Blood Axis

Blood Axis
Blood Axis
	Blood Axis performing in 2016
Background information
Origin	United States
Genres	Experimental; folk; martial industrial; neofolk; neoclassical; post-industrial; spoken word;
Years active	1989–2016
Labels	Storm
Members	Michael Moynihan ; Robert Ferbrache ; Annabel Lee

Blood Axis were an American band, made up of journalist and author Michael Moynihan, music producer Robert Ferbrache, and musician and author Annabel Lee.^[1]

History

Early Blood Axis (1989–1999)

Moynihan had founded Coup de Grace, a multimedia project that produced live performances and cassettes and also released booklets of images and texts, the last of which was Friedrich Nietzsche's The Antichrist.^[2] The first output from the new appellation were two songs, "Lord of Ages" (employing lyrics from Rudyard Kipling's poem on Mithras^[3]) and "Electricity", which appeared on a German music sampler. These tracks were well received in Europe and were followed by two more songs that appeared on the compilation, Im Blutfeuer.^[4]

In 1995, Moynihan released the first full-length studio LP, The Gospel of Inhumanity with the help of Robert Ferbrache.^[5] The album wedded the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Sergei Prokofiev with modern electronics. Moynihan implemented a recording of Ezra Pound reading from his The Cantos.^[6] He also included lyrics from Nietzsche and Longfellow^[7] as well as his own to the work.

The band consisted of Michael Moynihan (vocals, bodhrán), Annabelle Lee (melodeon, electric violin), and Robert Ferbrache (guitars, keyboards).^[8]

Contemporary Blood Axis (2000–2016)

In 2005, Blood Axis played the German Flammenzauber festival, showcasing reworked live versions of several previously released songs, a number of Irish folk songs, and the live debut of a few new songs.^[9] April 2006 saw further live activity from Blood Axis, as well as a new medium for the duo's folk-oriented material entitled Knotwork at the Swiss Triumvirat festival.^[10]

Beginning in 1998, Moynihan began saying that Blood Axis was at work on a second full-length album, at one time said to be entitled Ultimacy.^[11] On 2 January 2009, Blood Axis played in Sintra, Portugal, with members of Portuguese band Sangre Cavallum. Moynihan stated on stage that the new album, now titled Born Again, was to be released the following Easter.^[12]

Blood Axis makes references to neopagan and völkisch concepts and figures such as Ludwig Fahrenkrog and Fidus. Moynihan is interested in rune mysticism.^[13] Beginning in the 2000s, he has been influenced by the neofascist movement Nouvelle Droite and Alain de Benoist.^[14]

Discography

Albums

The Gospel of Inhumanity, 1995

Collaborations and split releases

Walked in Line, 1995
The March of Brian Boru, 1998
Witch-Hunt: The Rites of Samhain, 2001
Absinthe: La Folie Verte, 2001
Absinthe: La Folie Verte LP box, 2002
The Dream / Fröleichen So Well Wir, 2010

References

Citations

^ Liner notes of the Ultimacy compilation
^ An interview Archived 30 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine by Jan R. Bruun
^ Kipling, Rudyard. "A Song To Mithras" Archived 13 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ Interview from the EsoTerra #5, 1995
^ the album notes read "The Gospel of inhumanity was [...] entirely performed, recorded and engineered [...] by Michael Jenkins Moynihan and Robert Ferbrache".
^ Pound, Ezra. "The Cantos"
^ Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth—The Challenge of Thor"; Pitt; .
^ from the notes of the album Blòt: Sacrifice in Sweden
^ from the interview for the Heaven Street magazine, Issue 3, spring 2006, available online on Heaven Street website.
^ the flyer of the festival is available on soleilnoir.ch event page^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ from “Goodmorning Europa!”, an interview with Michael Moynihan made by Occidental Congress during winter 1998/1999
^ from the Blood Axis archives
^ Schnurbein 2014, pp. 254–255.
^ François 2007, pp. 35–54.

Sources

François, Stéphane (2007). "The Euro-Pagan Scene: Between Paganism and Radical Right". Journal for the Studies of Radicalism. 1 (2). Translated by Godwin, Ariel: 35–54. doi:10.1353/jsr.2008.0006. ISSN 1930-1189. JSTOR 41887576. S2CID 144508250.
Schnurbein, Stefanie von (2014). "Germanic Neo-Paganism – A Nordic Art-Religion?". In Schlehe, Judith; Sandkühler, Evamaria (eds.). Religion, Tradition and the Popular: Transcultural Views from Asia and Europe. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8376-2613-1.

External links

Official Blood Axis website
Blood Axis Archive - the new location of the bloodaxis.com fansite
Michael Moynihan Interview; Between Birds of Prey from Heathen Harvest, 2005

[1] Liner notes of the Ultimacy compilation

[firstinterview-2] An interview Archived 30 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine by Jan R. Bruun

[MITHRAS-3] Kipling, Rudyard. "A Song To Mithras" Archived 13 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[esoterra-4] Interview from the EsoTerra #5, 1995

[gospel-5] the album notes read "The Gospel of inhumanity was [...] entirely performed, recorded and engineered [...] by Michael Jenkins Moynihan and Robert Ferbrache".

[POUNDCANTO-6] Pound, Ezra. "The Cantos"

[LONGFELLOW-7] Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth—The Challenge of Thor"; Pitt; .

[blot-8] rom the notes of the album Blòt: Sacrifice in Sweden

[heavenstreet-9] rom the interview for the Heaven Street magazine, Issue 3, spring 2006, available online on Heaven Street website.

[triumvirat-10] the flyer of the festival is available on soleilnoir.ch event page^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[ultimacy-11] rom “Goodmorning Europa!”, an interview with Michael Moynihan made by Occidental Congress during winter 1998/1999

[baarchives-12] rom the Blood Axis archives

[FOOTNOTESchnurbein2014254–255-13] Schnurbein 2014, pp. 254–255.

[FOOTNOTEFrançois200735–54-14] François 2007, pp. 35–54.

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Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	United States
Artists	MusicBrainz