Where Are You?

Bloodstone --FOUND!
80s metal stylings

Bloodstone's only full length album, "Valley Of The Machines", came out on the doomed Long Island Records in 1995. The mid-90s was the WORST time in hard rock history for a band like Bloodstone to release a historic treasure of 80s metal stylings. Deeply rooted in the traditional essence of groups like Dio and Sabbath, the band felt the need to sprinkle hard rock seasoning to the brew, mixing in elements of bigger arena acts such as White Lion, circa "Fight To Survive" and Ratt. The metal act was skipped over by fans however, who at the time were emptying out their wallets for garage grunge acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden instead. After releasing one album and an EP, "2,000 Down The Line", Bloodstone disappeared from the stages and the shelves.

The band was formed in Stuggart, Germany, when another German band, Ayers Rock, was split in two. Bloodstone retained three members of Ayers Rock, while Lost Gain incorporated the final two members into their fold. The band came together with singer Jochen Sakowsky, guitarists Holger Baumann & Daniel Stevenson, bassist Vito Popovic, and drummer Andrew Green.

With the band in place, Bloodstone recorded their first record, a six-track EP called "2,000 Down The Line". The EP didn't do anything particularly exciting or innovative, with the band learning their craft at this time, possibly caught in the middle of a traditional metal output, and the soundscape they would later create only a year later.

The band recorded their debut album for Long Island Records in 1995.

"Valley Of The Machines" proved to be a stellar achievement, with excellent songwriting, powerful vocals, and a killer production job. With positive messages throughout the album, one would think of Bloodstone as a Christian metal band. The group focused all songwriting efforts into a positive flow of inspiration, never really targeting the thrash or grunge audiences, who at the time seemed to have more of a negative effect on listeners, but instead creating something memorable and uplifting.

Tracks like "Fight For Jerusalem", with its anti-war theme, were superb heartfelt rockers, with vocalist Sakowsky sounding a lot like Ronnie James Dio at times. Bloodstone proved they could play hard rock as well as power metal with the beautifully crafted piece, "Prisoner Of Hell", a fine-tuned gem warning of drug abuse and its consequences. "Oasis For The Blind" could have been lifted straight from "Holy Diver", with the band making full use of their traditional metal roots, again with Sakowsky playing the part of the metal elf and expanding into the early 80s sound. The group even payed homage to one David Bowie, with a neat little cover of "Ziggy Stardust".

"Valley Of The Machines" went on to be released in Japan by the Zero Corporation under the name "Fight For Jerusalem". This made things somewhat confusing for the band, as the Japan release had a different tracklisting, with songs that weren't even included on the Long Island release.

After "Valley Of The Machines" was released both domestically and overseas, the group apparently disbanded. There was no other material released from Bloodstone, and the band disappeared altogether. Nothing has been heard about the group in nine years.

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How's it going? I'm Daniel Stevenson, the guitarist from Bloodstone. Three of our band members found your site independantly of each other.. (weird) and sent me a link. It's very interesting because I am currently busy creating a Bloodstone website. Even though we are no longer together in the 'Valley of the Machines' line-up, we still stay in touch and play from time to time. Thanks for featuring us on your site. --Daniel Stevenson


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