# Life's Blood

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For other uses, see [Lifeblood (disambiguation)](/source/Lifeblood_(disambiguation)).

**Life's Blood** was an American [hardcore punk](/source/Hardcore_punk) band formed by four first-year college students in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) in 1987. It consisted of [Adam Nathanson](/source/Adam_Nathanson) on guitars, [Neil Burke](/source/Neil_Burke) on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and Combined Effort all ages shows promoter and [fanzine](/source/Fanzine) editor [Jason O'Toole](/source/Jason_O'Toole_(musician)) on vocals.[1]

They were part of the scene associated with [CBGB](/source/CBGB)'s Sunday matinees and Some Records. Life's Blood gained a loyal following for their aggressive sound that blended East Coast hardcore-punk with melodic [Oi!](/source/Oi!), as well as their intelligent lyrics. Life's Blood played live on [WNYU](/source/WNYU) and [WFMU](/source/WFMU), and played 26 shows throughout New York, [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut) and [Ohio](/source/Ohio).

Life's Blood performed alongside acts including [Sheer Terror](/source/Sheer_Terror), Beyond, Judge, [Project X](/source/Project_X_(band)), and [Soulside](/source/Soulside) before breaking up in 1989. Nathanson would go on to form [Born Against](/source/Born_Against) with [Sam McPheeters](/source/Sam_McPheeters) on vocals. Kriksciun went on to play drums for Collapse and [Burn](/source/Burn_(band)), among other acts. Burke, an artist who works in visual and audio mediums, played in [Born Against](/source/Born_Against), Sinking Body and [Men's Recovery Project](/source/Men's_Recovery_Project). In 1992, O'Toole performed and recorded with Factory in a lineup including past and future members of Intent, Hail Mary, Brown Cuts Neighbors and [Limp Wrist](/source/Limp_Wrist).

In 2011, O'Toole sang for My Rifle on a self-titled EP backed by former members of Our Gang, Hell No, and Absolution, on Wardance Records. This may be the only punk record to receive a glowing review from [Maximumrocknroll](/source/Maximumrocknroll) despite the vocalist's 20 years in law enforcement.

Life's Blood's songs have been covered live and on recordings by bands from Sweden and Japan as well as American hardcore acts. A notable cover of "It's Not in Your Heart" by MK-ULTRA appeared on the *Teen Angst* compilation. Finland's Down My Throat covered "Youth Enrage" on their album *Real Heroes Die*.

Among Life's Blood's recordings are *Defiance,* originally on Combined Effort, the [Vermiform Records](/source/Vermiform_Records) compilation EP *Murders Among Us*, the [New York Hardcore](/source/New_York_Hardcore) compilation *[Where the Wild Things Are](/source/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are_(Blackout_Records_album))* on [Blackout Records](/source/Blackout_Records), the New Breed compilation, a split 7-inch with Sticks And Stones, as well as a rash of bootlegs. Vermiform released a CD containing the original "Defiance" ep along with extra material.

Prank Records is releasing the complete Life's Blood discography in early 2016.

## References

1. Blush, Steven (2016-10-04). [*New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ezTpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA241). Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-250-08361-6.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Life's Blood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life's_Blood) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life's_Blood?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.