Blood

Originally named Coming Blood, a moniker so vile even this notoriously unruly collection of characters jettisoned it, UK hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover group the Blood’s line-up featured Bill Sykes (vocals), J.J. Manson (guitar), Snake (guitar), Mark Brabbs (drums) and Phil Butcher (keyboards). Combining Motörhead -styled power chords with punk dynamics and irreverence, the group made its debut in March 1983 with ‘Meglomania’. A superb, caustic single, played with the velocity of the Damned’s ‘New Rose’, it found supporters in both rock and punk camps. The subsequent album, False Gestures For A Devious Public, was just as convincing. Overt humour, as demonstrated on tracks such as ‘Gestapo Khazi’ and ‘Done Some Brain Cells Last Night’, did not deflect the band from the potency of their music, but the album’s impact was ruined by poor distribution and promotion. Follow-up efforts failed to repair this damage, as the group lost its sense of direction and transmuted into just another heavy metal band.