| Blood Farmers | |
|---|---|
 Blood Farmers in their original run. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York |
| Genres | Doom Metal |
| Years active | 1989 - 1997; 2007 - 2016 |
| Labels | Hellhound Records, Leaf Hound Records, Resurrection, Patac |
| Associated acts | Church of Misery, Ogre, Dr. Phibes' Burning Illusions, M-Squad, Afterbirth, Hordes of Mungo, The Disease Concept, Fistula, Bloodlust, Mark of The Devil, The New Vagrants, Lucertola, Blackened Sky, Sons of Celluloid, Prime Evil, The Great Kat, Toxik, Buzzmeg, Jaws of Life, Pine, Nevermore, Dirty Rig, Aunt Hildegard, Mouchaka, The Vivisectors, Ocean, Dementia Five, Hatchetface & The Vipers, Hello Monster |
| Website | Blood Farmers Facebook |
Blood Farmers were a doom metal band from New York City.
Active in their initial run through the early and mid 1990s, Blood Farmers released two demos and a studio album in their initial run. Heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, along with horror films, gore and serial killers, the band maintained this air of mystery and a cult following after their passing.
Blood Farmers would notably reunite in 2007 following a reissue campaign from Japanese label Leaf Hound Records, which would lead to the band's first international tours and select festival appearances, along with a second album in 2014.
The band's name was taken from the film "Invasion of the Blood Farmers".
History[]
Blood Farmers initially formed in 1989 with the founding lineup of Dr. Phibes, Eric Jakob, Dave Depraved and Eli Brown. The band drew a heavy influence from Black Sabbath and initially started off as a Sabbath cover band, with horror films projected in the background during their concerts. Very little is known of the Blood Farmers' early existence though not long after forming the band would compose a demo entitled Permanent Brain Damage. It would be recorded at Giant Studios in New York City, NY circa September 1991 and released on 22 September 1991. Permanent Brain Damage immediately showed the psychedelic influences in the music of Blood Farmers. Having a playtime of more than 47 minutes, this one could easily be considered as the band’s first full length, but the time still wasn’t right and the band still in search for a decent record deal.
Three years later Blood Farmers would record a second demo entitled Bury The Living, Havest The Dead which would get them noticed and signed to German label Hellhound Records. Dave Depraved would speak about the demo with the following: It was a mix of songs that later turned up on our Hellhound album (Albino, Y.G.B., General Urko, I Drink Your Blood, After The Harvest) and redone versions of material from Permanent Brain Damage (Bullet in My Head, St. Chibes). In addition, we recorded two tracks unique to the demo: "Mental Torture" and "Graveyard Song" (an instrumental that we pillaged for use in Twisted Brain Part II). "Mental Torture" should have been included on Hellhound S/T release. In fact, we did record an album version during those sessions, but somehow, the master tape got damaged (one of many fuck-ups that plagued us in the studio).
Blood Farmers attained this air of mystery among the Hellhound artists and, after several bassists and drummers had come and gone, settled with Matt Holt and Mike Jett in the rhythm section, recording at Baby Monster Studios in New York City. The eponymous Blood Farmers saw release in 1996, featuring cover artwork of a screencap from the 1974 film "Deranged", inspired by the life of Ed Gein along with morbid photography throughout the album's layout. This self-titled has been praised as a cult classic among doom records.
However, Blood Farmers would disband the next year. Dave Depraved would leave the band to pursue a writing career. Eli Brown would join the heavy-psych band M-Squad with Mike Jett and Matt Holt. Founding members Dr. Phibes and Erik Jakob formed two other bands in the meantime known as Afterbirth and Hordes of Mungo. One of Blood Farmers' songs, "Bullet in My Head", also appeared on the soundtrack for Richard Anasky’s film "I am Vengeance".
Leaf Hound Records would reissue Permanent Brain Damage on 9 June 2004, followed by the self-titled in 2007, sparking buzz and retroactive praise of Blood Farmers. Blood Farmers would reform in 2007 at Doom or Be Doomed with the lineup of Dave Depraved, Eli Brown, Dr. Phibes, Ross Markonish and Will Broadbent. Dr. Phibes would not participate in any of the further reunion shows, leaving Eli Brown to take over on bass.
The next year saw Blood Farmers performing outside of the United Stated for the first time, touring with Ogre for a four-night stint in Japan and sharing the stage with the likes of Church of Misery, Eternal Elysium and Birushanah. The next year the band would secure a new drummer in Tad Leger, reverting the group to a trio with plans to record a new album. However the band's next known show would have an air of tragedy.
On 28 May 2010 founding member Dr. Phibes died, aged 44. A festival was held at Sidebar in Baltimore known as Born To Be Doomed in his memory, with Blood Farmers as one of the performing acts. The next year saw Blood Farmers touring Europe for the first time, sharing the stage with the likes of Acid King, Black Pyramid, Electric Wizard and Pentagram among others. The band notably performed at Roadburn Festival and Hammer of Doom Festival on this tour.[1] Following a 2013 show supporting Church of Misery, Blood Farmers would record their first studio album in nearly 25 years.
Named after a 1971 horror film and featuring a cover of David Hess' "The Road Leads to Nowhere" that appeared in the 1972 movie "Last House on The Left", Headless Eyes was self-released on 1 March 2014 to positive reviews from doom critics about. However the band has been quiet since the release, with no social media activity since 2016.
Discography[]
- Permanent Brain Damage (Demo) (1991, Self-Released)
- Bury the Living, Harvest the Dead (Demo) (1994, Self-Released)
- Blood Farmers (Studio Album) (1995, Hellhound Records)
- Headless Eyes (Studio Album) (2014, Resurrection Records; Patac Records)
Members[]
Current Lineup[]
- Dave Szulkin aka Dave Depraved - Guitars (1989 - 1996, 2007 - 2016)
- Eli Brown - Vocals (1989 - 1996, 2007 - Present); Bass (1996, 2008 - 2016)
- Tad Leger - Drums (2009 - 2016)
Past Members[]
- Philip Markonish aka Dr. Phibes - Bass (1989 - 1992, 2007) (Died 2010)
- Eric Jakob - Drums (1989 - 1993)
- Russell Bello - Bass (1992 - 1993)
- Chris Newman - Bass (1993 - 1994); Drums (1996)
- Mike Jett - Drums (1993 - 1995)
- Matt Holt - Bass (1994 - 1995)
- Tony LaRocca aka Crock - Drums (1995 - 1996)
- Will Broadbent - Live Drums (2007 - 2008)
- Ross Markonish - Live Guitars (2007 - 2008)
List of Known Tours[]
- Doom Age Festival (With Ogre) (2008)
- 2011 European Tour (With Acid King; Black Pyramid depending on dates) (2011)