First Blood

It was the late winter of the year 2002 in the legendary San Francisco Bay Area California USA. With one goal in mind, First Blood set out to create straight-forward, crushing-metallic hardcore with a pissed-off, in-your-face message. «We just wanted to play music that was right to the point so kids could sing-along, let out their aggressions, and kill each other on the dancefloor,» states frontman Carl Schwartz about the band’s early, no-frills attitude. «We never thought we would be playing shows outside of California, let alone San Francisco.» That would soon change.

Upon the self-release of their brutal 5-song DEMO 2002 (later reissued by Bridge9 spin-off Division 36 Records) and a split 7» Dead Man’s Hand Series EP with Philadelphia’s Blacklisted in 2004 on Deathwish Inc, First Blood soon hit the road to unleash their fury upon the world in promotion of their debut 2006 full-length release entitled «Killafornia» on Trustkill Records.

«We had our sights set on touring everywhere possible to give as many kids a chance to see First Blood» states Carl as the band would soon light radar screens across the United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, Mexico, Hong Kong, Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. Sharing the stage with world-class acts such as Cro-Mags, Comeback Kid, Ignite, Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Napalm Death, Exodus, Gorilla Biscuits, Earth Crisis, The Path Of Resistance, Death Before Dishonor, Gallows, Born From Pain, and many more, First Blood has proven themselves an unstoppable force and staple of the hardcore community.

Fast forward to 2010 and First Blood now ramps up for their highly-anticipated, sophmore release entitled «Silence Is Betrayal» on Bullet Tooth, the new headquarters of Josh Grabelle and the reknown Trustkill Records. Featuring 15 songs of musical devastation and lyrical condemnation, First Blood relights the flame and burning spirit that originally brought the band together. «Silence Is Betrayal lays it all out on the table with a point of view that leaves little to misinterpretation» is how Carl describes the strong lyrical focus of challenging the status quo, while remaining every bit as true-to-sound to the brutal musical aggression that many have come to expect of First Blood. «Silence Is Betrayal is every bit as heavy and abrasive as First Blood gets, complete with a war-torn soundtrack of armageddon breakdowns and relentless sing-along calls to action.»

Breaking their silence to the rest of the world, First Blood crushed through the RETURNERS North American tour in Oct/Nov 2010 to support fellow Californians The Ghost Inside, who were also celebrating the release of their sophmore album, alongside Evergreen Terrace, A Loss For Words, Deez Nuts, and Hundredth as «Silence Is Betrayal» marked its long overdue official release. The journey continued across borders once again with Orange County’s very own Stick To Your Guns as First Blood set foot on the land down under for their inaugural visit to Australia and New Zealand.

Full speed ahead into 2011… «My only regrets were remaining silent for so long… and not releasing a thirty song album to say more» adds Carl about the band’s renewed sense of urgency and call to arms. «Perhaps this is a good sign of things to come for First Blood. Let’s roll. Peace and love.»