wedded the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Sergei Prokofiev with modern electronics. Moynihan implemented a recording of Ezra Pound reading from his The Cantos.[6] He also included lyrics from Nietzsche and Longfellow [7] as well as his own to the work. The albumbegins with a sample from the decisive final sequence of the film The Wicker Man.
After the release of The Gospel of Inhumanity, Blood Axis acquired Moynihan's partner Annabel Lee, previously of Amber Asylum, as a permanent member contributing vocals, violin, viola, accordion and various other instruments. This resulted in a considerably less electronic sound, a larger focus on Germanic polytheismand a more acoustic folk-based approach as well as covers of traditional recordings, particularly from Ireland, and continued use of historical European references. The first appearance of these changes took place in 1997, when Blood Axis played a concert for the tenth anniversary of Cold Meat Industry, a Swedish record label. The band consisted of Michael Moynihan (vocals, bodhrán), Annabelle Lee(melodeon, electric violin) and Robert Ferbrache (guitars, keyboards).[8] The performance was recorded, and later remastered and released as BLOT: Sacrifice in Sweden.
[edit] Contemporary Blood Axis (2000-present)
This period saw Blood Axis playing live shows in Portugal as well as various appearances with In Gowan Ring, whose main member, B'eirth, Blood Axis have appeared with as Witch-Huntplaying largely traditional Irish folk music[citation needed]. Out of this collaboration, they released the album Witch-Hunt: The Rites of Samhain, in 2001. During the same time, they produced a collaborative album with French artist Les Joyaux De La Princesse elaborating on the theme of absinthe appearing on The Gospel of Inhumanity. The album, entitled Absinthe - La Folie Verte, came in deluxeeditions relating to the Parisian use of absinthe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This material was largely experimental, neoclassical and post-industrial in sound[citation needed].
In 2005, Blood Axis released a lyrically modified cover of Brian Pearson's The Ride, to a 2005 compilation entitled Looking For Europe[citation needed]. 2005 also saw Blood Axis play the German Flammenzauberfestival, showcasing reworked live versions of several previously released songs, an amount of Irish folk songs and the live debut of a few new songs.[9] They also made an unusual appearance in New York City on Easter Sunday (called the "Black Easter" concert) alongside Changes and two other bands, in what was their first, and what Moynihan himself said on stage would likely be their last,...