Ox-Eye
Axe to Grind

INFO: Formed in late 2007, OX-EYE was an instrumental punk duo featuring drums & bass guitar filtered into a scuzzy barrage of overdriven riffs and tempo changes. Their minimal setup involved a vintage Rickenbacker bass fed into a hulking 8×10 cab, matched by a stripped down drum set without needless frills like pesky extra toms & multiple timbres of cymbal tones. It was pure distortion channeled into a raw dosage of grinding force, blasting from one song to another with little regard for dynamics or experimentation, and it was a formula that worked. From bars to basements to kitchens, OX-EYE shows were energetic and outright fun, and we patiently waited for a physical release that unfortunately never came.

In 2014, we approached Joel about getting the masters to the only recording session they ever had, a quickly-captured session from 2008 engineered by an IU student in the university recording studios. Although technically a “clear” recording, it failed to match the intensity and energy that OX-EYE’s live performances held, so we set to work remastering the audio to better fit the aesthetic and sound of the band. After some digital post-production, we ran it through a vintage 1/4″ tape machine with the levels set to “holy shit” and were rewarded with a downright filthy final master that both we, and the band, were thrilled with.

Finally released almost 10 years later, Axe to Grind features all 7 of OX-EYE’s tracks recorded to lo-fi Type I tapes, lacking titles, lyrics, and any other form of unnecessary intricacies that dilute this cocktail of unbridled punk filth.

• Cardboard tuck-top  box with black & brown screen-printed art
• Double sided b/w full page insert
• Brown cassette shells with b/w clear labels with no holes

FORMAT: cassette C20 [TYPE I - Ferric]