The Blood Brothers were an American post-hardcore band which formed in Seattle's Eastside suburbs in 1997. The group released five full-length albums before their 2007 break-up, but reunited for a series of shows surrounding and including FYF Fest in 2014.
Origins
Singers Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney and drummer Mark Gajadhar formed the band from a previous musical endeavor, a band called Vade that they were involved with when they were 15 years old. Joining with bassist Morgan Henderson and guitarist Devin Welch the following year, the Blood Brothers were born in August 1997. The band recorded their first 7-inch record for $200 in a basement the following year. After replacing Welch with guitarist Cody Votolato (who is a year younger than the rest of the band), the current lineup was complete. The band left on their first tour immediately after Votolato graduated from high school. In July 2002, the band toured the United States with Vermont-based math rock band The Cancer Conspiracy and Florida-based indie rock band The Rocking Horse Winner.
Hiatus and breakup
Music website Punknews.org reported that the band was going on hiatus, though they had initially reported the situation as a breakup. The news story linked to a forum post by Three One G owner Justin Pearson, who was replying to a post about the breakup of Some Girls. He only stated "the blood bros broke up."
The band officially broke up in June 2007, but kept the information from the public until November 2007. Rumors of the disbandment can be traced as far back as July.
The Blood Brothers were expected to make an announcement about their future in early 2008, but instead officially announced the breakup on November 8, 2007:
In a December 2008 interview with Seattle newspaper The Stranger, Blilie gave the following reason for the band's breakup:
It was announced on October 19, 2009, that Epitaph Records would be re-issuing the band's last four full-length albums with added b-sides, live tracks and remixes.
Musical style
The Blood Brothers is commonly seen as a post-hardcore band and incorporate elements from a number of genres including experimental, screamo, noise, avant-garde, and dance.
The band is particularly notable for having the unique dueling vocals of Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie. The style of guitar playing showcased by Votolato has greatly changed over time, most notably between the heavy, discordant sound of ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn and the minimalist lead lines of Crimes, where the energy of the drums and vocals tends to make up for the lack of thick distortion. Whitney's voice is generally accepted to have evolved from the slurred, venomous drawl on This Adultery Is Ripe to the high-pitched squeals ("like a child being tortured ") heard on Crimes, while Blilie's voice has grown more distinctive while maintaining the same low, robust ferocity. The band has cited Drive Like Jehu, Gang of Four, Botch, and Antioch Arrow, among others, as influences.
The Blood Brothers' last album, Young Machetes, was released on October 10, 2006, with Fugazi member Guy Picciotto co-producing it.