Manimals - Blood is the Harvest - CD

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to reissue MANIMALS’ cult-classic debut minialbum, Blood is the Harvest, in expanded form on CD and vinyl LP formats.

In many ways, one could argue that Cleveland’s MANIMALS were arguably the first band to draw (VERY) direct influence from the Misfits and, by proxy, were the first band to carry on the “horror punk” torch before that became a viable subgenre during the latter half of the ‘90s. However, there was a lot more bubbling in the cauldron of their super-cult debut minialbum, Blood is the Harvest.

Originally self-released in 1986 in an edition of 2000 12” vinyl copies, Blood is the Harvest sounded – and looked – quite unlike anything else at the time. To be sure, the Misfits had been popular in the punk underground during their original, Danzig-fronted incarnation, but no bands at the time were attempting to tackle their sing-along, exclusively horror-themed style.

ANIMALS, on their only record during their original incarnation, took that foundation and added elements of NWOBHM, Motörhead, and early KISS – one could say that all three are psychically compatible – and more than a sprinkling of Alice Cooper’s shock-rock aesthetic. Then, they juiced it up and prolonged that energy to three, four, or even six minutes a song, riding a righteous gallop that was indeed more indebted to traditional metal than hardcore punk. Amazingly, these songs were written in 1985!

“Going through my records, I found that the six songs on the mini were recorded in 1985,” corroborates vocalist / bassist Larry the Wolf. “I shopped the demo to several labels – Elektra, Combat, MegaForce, etc. – but I didn’t actually release it myself until early 1986.” Weighing in on aesthetic delineations, “I thought the early Misfits were great, but so few people knew about them back in the ‘80s,” says Larry. “Years ago, someone told me that we sounded like a combination of early KISS, the Misfits, and early Alice Cooper, with Motörhead sprinkled in – I thought that was a pretty good description. While I admire all of those bands, I like to think that we have our own unique niche. The Misfits could never have done a sixminute epic like ‘Blood is the Harvest,’ and KISS would never have done anything as fast as ‘Monster Nation.’ If we had any kind of promotion back then or support from a label, I think that the record and band could have been much bigger.”

Time to rectify that with a LONG-overdue reissue of Blood is the Harvest, on the 40th anniversary of its release. With two rough ‘n’ ready rehearsal tracks from 1984 bringing the record to album length, this will be the ultimate edition of MANIMALS’ timeless first statement!

Tracklist :
1. Blood is the Harvest
2. White Zombie
3. Monster Nation
4. Burn Witch Burn
5. Outside Your Window
6. Island of Lost Souls
7. Faster Cat (rehearsal)
8. White Zombi (rehearsal)