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What’s up Sorry Staters?
It’s funny, now that we’re back into the swing of doing a newsletter once a week, all I can think about is how little I have to talk about haha. Last week, I was struggling to squeeze in all the things I’ve been up to. Whether I was talking about being on tour or whatever. This week just feels kinda regular. And that’s okay!
I guess the major bit of news we’re talking about this week is that Sorry State’s 10 Year Anniversary celebration has been announced! As the sole Sorry State employee who’s been here since opening day, I can’t believe 10 years have already gone by. Crazy talk. I’m so excited for us to announce the lineup of bands playing the fest. Along with the 2 days of stacked gigs, we also plan to have some special surprises at the store. I hope that some of you newsletter readers out there are marking your calendars and getting your travel plans sorted out so that we can see ya in October! It’s gonna be killer.
Anyway, for my staff pick this week, I’m gonna talk about this Blood Money reissue. We’ve sold a handful of these so far, but I thought I’d give it some attention. Weirdly, both of the band’s LPs from the 80’s have been reissued on Svart. Blood Money is an English band, and I know Svart typically reissues bands and artists from Finland. But then again, I guess they did Eyehategod and all kinds of random stuff. I’m mainly gonna focus on Blood Money’s first album Red, Raw and Bleeding!, originally released in 1986. The Svart description designates Blood Money as a cult band in the realm of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. But for 1986, I would say Blood Money was a little late to the game to be considered NWOBHM. I feel like maybe I’ve stumbled across that insane and radical cover art somewhere along my journey, but Blood Money still seem relatively obscure from where I’m standing. That zombie hand holding onto a crudely rendered chainsaw just dripping with blood and innards… Pretty gruesome, pretty rad. Did Razor quietly rip off this cover art a couple years later on Violent Restitution? I’ll let you decide.
I guess I could see where Blood Money could be more comparable with NWOBHM. They surely don’t fit neatly into the thrash metal family tree, a style which was running rampant at the time. To me, Blood Money sounds like a band that still had their foot stuck in the tar of traditional heavy metal but refused to sink with the other dinosaurs. This record brilliantly captures the transition of incorporating elements of speed metal and thrash into a more decidedly operatic, virtuosic style heavy metal band. But alright… lemme get into it… This record sounds INSANE. Like outta control. While I was listening to this the first time, I was just absorbing what the fuck was washing over me. Brought a huge smile to my face. This record is like an exercise in pure ridiculousness. In the BEST way. I mean DUH, if the artwork didn’t leave you to believe that already. When I listen to this record, I just imagine these dudes in the studio in Manchester or wherever, and all huddling to hype themselves up. Like they gave themselves a group pep talk, and were like, “ALRIGHT MATES: FASTER. LOUDER. MORE EXTREME!!” Then they got loaded up on a ton of blow and speed, and this off-the-rails heavy metal masterpiece/trainwreck is what emerged when they yelled, “BREAK!”
The singer’s voice might be a turn-off for some people. Definitely a more theatric, “hear me in the nosebleeds” approach to vocals. Almost more akin to Bruce Dickinson than say James Hetfield… Like my dude is really giving it all he’s got, but he is certainly not as gifted of a singer as Bruce haha. Danny Fox is his name I believe? And for whatever reason, the style and presentation also brings Steve Grimmett from Grim Reaper to mind. It feels like a similar brand of heavy metal if not exactly dead on. Let me explain what splendors you will find contained within this record: Gratuitous double kick. Gratuitous shredding guitar leads that are all over the place and kinda go out of key. Gratuitous use of vocal vibrato. Gratuitous reverb. Gratuitous lightning strike and revving chainsaw sound effects. And then, when you pull out the insert and see what these dudes look like… It’s really the cherry on top. We’re talkin’ greasy, thin mustaches. Tight, ill-fitting tiger stripe and fishnet sleeveless tanks. And of course, a more than necessary, unwieldy amount of studs and chains. Fuck yeah.
Svart always does a great job with their reissues. The packaging looks impeccable. The record even comes on this gorgeous blue smoke vinyl. If you need a fun romp through a long-lost gem of ambitious, extreme and ridiculous 80s heavy metal, then I would highly recommend Blood Money.
Alright, that’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff