Blood Divisions - Cardinal One - March 24

After releasing their self-titled EP in 2015, Blood Divisions - a collaborative project of heavy metal musicians with all proceeds going to charity - is back again with another EP, entitled Cardinal One. Set to be released on March 24th, 2017, Cardinal One once again features cover songs of classic tracks (from bands such as UFO, Scorpions, and thrash pioneers Nasty Savage), as well as original material.

Founded by core members Chris Jericho (Fozzy, WWE), David Austin (Nasty Savage), and Ed Aborn (Intersonic Cyber Symphony), Blood Divisions features a roster of supporting musicians who are current or former members of bands such as Obituary, Death, Nasty Savage, Six Feet Under, Iced Earth, Sebastian Bach, Deicide, Massacre, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and more. The result is a mixture of classics injected with new energy and original music in the mold of Florida's heavy metal roots.

"Blood Divisions is the perfect heavy metal snack mix," says singer and Executive Producer Chris Jericho (Fozzy, WWE). "It's a complete blend of balls out thrash, virtuoso technique and 70's hard rock melodies. It's an honor to be a part of this project, as I'd be a fan even if I wasn't in the band! Plus I love machine elves."

"The project began purely as a creative outlet to have some fun and pay homage to some of the bands that influenced or inspired us," adds Ed Aborn (Intersonic Cyber Symphony). "Once we began, though, friends from the Florida metal community started to reach out and ask if they could join in. Eventually we decided to make it semi-official and do it all for charity."

David Austin (Nasty Savage): "Absolute pleasure working with all my friends on here. For them to take their time out of their busy schedule and to do something for free for charity means everything to me. Hopefully I get to do it all over again!!!!"

Terry Butler (Obituary): "It's such a great honor for me to be part of Blood Divisions 'Cardinal One'. Being part of something with such great musicians is amazing!!"

Ken Andrews (Obituary): "I felt honored to be a part of this. There are very heavy hitters on this release and I was glad that David asked me to contribute and record with legends."

Ralph Santolla (ex-Deicide, ex-Obituary): "I'm really happy with the way this came out and with everybody's performances. Michael Schenker is my hero, so I was really excited and honored to be asked to do this. It's always nice to do something for a good cause."

Jerry Mortellaro (Diabolic):"I feel extremely honored to be a part of this amazing collaboration of highly talented musicians and legends of metal. Playing on one of my favorite Nasty Savage songs was a complete thrill for me! Thank you Dave for the opportunity!"

Todd C. Grubbs (Todd Grubbs Group): "One of the coolest projects I have ever been involved with. Thanks, Dave!"

John Mahoney:"Nasty Savage has paved the way for so many influential, legendary Tampa Bay bands. So, when David Austin asked me to be a part of the Blood Divisions project and make music with the very members of those bands, I was of course blown away."

John D Fronza (ex-Voyage of Slaves):"After nearly 30 years of calling a lot of these guys my good friends, I'm extremely thankful to finally call them collaborators. Many of us cut our teeth together, barely out of our teen years, in a music scene that would come to be very important in the development of American Heavy Metal. Over long distances we were able to come together, and create something that has a lot to offer to a broad range of metal fans, and I'm very flattered."

Andy Wallace: "It was an honor to be included in a project with so many legendary metal musicians."

Bill Owen (ex-Purgatory): "I was honored when Dave asked me to play on Blood Divisions. Humbled to work on something with such music legends. Thanks, Dave."


Blood Divisions - Cardinal OneEP track-listing + credits

1. The Morgue
Written by David Austin
Vocals: Chris Jericho
Rhythm Guitars: David Austin
Lead Guitar: David Austin
Lead Guitar: Ben Meyer
Lead Guitar: John Mahoney
Lead Guitar: Ralph Santolla
Lead Guitar: Bill Owen
Bass Guitar: Terry Butler
Drums: Greg Gall
Intro and Orchestration: Ed Aborn

2. Hot 'n' Ready
Written by UFO
Vocals: Chris Jericho
Rhythm Guitars: Ralph Santolla
Lead Guitar: Ralph Santolla
Lead Guitar: David Austin
Lead Guitar: Todd Grubbs
Lead Guitar: Johnny Chromatic
Lead Guitar: Bill Hudson
Bass Guitar: Terry Butler
Drums: Ed Aborn

3. March of the Machine Elves
Written by David Austin
Interlude Written by Ed Aborn and Jennifer Mills
Rhythm Guitars: David Austin
Lead Guitar: Ken Andrews
Lead Guitar: David Austin
Lead Guitar: Todd Grubbs
Lead Guitar: Andy Wallace
Lead Guitar: Trevor Peres
Bass Guitar: John Fronza
Drums: Greg Gall
Additional Instrumentation: Ed Aborn

4. Top of the Bill
Written by Scorpions
Vocals: Chris Jericho
Rhythm Guitars: David Austin
Lead Guitar: David Austin
Bass Guitar: Ed Aborn
Drums: Ed Aborn

5. Return to the Garden of Temptation
Written by David Austin
Orchestration by Ed Aborn and Jennifer Mills
Bass Guitar: Fred Dregischan

6. No Sympathy
Written by David Austin, Ron Galletti
Vocals: Chris Jericho
Vocals: Ron Galletti
Rhythm Guitars: David Austin
Rhythm Guitars: John Mahoney
Lead Guitar: David Austin
Lead Guitar: John Mahoney
Lead Guitar: Jerry Mortellaro
Lead Guitar: Ken Andrews
Bass Guitar: Terry Butler
Drums: Greg Gall

Executive Producer: Chris Jericho
Co-Producers: Ed Aborn and David Austin
Recorded at Intersonic and other, private studios
Engineered and Mixed at Intersonic by Ed Aborn

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Tags:  Blood Divisions, Obituary, Deicide, Iced Earth, Charity

Kenny Larson    March 07, 2017