LP - Fraction - Moon Blood (DIE-HARD BOX SET SPLATTER COLORED VINYL)
SOLD OUT!
DIE-HARD BOX SET (LTD. TO 100) Hand Screened Box / Hand Numbered / Splatter Colored Vinyl Comes with 5 exclusive items in the box plus the LP, of course.
This legendary album has been referred to as "The underground heavy psych monster to conquer them all!" and we couldn't agree more. We've loved this album since we first laid ears on it and we've been wanting to reissue it for ages. Getting in touch with Jim Beach wasn't easy, but when we finally did and he agreed to license the album to us, we were over the moon...but we'll never be over the "Moon Blood"! It took a while to get the packaging just right for this reissue, but we finally found the right people for the job and the end result as close as you can get to an original pressing - which will run ya $5000-$10,000 if you can find one (only 200 copies were pressed) in decent shape. It must be heard to be believed!
If you're digging what you're hearing, you should order a copy now, because we don't expect these to last long. The previous reissue on Mexican Summer became a collector's item after it sold out back in 2011 and this record is in even higher demand now than it was then. "Moon Blood" comes with the HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION possible from your Permanent pals!
But you don't have to take our word for it, read on for the full review from ACID ARCHIVES. The contributors loved it so much that they included two reviews:
The underground heavy psych monster to conquer them all! A bunch of Christians on an Old Testament style crusade armed with long intense tracks, dual fuzz/wah wah guitars and the grungiest vocalist imaginable. There is a strong late-period Doors influence that extends to direct quotes from "L'America", yet the emotional charge and completely different band setting turns this into an advantage, somehow. The holy song trinity that make up tracks 2, 3 & 4 is among the most powerful music ever laid down. Many rate this as the best local LP anywhere, though as originals currently sell for {thousands of dollars} you might wanna try a reissue...[PL]
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I would be very hard pressed to name a better private psychedelic LP than "Moon Blood". Like the CA Quintet album this is that very rare thing, a concept album that works. Where the CA Quintet floods our minds with images of the various hells we create on earth, Fraction seize on the heaven we fail to create. I always feel my spine tingle when listening to this album, it never fails to astonish me. The vocalist Jim Beach sounds like he is undergoing agonized conflicts of faith, a righteous man, growling, snarling and finally screaming at a world where seekers after truth are downtrodden. The guitars are so overloaded with effects that they sound like a storm raging on the surface of another world. The drums have fantastic range, at times very delicate, at other times, pounding with raw energy. Every band member gives it all they have and all the songs were recorded as ‘one takes’. This really works as they sound very fresh and alive, like the band is playing right next to you. There is nothing righteous or preachy on the LP. You can feel the inner turmoil boiling over. The themes are broadly Christian, but with a very strong pagan element incorporated. The Son will come to birth and free Mother Earth. I find the lyrics deeply moving, spiritually uplifting and filled with apocalyptic vision: “Come out of her/ Come out of her/Embrace the Sons quiet warmth ever upward”. On the final track ‘This Bird (Sky High)’ Jim Beach is screaming the lyrics: “No clown on the ground/Tries to put me down/Since I found the Lord” Without the lyric sheet you could only guess at what he is saying, which only added to the mystery. ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ is amazing. Mind-bending lyrics spat and shouted over a haze of fuzz and wah-wah, it builds and builds to an impossible intensity, you wonder where else the vocal chords can go, the fingers of the guitar players must have been wrecked. The hazy image of the band on the front of the 1986 Austrian boot (which was the first reissue) showed a band that looked beyond cool, crazy shaggy burns, shades and leathers. They stare down at you like some crazed pack of angry bikers about to ink over your tattoos. “Extend your thumbs and burn the darkness out of her” -- indeed, Brother, indeed. [RI]
The venerable Steve Krakow aka Plastic Crimewave also has this to say about this incredible album: There are very few albums in the psych/punk/hard rock/private presses strata that garner the sort of universal awe and accolades that Fraction’s almighty Moonblood LP does, and even fewer records in the world that could be dubbed ‘Christian Rock’ incur such fierce devotion. Indeed some records just meteorically lift themselves out any genre tag with brilliance and sheer defiance–and Moonblood is surely one of them. Based in LA, Fraction was a ragged collection of working-class musicians–the line-up was ringleader Jim Beach–vocals; Don Swanson–lead guitar, Curt Swanson–drums, Victor Hemme–bass, and Robert Meinel–rhythm guitar. Beach himself describes those early days: “The guys met through various acquaintances that we had in LA. All of us had been in bands before, but were seeking something with more teeth. We had a small studio in an industrial complex in North Hollywood and started practicing sometimes as early as 4:30 AM. We all had day jobs, so we did what we could.” Amazingly the recording sessions for the album were recorded similarly on the fly, as Beach further states: “The Moonblood recording took place at Whitney’s Studio in Glendale, CA, early in 1971. On a strict budget, these songs were recorded in less than three hours—all of them “one takes.” We played, all 5 of us, simultaneously– there were no studio effects, no overdubbing or any additional sound effects added. Basically what you hear is considered ‘old school’ recording.” This workmanlike description in no way prepares one for the pure tortured genius the session wrought. Particularly noteworthy is Beach’s vocals—as commonly stated, the spirit of Jim Morrison is conjured in his deep baritone, which gives way to unparalleled pained howls, at times bathed in delay which trails into the abyss. Fascinatingly enough, Beach cites the much punker Love as his fave LA band over the Doors, and also gives influence-nods to proto-everything rockers The Yardbirds and to Dylan, whose dark word tapestries surely inspired Beach’s lyrics (though lines from The Doors’ “L’America” pop up on the LP) Whatever the case, the man clearly has a vision, as even the stark sleeve concept is Beach’s own. Equally as integral to the Fraction sound is lead guitarist Don Swanson—his blown-out fuzz riffs set a template for what is now commonly known as “stoner rock” or “acid punk,” and his solos consist of jagged, wah-wah-ed shards of notes, with his amplifier clearly pushed to the limit. Beach says: “Don’s guitar was always my driving force and he did everything he could to keep it over the top. You’d never know that (his sound) was coming from an old, broken down Esquire. Don kept it alive!” The other members contributions shouldn’t be underappreciated though– drummer Curt Swanson keeps things at a constant simmer, and then boils over when the whole band launches into snarling glory. The band and LP as a whole equals something indescribably intense from start to finish—comparisons to the Detroit late 60s high-energy bands like The Stooges and MC5 abound, as well as the sort of late 60s damaged spirit lurking in biker clubs and disgruntled Vietnam vets. The song cycle on side 1 of the LP in particular cuts to the emotional core, with severely charged dark lyrics like “Extend your thumbs and burn the darkness out of her.” Which brings us to the Christian aspect–it often can confuse listeners. The Fraction/Beach world of religion is complex and perhaps a bit pagan/sinister than most—fire and brimstone, temptation, and the truth-seeker being burned by this hell on earth—or perhaps as Beach himself best put it: “Speaking for myself, as a believer, it’s been a progressive experience since my childhood. I think we’re all basically driven to live more than religion.” The album was pressed in a run of but a few hundred to little attention in the day, but now inferior bootlegs flood the marketplace, and originals of Moonblood command thousands of dollars. So enjoy this all-inclusive reissue, which also features for the first time on vinyl, 3 lost tracks– like the more acoustic-minded “prisms” and “dawning light,” as well as the proto-metal choogle of “Intercessor’s Blues.” (words by plastic crimewave)
Here's even more high praise for this legendary album from It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine: "Five tracks. Five timeless behemoths that seem to come from an ancient past when music was made purely to enrich the soul. 1971 was surely a post-hippie year packed of new exciting musical directions, a melting-pot of genres where standing shoulder to shoulder with the best bands was a real challenge; and this album shows how broad the range of this beautiful cauldron was. The dense, mystical atmosphere has more in common with a hazy psychedelic dusk than with the moon that gives the album its title. Abstract Christian lyrics scattered throughout the songs guarantee an even deeper aura of mystery to the whole experience. The acid guitar permeates the entire work, dropping lines of venom, poignancy and sorrow. The counterpoint are the vocals of Jim Beach, the true trademark of this band’s sound. His style is immediately recognizable. Soulful and gravely, yet comforting and at times touching peaks of (drug-fueled?) madness. A solid rhythm section (bass, drums and rhythm guitar) completes the lineup. The band consisted of five normal working class guys, who all had day-jobs, and probably didn’t know they had this musical monument inside them. What is especially striking is the fact that given the low budget, the recording sessions for this longplay lasted only three hours and were done old-school: one take and no overdubs. A driving melancholy opens up the album on “Sanc Divided”, with stripped down guitars setting the mood. And as the mojo of the song grows a whirlwind of fuzz comes in mercilessly. The second song “Come Out Of Her” has Beach pouring his soul into the music through his soaring vocals. A wah-wah solo takes the listener on a ride on the psychedelic wave until the end of the song. Magic! Clocking at almost nine minutes “Eye Of The Hurricane” is arguably the magnus opus on this platter. A post-apocalyptic burned out jam with blissful guitar work and rare intensity. “Sons Come To Birth” is the softer track of the album, a ballad that has all the dynamics perfectly set. The psychedelic undertones are dripping from every riff and together with the driving bass lead us into a groove that sets the stage for some inspired improvisation. “This Bird” and “Sky High”, that merge one into the other, close the album. Here we find the band dealing with a spoken-word/ poetry section in Doors’ style; a high point of the album that climaxes with an explosion of high-octane rock and roll. Before the final fade-out we hear the band steaming out one last acid freakout with full-force guitar soloing and wailing vocals. This album will have you coming back for more, a mastodontic work of art that deserves underground cult record status. Far out! – Andrea Gelardini
