Blood Axis
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Blood Axis is the name under which journalist and author Michael Moynihan and Annabel Lee compose and release music.
Contents |
Overview
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 Der Antichrist.
The first output from the new appellation were two songs, "Lord of Ages" (employing lyrics from Rudyard Kipling's poem on Mithras [1] 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. In 1995, Moynihan released the first full length studio LP, The Gospel of Inhumanity.
The first album can be seen as a Pagan ode to the forces of Nature. It wedded the musics of Johann Sebastian Bach and Sergei Prokofiev with modern electronics. Moynihan implemented a recording of Ezra Pound reading from his Cantos [2]. He also included lyrics from Nietzsche and Longfellow--[3] as well as his own to the work. The album begins with a sample from the decisive final sequence of The Wicker Man.
In 1997, Blood Axis played a concert for the tenth anniversary of Cold Meat Industry, a Swedish record label. The performance was later recorded, remastered, and released as BLOT: Sacrifice in Sweden.
Contemporary Blood Axis (2000-present)
Since the release of The Gospel of Inhumanity, Blood Axis has acquired Moynihan's wife Annabel Lee, previously of Amber Asylum, as a permanent member contributing vocals, violin, viola, accordion and various other instruments. This has resulted in a considerably less electronic sound, a larger focus on Heathenry and a more acoustic folk-based approach as well as covers of traditional recordings, particularly from Ireland, and continued use of historical European references.
This period also saw Blood Axis playing live shows in Portugal as well as various appearances with In Gowan Ring, who Blood Axis have appeared with as Witch-Hunt.
Elaborating on the theme of absinthe appearing on The Gospel of Inhumanity, a collaborative album with Les Joyaux De La Princesse was released in 2001 in deluxe editions relating to the Parisian use of absinthe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This material is largely experimental, neoclassical and post-industrial in sound, more similar to the work of Les Joyaux De La Princesse than that of Blood Axis at the time likely due to the mail-based recording process and dominant contributions from LJDLP.
In 2005, Blood Axis contributed their latest recording, a lyrically modified cover of Brian Pearson's The Ride, to a 2005 compilation entitled Looking For Europe.
Moynihan has mentioned the release of a second full length Blood Axis album entitled Ultimacy since at least 1998, though this album has yet to surface.
Discography
Albums and EPs
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Walked in Line | Split 7" EP with Allerseelen. Released by Storm Records. |
| 1996 | The Gospel of Inhumanity | CD. 2xLP. Released by Cthulhu/Storm. |
| 1998 | The Gospel of Inhumanity | CD. Rereleased on Elfenblut/Misanthropy/Storm. |
| 1998 | BLOT: Sacrifice in Sweden | CD and 2x12" LP limited to 600 copies. Released by Cold Meat Industry. |
| 1998 | The March of Brian Boru | Split 7" EP with Allerseelen. Released by Stateart. |
| 2001 | The Gospel of Inhumanity | CD, rerelease with deluxe packaging on Tesco/Storm. |
| 2001 | Witch-Hunt: The Rites of Samhain | Privately released CD-R. |
| 2001 | Absinthe: La Folie Verte | Collaborative CD with Les Joyaux De La Princesse. Released by Athanor. |
| 2002 | Special DTS CD | DTS Surround Sound CD. Collaborative album with Robert N. Taylor of the 60's folk band Changes. |
| 2002 | Absinthe: La Folie Verte | Collaborative 2x10" LP box with special absinthe spoon created with Les Joyaux De La Princesse. Contains largely different versions of the material from the original CD issue. Released by Athanor. |
| 2004 | Absinthia Taetra | Collaborative CD with Les Joyaux De La Princesse. Comprised of the vinyl versions of the Absinthe: La Folie Verte material and additional live tracks. Released by Athanor. |
External links
Official
- Semi-official Blood Axis Fansite - Now extremely outdated and largely inoperative.
Interviews
- Heathen Harvest Interview with Michael Moynihan of Blood Axis by Malahki Thorn, 2005.
- Wilammette Weekly Culture Feature interview with Michael Moynihan discussing controversy surrounding Blood Axis and related topics in depth by Zach Dundas.
- The Storm Before the Calm: An Interview with Blood Axis from Esoterra #5, 1995.
- Blood Axis Interview by Jan R. Bruun from the early 1990's.
Reviews
Misc
- Additional Discography information at discogs.com