Take That Manic Ride

Bl'ast

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 1991)
• Original Release Date: March 10, 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sst Records
• ASIN: B000000M50
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,027 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Somewhere I've Found

2. Falsehood Claws

3. Overdrive

4. Out of Alignment

5. Off and On/Start the Machine

6. Turn and Face the World

7. Bl'ast! It Black

8. Bones

9. Powerize!!!

10. It's Time

11. Abraxis

12. Look Inside

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pure Bl'ast of Sonic Power, June 14, 2000

By	"grayingpunk" (Greenwich, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This album comes out of the blocks at full speed and doesn't slow down... a manic ride indeed!

In their second LP outing, the boys from Bl'ast take their sound to a new level of intensity. The heavy Black Flag influence is still there, overlaid with a healthy dose of metal riffage. The band wears its influences on its sleeve, but take the sudden tempo shifts, twisted guitar lines and gut wrenching vocals in a direction all their own.

If you like your hardcore HARD, and appreciate a band that's tight as can be, you'll dig this. Recommended for fans of the Cro-Mags, early Black Flag, etc. Not for the faint of heart.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, period., December 8, 2002

By	Josh Hart (Baltimore, Md United States) - See all my reviews

What can I say about this record? Probably one of the most original albums I ever heard and the last great record of the 80's. People compare them to Black Flag and Neider's guitar is similar in tone but that's where it ends. Bl'ast! were much more techinically sound and their use of diminished (dissonant) chords and scales owe more to bands like VoiVod or King Crimson and of course Black Sabbath than Ginn's noise, even if subconsiously. Heavy, dark and serious. Would be a shame to lose this record to obscurity. One of my top ten ever.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, they do sound like Black Flag, October 17, 2005

By	D. K. Malone (earth) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gotta respond to this:

"People compare them to Black Flag and Neider's guitar is similar in tone but that's where it ends. Bl'ast! were much more techinically sound and their use of diminished (dissonant) chords and scales owe more to bands like VoiVod or King Crimson and of course Black Sabbath than Ginn's noise, even if subconsiously."

Neider and the rest of the band would be sorry to hear you say that. Blast made it no secret that Black Flag was their one greatest influence. The thank-you list on their first album listed about a hundred different people, and then it ended with "And thanks to Black Flag for existing". They strove to emulate Flag and they were proud to be compared to them.

However, it's true that this, their third and final album, is their least-Flag-sounding release. The similarity is still there to a high degree, but they had also moved past their influences and developed a sound that was truly their own and truly unique. It had nothing to do with King Crimson or Voivod... though in all fairness Greg Ginn was probably influenced by Crimson, and some have labeled Blast as "progressive hardcore." Personally, I feel that this album and their second album (It's In My Blood) are very much overshadowed by their first album, Power of Expression. They had an amazing dual guitar dynamic and energy that they lost when original guitarist Steve Stevenson left the band and left Mike Neider on his own.