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40th Anniversary Reissue Announced for MANIMALS’ “Blood Is the Harvest”
MANIMALS Unearths A Long-Lost Rehearsal
Ohio-based MANIMALS’ 1986 cult mini-album “Blood Is the Harvest” will be reissued in an expanded edition by DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS to mark the 40th anniversary of its original release. The new edition will be released internationally on December 18 and will be available on CD and vinyl.
Formed in 1982 by bassist and vocalist Larry the Wolf, MANIMALS developed a distinctive style at a time when traditional heavy metal and American hardcore punk were intersecting. Bringing together influences from KISS, Alice Cooper, MOTÖRHEAD and NWOBHM with MISFITS and American hardcore, the band complemented its horror-themed visual identity with a theatrical stage presence. At the heart of the approach Larry the Wolf would later call “Monster Metal,” however, was traditional heavy metal.
This genre-crossing approach became particularly evident during the making of “Blood Is the Harvest.” Guitarist The Wraith and drummer Dark joined Larry the Wolf in 1984, forming the lineup that recorded the six-track release the following year. All of the songs had been written in 1983 and 1984.
The album’s independent release was directly connected to the difficulty of placing the band’s music within a specific genre. Larry the Wolf recalls sending the demo to labels including Elektra, Combat and Metal Blade, but some of them could not figure out how to market a band whose music did not fit neatly into one category. He subsequently founded his own label, House of Pain, and released “Blood Is the Harvest” independently in early 1986, with only 1,800 copies pressed on 12-inch vinyl.
The defining feature of the release was its combination of the raw energy of hardcore punk with the longer, more melodic structures of traditional heavy metal. While tracks running three, four and even six minutes brought the aggression of the band’s punk roots into a metal-driven rhythmic framework, MANIMALS’ horror aesthetic also became an integral part of its musical identity. Larry the Wolf recalls the band being described as a combination of early KISS, MISFITS, Alice Cooper and MOTÖRHEAD, while emphasizing that MANIMALS carved out a space of its own beyond those influences.
MANIMALS’ early collision of metal and punk has also led to a reassessment of the band’s place in crossover history over the years. Featured in Alexandros Anesiadis’ books Crossover the Edge: Where Hardcore, Punk and Metal Collide and Tear It Down: How Crossover Bridged Metal and Hardcore Punk, MANIMALS’ “Blood Is the Harvest” ranks No. 12 on the latter’s list of essential crossover records.
The 40th anniversary edition adds two rehearsal recordings from 1984 to the original six tracks. Featuring early rehearsal versions of ‘Faster Cat’ and ‘White Zombie’, the album will be reissued on CD and vinyl for the first time as an eight-track release.
“Blood Is the Harvest” 40th Anniversary Edition
‘Blood Is The Harvest’
‘White Zombie’
‘Monster Nation’
‘Burn Witch, Burn’
‘Outside Your Window’
‘Island Of Lost Souls’
‘Faster Cat’ (Rehearsal)
‘White Zombie’ (Rehearsal)