First Blood (EP 2021)
Blood and Champagne
Alternative Punkrock
From the ‘rainy city’ Salzburg comes a band, which set out to draw “First Blood”. The title, that could be from Rambo or Young Guns, stands for their debut EP, on which they present their vision of “fast, hard and melodic Punkrock”.
Blood and Champagne has been active especially at their hometown, playing locations like the Markussaal and Rockhouse at Local Heroes presented by FS1. In the meantime, they even started an own concert series called “Blood and Friends” at the MARK.
On their primary release out via Gulaschmusi, they rock through five burners in about thirteen minutes. For “Don’t You Walk Away From Me”, they shot a music video at their rehearsal room. Looking at posters and stickers, it feels like a hidden picture puzzle, revealing their idols like Dead Kennedys, OFF!, Pink Floyd and Belphegor.
The song is fast and melodic with shouts in the chorus, crisp drums and a raw energy like from Juliette & The Licks or Girlschool due to the deep voice of Alexandra Hesse similar to former Gate To Infinity singer Conny. Apart from her solo work, she is in The Vintage Paradise as well. The title “Get Off Of My Stage” makes think of Henry Rollins’ “Art To Choke Hearts“. It starts with bass and drums, again very fast with a bit of Grunge like Feud and rough like SmallTownMinds or With Broken Wings plus the beat being straight like from Philthy Animal (Little Villains).
In “Don’t Tell Me How To Live” again the bass does the opening part. The guitar riff at a point reminds of L7, while the overall atmosphere is a bit Goth Rock like Vazum and the chorus is powerful and catchy. “No Other Way” is another fast Punk one like from Throw Rag, with several voices and a dual part of those and the beat section.
The melody of the final “Just Say No” at first reminds of Die Ärzte, while the impression on this one is more Indie like The Dukes. One more time, the refrain is the pulling part. On their strong debut, Blood and Champagne deliver pragmatic riff-strong Rock with recognition factor.