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Blood For Blood

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Bruising American hardcore outfit from the mid-nineties, trading in blue-collar bitterness and street-punk grit.

Blood for Blood was formed in Boston in 1994 by vocalist Erick "Buddha" Medina and guitarist "White Trash" Rob Lind, who drew on the hardcore scenes of Boston and New York. The early lineup added drummer Mike Maloney and bassist Jeremy Wooden, and the band self-released demos including Hurt You in 1995 and Soulless in 1996 before signing to Victory Records in 1997.

The sound drew as much on street punk and Boston hardcore tradition as on metal, citing Sheer Terror, Breakdown, Carnivore and Killing Time as touchstones. Shouted gang vocals and simple driving riffs carried lyrics fixed on poverty, addiction and class resentment.

Their debut, Spit My Last Breath, came out in 1997 and was reissued on Victory after the band signed. Revenge on Society followed in 1998, backed by the band's first European tour with The Bruisers, and Livin' in Exile arrived in 1999 alongside U.S. dates with Dropkick Murphys and Anti-Flag. Outlaw Anthems, their fourth album, came out in 2002.

The band's reputation rested on that unrelieved bleakness, and on a live presence that made few concessions to melody or polish.

A fifth album, Serenity, was released on Thorp Records in 2004, and Blood for Blood played what was billed as their final show at Hellfest that July. The band broke up in 2004, though it later regrouped for stretches in 2010 and again briefly around 2012, and announced a new label deal and single in December 2025.

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