One of the leading Christian Metal bands of the mid 1980’s was Seattle based rockers Bloodgood who, named after founding member and bassist Michael Bloodgood followed closely in the footsteps of the now legendary pioneers of Christian Metal – Stryper. The band, having formed in 1985 brought to the table a slightly more aggressive and less commercial sound than that of the aforementioned Stryper and in turn paved the way for heavier oriented bands such as Deliverance and Believer to be introduced to the Christian Metal masses. Throughout my high school years I was privileged to have seen many of the well known Christian Metal artists of the 80’s heyday but somehow never managed to see Bloodgood perform. After a false re-start in early 2002 the guys finally got their act together this past summer and performed in Southern California for the first time in more than a decade when they made a headlining appearance at the Cornerstone California fest in Orange County.

When I first heard the news of their return I was ecstatically happy and couldn’t believe that I was actually going to see the band live after all these years. To make things even better they tapped veteran rockers Barren Cross (who also recently reunited) as direct support. While the location was not the best and I would have loved to have seen these two powerhouse performers in a nice club setting, I did my best to enjoy both bands sets and ignore the cold weather and cheesy tent covered stages. Thankfully the sound was pretty decent and I had a primo spot picked out at the front of the stage. Introduced by the infamous Pastor Bob Beeman of Sanctuary International, Barren Cross kicked their set off with Mike Lee now known as Michael Drive strumming the acoustic intro to their heavy hitting masterpiece “Stage Of Intensity” from their third full length album State Of Control. It wasn’t long before those of us in attendance were bangin our heads to the vicious riffing being laid down by BC axeman Ray Parris. The guys looked and sounded great, granted some have a little less hair and maybe put on a few extra pounds but the years have definitely been kind in terms of their musical abilities. Other fan favorites included “King Of Kings”, “Light the Flame and “Imaginary Music”. Needless to say their set was just way too short and more or less over before it began. I’m looking forward to seeing them again now that they’re back in the game.

During the intermission I was chatting with a friend of mine (Chris Scott ex-Precious Death/Blackball) as to how the next band (Bloodgood) was going to weigh in after all the years of being absent from the scene. He predicted that they would be incredible as bands of their caliber only get better with age and right he was. Bloodgood are better live than I ever could have imagined. Their sound was as strong as could be and came across as much more intense than what is heard on their albums. The band who consist of founding members Michael Bloodgood (bass) and vocalist Les Carlsen are rounded out by guitarist Paul Jackson who joined the band in 1989, drummer Mark Welling and their latest addition Oz Fox (Stryper) on second guitar. The guys opened with a scorching if unexpected rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll”. As they continued to tear through a set of some of their best tunes that included “Eat The Flesh”, “Seven”, “S.O.S.”, and “Heaven On Earth” among others. The guys were top notch from start to finish, they even introduced a new song called “Man In The Middle” which displays the classic Bloodgood sound perfectly. Impressing me the most though was Carlsen’s brilliant theatricality in the many emotional expressions he wore on his face, especially strong during their performances of “Crucify” and “Messiah”. Truth be told, I was moved to tears during these segments. Unfortunately the band’s set was cut short by two songs (“Never Be The Same” and “Black Snake”) due to curfew and although I could have stood to hear another hours worth of Bloodgood I left feeling pretty blessed for what I did get. Again it is fantastic having them back on the frontline (no pun intended guys) as there is definitely a need for positive minded music of their charge on today’s diverse Metal playing field.

While I know that there are most definitely those who will criticize and in some instances despise bands such as Barren Cross and Bloodgood for being in existence, I absolutely believe that there is a place and purpose for them in the world of Metal as it presently stands. All of us at one time or another go through some pretty heavy life struggles and they were there for me when I needed them most as have been many other Christian and non-Christian Metal bands over the years. I’d like to think that we’ve all come far enough to show maturity when it comes to differences of opinion on music and faith and that we would just embrace what matters most and realize that we are all in this together. Music is a powerful medium and there is room enough for all. Thank you guys (Bloodgood and BC) from the bottom of my heart for making a night I won’t soon forget. Until next time!

-Priest