Blood Has Been Shed was an American metalcore band based in Granby, Connecticut. The band came together in 1997 and has featured members of Killswitch Engage, Diecast, Light the Torch, Red Tide, Terror, Walls of Jericho, Bury Your Dead, The Acacia Strain, On Bodies, and As Friends Rust. Blood Has Been Shed has released three full-length albums—I Dwell on Thoughts of You (1998), Novella of Uriel (2001) and Spirals (2003)—and was signed to Ferret Music and Roadrunner Records. The band was a frequent performer at metal festivals Hellfest and the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.
Though Blood Has Been Shed never announced a formal breakup, it is generally considered to be inactive since 2005. The band has not performed a concert since April 2005 (at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival), has ceased to publish any news since August 2005 (the announcement of their cancelled UK mini-tour) and has not released material since October 2005 (Roadrunner Records' Japanese release of Spirals/Novella of Uriel double-album compact disc). The band's dissolution is usually attributed to two of its members' then-obligations to Killswitch Engage.
Blood Has Been Shed has announced several plans to perform reunion shows and release new material over the years, but none have come to fruition.
Contents
History
The members of Blood Has Been Shed had previously come together under the name Release in 1993 and were based in Columbus, Ohio. In 1995, the band relocated to Granby, Connecticut (where guitarist Corey Unger was originally from) and renamed itself Driven. Driven recorded a sixteen-song self-titled album in 1996, which was self-released on cassette tape. One of the songs from this recording session was also used on a four-way split 7-inch vinyl with Bane, Capgun and The Rolemodels, released through Somers, Connecticut-based record label Solution Records in early 1997.
In December 1996, Driven's original drummer departed and the band opted to start a side-project named Veiled, which saw Driven's bassist John Lynch switch to playing drums. Veiled played a handful of shows throughout 1997. By the end of the year, the members decided to resume Driven, merging both Driven and Veiled songs into a single band, but opted for another name change. Blood Has Been Shed was officially started at the end of 1997. The band played its first show as Blood Has Been Shed on February 28, 1998, at the Hanover House in Meridan, Connecticut opening for Candiria, Ground Zero, Torn Between and Tinstarwill.
Blood Has Been Shed recorded their debut album, I Dwell on Thoughts of You, in 1998. It was self-released on compact disc in the summer of 1998, and was eventually picked up for distribution through Very Distribution, and later in 1999, by Ferret Music. One of their big breaks came when they opened for death metal band Nile at Club Infinity in Springfield, Massachusetts on April 18, 1999. After several line-up changes, the band recruited bassist Richard Thurston (formerly of Florida metalcore bands Timescape Zero and Culture), with whom they wrote and recorded their sophomore album Novella of Uriel. Its release was delayed considerably, during which time Thurston switched to guitar (the band recruiting bassist Joseph Krewko), then departed, and was replaced by future The Acacia Strain guitarist Daniel Daponde. Thurston immediately joined Diecast, and later played in such bands as One Nation Under, Terror, Walls of Jericho, On Bodies, and As Friends Rust. During the summer 2000, the band toured with Killswitch Engage.
Ferret Music ultimately released Novella of Uriel on February 7, 2001. The band toured heavily throughout 2001 and 2002, which included stretches of shows with Killswitch Engage, Twelve Tribes, Every Time I Die, Martyr A.D. and Eighteen Visions. Blood Has Been Shed also made their first of three appearances at Hellfest, performing on Sunday, July 8, 2001, on the Second Stage of Hellfest 2001.
Band members
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
I Dwell on Thoughts of You (1998)
Novella of Uriel (2001)
Spirals (2003)
Compilation albums
Spirals/Novella of Uriel (2005)
Singles
"She Speaks to Me" (2004)