| The Blood Farmers | |
|---|---|
 The Blood Farmers around the mid-1980s; left to right; David Fortney, Harry Burgan, Eric Fournier | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, punk rock, grunge, sludge metal, alternative rock, experimental music, sound collage, post-grunge, hard rock |
| Years active | 1985-2015; 2017-present |
| Labels | Capitol Records |
| Associated acts |
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| Members | |
| Jerry Cantrell Alan Thompson Jake Davidson | |
| Past members | |
| Eric Fournier (deceased) David Fortney Harry Burgan Rami Jaffee | |
The Blood Farmers are an American rock and experimental band formed in 1985 by the now deceased Eric Fournier. The Blood Farmers' success during the late 80s and the early 90s further popularized emo culture. Their loud and heavy music, along with their experimental material, maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and art culture to this day.
The band has sold over 90 million records worldwide by 2022, making them one of the best-selling music acts of all time. They have won one Grammy Award, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Biography[]
Early years (1985-1988)[]
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Signing to Capitol Records, minor fame, further recognition with Perkidan and departure of the original lineup (1989)[]
NME issue from August 1989, showcasing the Blood Farmers' first official album, Perkidan, and its sudden recognition from the public after the original line-up departed earlier that year
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Release of Reflection and mainstream popularity (1990)[]
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Minor feud with Nirvana (1990-1992)[]
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Fall from popularity, attempted dissolution, experimental material and second conflict with Nirvana (1996-1999)[]
Because the Blood Farmers had begun losing popularity to Nirvana by 1997 and hadn't played any live shows or had been active since 1995 due to Eric's declining health and reclusive attitude, Fournier himself (who was depressed and suicidal at the time due to alcohol abuse and a minor substance abuse problem) and his band decided to record music with a more unique and psychedelic sound, combining audio clips and turning them into full-length tracks. Fournier decided to do this to express himself and to re-emerge into the public eye for the first time since 1995, suffering with severe depression, attempting suicide and taking therapy sessions to overcome his issues in a similar fashion to Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley. This project was an album, complete with experimental song videos inspired by Eric's art. The first experimental album from the group was released the next year in 1998 to praise from certain individuals, eventually releasing a content on the internet and leaving Capitol Records, going back into the spotlight in certain parts of the world as a result. Because of their change in style and lack of activity since the mid 90s, fans of the group's grunge and alternative rock sound were turned away and a completely different fan base would become attracted to their style instead, threads on the internet at the time consisting of mainly fans of psychedelic art, praised the group and eventually led them receiving full attention from mainstream media again by 2000, with most sources becoming fascinated and confused by their music (which was uploaded onto the internet). Because of the growing negativity from certain individuals, Nirvana would still continue to feud with them for nearly a year over the underground nature of the group.
Controversy and rants (1999-2011)[]
Return to the alternative rock scene (2006-2015)[]
In July of 2006, once again after a lack of activity for over six years (due to an increase in negativity and Eric finally going sober, with his mental state improved and no longer seeing any reason to keep recording material of this nature anymore), it was unexpectedly announced to the surprise of many that the Blood Farmers' soon-to-be released eighth studio album would restore the group back to their alternative rock sound from the 90s, this time with a post-grunge sound compared to the material they recorded a decade prior. Since they returned to their alternative sound, the Blood Farmers would perform live more often again and at larger venues in their later years, with old fans returning, expanding the fan base and returning it to its former glory and no longer despised the group for their internet exclusive experimental material, which brought in a different audience and had the band's original fans stop listening to them during the 90s and 2000s. Despite this, unreleased experimental material would continue to be released along with Screeno uploads (onto Eric's channel, which stopped making uploads entirely by late 2018, these later uploads mostly being footage taken from interviews filmed in the early 2010s) of Fournier's popular experimental video content until 2012, some of which were unreleased or recently created at the time, albeit in claymation or sketches. A side from praise, many despised the sudden change and led to some controversy over the next few years, with fans of their experimental material going on to insult the improved version of the Blood Farmers on the internet. Many of these disappointed former fans would continue to watch their content on Screeno as a result and infamously sent death threats to the band.
That same year, the band would release The Blood Farmers: Live From Unplugged, 1993, a live album featuring songs from their famous 1993 Unplugged performance, becoming their most popular live album in a matter of weeks.
Final years with Fournier (2012-2015)[]
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Fournier died on April 17, 2015 as the result of a food poisoning at the age of 47 in a Orange County hospital. Shortly after his death, the band would go on a hiatus until 2017 and would hire Rami Jaffee (who was the group's lead vocalist for a year) and Jerry Cantrell, both of which replaced lead vocalist Eric Fournier, with Cantrell being the group's permanent lead vocalist.
Reunion (2017-present)[]
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The album cover for Rainier Fog (2019)
Discography[]
Studio albums
- Perkidan (1989)
- Reflection (1990)
- 7Incher (1992) (originally recorded in 1985)
- Filth (1993)
- Melancholy (1995)
- Spastic (1998)
- Kinetic (2000)
- Comeback (2006)
- Discover Beyond (2009)
- Sap (2013)
- Blood Is Thicker Than Water (2017)
- Rainier Fog (2019)
- Blood Farmers (2023)
Complilation albums
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Live albums
- The Blood Farmers: Live From Unplugged, 1993 (2012)
Singles[]
- Away (Perkidan) (1989)
- Perkidan (Perkidan) (1989)
- Struck (Reflection) (1990)
- Smother (Reflection) (1990)
- Whatcha Gonna Do (feat. Layne Staley) (Reflection) (1990)
- Filth (feat. Courtney Love) (Filth) (1993)
- I Stand Alone (Filth) (1993)
- Young and Restless (7Incher) (1992)
- Inside and Outside (Melancholy) (1995)
- Melancholy (Melancholy) (1995)
- Shell (feat. D'arcy Wretzky) (Melancholy) (1995)
- Bed of Thorns (Melancholy) (1995)
- Spastic (Spastic) (1998)
- Rainier Fog (Rainier Fog) (2019)