Bl’ast!

  • Bl'ast!
  • The Power of Expression (Wishing Well) 1984  (SST) 1987 
  • It's in My Blood! (SST) 1987 
  • Take the Manic Ride (SST) 1989 

Formed in 1982 as M.A.D., this Santa Cruz quartet was obviously touched by the message of Black Flag’s mid-period work. The rumble on the bottom, the elliptical scrambling of Mike Neider’s guitar and the bellicose roar of Clifford Dinsmore’s vocals all bring post-Damaged Flag to mind. Considering the lame thrash that many of their skate-punk peers were purveying at the time, Bl’ast! should be saluted for taking a far less generic stance. (The CD of It’s in My Blood! includes both sides of the “School’s Out” single.)

[Byron Coley]