Formation and win at battle of bands (2005–2006) Hailing from
Pomona, California, the members of Bonded by Blood met through mutual friends. The idea of creating a band was conceived by lead vocalist Jose Barrales, a singer with
hardcore punk and
crossover thrash backgrounds, influenced by groups like Bad Brains,
Cryptic Slaughter,
D.R.I. and
Black Flag. He always had an appreciation for
heavy metal music, but it was not until a friend recommended him to listen to
Exodus that Barrales got into the
thrash metal subgenre. Exodus' debut album
Bonded by Blood had a profound impact on Barrales, and it was inspiring to the point he idealized the creation of a thrash metal band, as he had noticed that there were few or even no groups in this genre in the music scene. After winning round after round, Bonded by Blood finally won first place. The band then recorded the demo
Four Pints of Blood at Love Juice Labs in the Californian city of
Riverside.
Extinguish the Weak and Feed the Beast (2007–2008) At that time, the band was courted by some
independent record labels, but they refused any offer because they felt they were not ready to sign a
recording contract. After playing plenty more shows and making a few more songs, they recorded the
Extinguish the Weak EP in August 2007. Just as many of its contemporaries, Bonded by Blood self-released the EP. The band was receiving assistance from edtrax (Edward S Duke) of Thrash Unlimited (Radio) who debuted the band to the world and heavily promoted their demo. A BBB track was played every hour 24 hrs a day for about 8 months. One of Earache Records talent scouts was listening to Thrash Unlimited Radio.
Earache Records, In late October, Bonded by Blood was one of the support acts for Exodus on a three-date Mexican tour. Bonded by Blood commenced the recording of its first full-length,
Feed the Beast, in January 2008 at J Street studios in
Sacramento, California with producer Michael Rosen. At first, the recording sessions were going well, but when the band finish off Rosen began to manipulate the songs in ways that musicians were not enjoying it. The band then decided to re-record the album in the same studio where they recorded the
Extinguish the Weak EP. Earache released
Feed the Beast on May 9 in the United Kingdom and June 24 in the United States. Bonded by Blood supported the album with the
Thrashing Like a Maniac tour. They toured the United States between June and July along with Fueled by Fire and Merciless Death, and in Europe between September and October with
Gama Bomb headlining.
Exiled to Earth and The Aftermath (2009–2012) The band continued the tour returning to the UK in May 2009 for a short string of dates with support from labelmates
Cauldron. In November 2009 they announced the departure of Dominguez, who was replaced by bassist Jerry Garcia from
San Bernardino thrash metal band Taking Over. Just a month after the release of
Exiled to Earth, Bonded by Blood have parted ways with Barrales, who decided to leave the band due to personal and financial reasons. The band's founding member was replaced by Mauro Gonzales from local band Mutants of War. The new lineup have been rehearsing for the upcoming tour dates. In early 2011 Jerry left the band for personal and financial reasons and Alex Lee left the band to join
Holy Grail. On October 8, 2011, they welcomed Jessie Sanchez (ex Holy Grail) into the group as their new bassist. With this lineup, Bonded by Blood recorded their third album
The Aftermath, which was released in July 2012. After a few tour stints to promote The Aftermath the band has not been active and has not released any music in 9 years.
Reunion (since 2021) The band announced on their official Facebook and Instagram page that after years of hiatus the band has been revived. The reunion includes 3 of the founding members (Alex Lee, Jose Barrales and Juan Juarez) and Exiled to Earth era bassist (Jerry Garcia). ==Musical style and lyrical themes==