First Blood of Innocence (Band)

Nolan Daniel Marshce [Rhythm Guitar]

James Egvan Reeds [Bass]

Arman Kistron Strolav [Drums/Percussion]

**First Blood of Innocence** was an American Black Metal Band formed in Panama City Beach, Florida, by Red Sebesta, Banjamin Miller Wilson, and James Egvan Reeds. At the time, both Sebesta and Wilson were sojourning in Panama City beach while recording demo takes for Kick Slap's debut album, Red-Hot Steroid Shot. Reeds, a friend of Wilson and former bassist for Death Metal Band Magick Opus, had been a member of the early grunge scene as a teenager and had perused several "grunge-revival" bands, including Kick Slap.

## History

### *Songs from the Ninth Circle* (2004)

Throughout 2004, Sebesta and Wilson had been writing lyrics for the band's demo tape that was to be submitted to local indie record labels. Originally, the band arranged to record in Studio 4 from June 1-5, 2004, however, Reeds was injured in a BMX accident, causing recording to be rescheduled for July 18-23, 2004. The recording sessions took much less time than originally budgeted, with the final take occurring on June 3.

On the night of June 4, the band hosted a small party at Studio 4 to celebrate the completion of recording. Notable attendees were the other members of Kick Slap and Louis Joseph Daniels, who would later become the bassist of Sebesta's thrash metal project, BLASPHEMOUS STIGMATA. Despite the party having very few guests in attendance, it quickly spiraled into what Nolan Marshce later described as "an extremely dangerous situation." At around 10:40 PM, a fight broke out between Wilson and David Mark Irloff, in which Wilson's left ankle was sprained and his right shoulder was dislocated. Irloff suffered a dislocated left elbow and a broken nose. After the fight, Arman Strolav, who was at the time heavily intoxicated, climed to the roof of the studio and, after loosing his footing on the slick roof, fell six stories onto the roof of his car, before rolling onto the street. He suffered a broken right arm, a fractured left femur, two dislocated shoulders, seven broken ribs, a broken collarbone, two sprained ankles, and a broken left wrist. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors told him that it was "lucky that he was still breathing."

These incidents caused tension between the members of Kick Slap, leading to a six-month delay in the release of *Red Hot Steroid Shot*. Irloff threatened to sue Wilson in a Civil Case, only being convinced to halt legal action after a lengthy conference with both Sebesta and George David Johnson.

Strolav's reckless behavior and dependence on alcohol led to the Head A&R Commissioner of Wooded Area Records to suspend *FBI*'s application to join the label until both Strolav and Wilson attended behavioral therapy classes, and Strolav joined a local Alcoholics Anonymous support group. These two incidents nearly bankrupted the band, making the option of self-releasing *Songs From the Ninth Circle* practically impossible. After an extremely tense seven-hour conference, Sebesta agreed to allocate 15% of Fxceless Records funds towards paying for the treatments that Wooded Area requested.