Biography
Chicago's Bloodiest operates as an experimental extreme music sextet assembled from veterans of numerous established Windy City outfits. Guitarists Tony Lazzara of Atombombpocketknife and Eric Chaleff of Sterling first conceived material for an electric guitar duo and began performing in local clubs, yet they had long intended to expand into a bigger ensemble and therefore drew in associates from the surrounding scene. They added vocalist/saxophonist Bruce Lamont of Yakuza/Corrections House, drummer Cayce Key of the 90 Day Men, guitarist Sean Patrick Riley, bassist Craig Ackerman of Sterling, and keyboardists Nandini Khaund and Steve Art.
Their concerts delivered an overwhelming musical force, merging extreme metal riffs with drones, syncopations, classical counterpoint, and shifting dynamics while gaining visceral impact from Lamont's magnetic stage presence and unpredictable behavior, which at times included expelling stage blood toward the crowd.
After several years spent aligning the schedules of its individual members for rehearsals and performances, the group attracted the attention of Relapse, which signed them in 2010 and released their widely praised debut album Descent in 2011. Their profile expanded throughout the continental United States and into Europe. Because of the ensemble's size and the outside obligations of its participants, live appearances remained sporadic, yet this scarcity only heightened demand and produced sell-out crowds whenever the band convened.
In 2013 Riley was implicated in a fatal DUI incident and departed to address the resulting legal matters. Multiple members of Bloodiest contributed to each of the three Wrekmeister Harmonies albums and joined that project's fluid lineup for concerts. The group did not enter the studio again until late 2015. Their self-titled second album featured the core group augmented by a sextet, retaining only Khaund on keyboards and introducing bassist Colin DeKuiper, previously of Russian Circles; the record appeared in January 2016.
Their concerts delivered an overwhelming musical force, merging extreme metal riffs with drones, syncopations, classical counterpoint, and shifting dynamics while gaining visceral impact from Lamont's magnetic stage presence and unpredictable behavior, which at times included expelling stage blood toward the crowd.
After several years spent aligning the schedules of its individual members for rehearsals and performances, the group attracted the attention of Relapse, which signed them in 2010 and released their widely praised debut album Descent in 2011. Their profile expanded throughout the continental United States and into Europe. Because of the ensemble's size and the outside obligations of its participants, live appearances remained sporadic, yet this scarcity only heightened demand and produced sell-out crowds whenever the band convened.
In 2013 Riley was implicated in a fatal DUI incident and departed to address the resulting legal matters. Multiple members of Bloodiest contributed to each of the three Wrekmeister Harmonies albums and joined that project's fluid lineup for concerts. The group did not enter the studio again until late 2015. Their self-titled second album featured the core group augmented by a sextet, retaining only Khaund on keyboards and introducing bassist Colin DeKuiper, previously of Russian Circles; the record appeared in January 2016.
Albums
Singles
