Gern Blanston - Gern Blanston

Gern Blanston was a post-hardcore trio from Portland, Oregon that was around during the early to mid nineties. They were one of the more prominent bands operating within the local scene during that time. Their first release was a split 7” in 1993 with Thirty Ought Six, also from Portland. In 1996 the band released an absolutely fantastic album through Cavity Search Records, which would be their one and only album as they broke up shortly after its release. Sadly, I know close to nothing about this band. I know some of you out there are fairly familiar with the goings on in the Portland local music scene from that time period. Any information as to what the members are up to these days would receive the utmost appreciation, as they pretty much disappeared after the album was released.

As for the album itself, I can’t recommend it enough for anyone that enjoys a noisier maybe metallic post-hardcore sound. It’s really an overlooked gem of an album that absolutely tears it up for eight songs. I’ve always liked how they mixed in audio samples from what I assume are movies; I recognize the Planet of the Apes clips at least. With the songs all being named solely by their track number and the band pretty much always remaining a mystery to me anyway, they actually fit quite well adding an extra sense of peculiarity to the bands sound.

Gern Blanston - #4 [MP3]
Gern Blanston - #7 [MP3]

Although the band may still toil in obscurity, thankfully you can still find their album and even the split they did with Thirty Ought Six over at Cavity Search. Definitely drop the cash for this album if the tunes above peak your interest, such a great album that shouldn’t be doomed to be lost in a world of Steve Martin Google search results. Enjoy!