photos by Adam Tucker
Minnesota-based BLUE OX – formed by former members of Dead To Fall, Devilinside, Ambassador Gun, Coma Eternal, and more – has completed their crushing third album, Holy Vore, and is now preparing to unleash the record on April 2nd. The cover art, track listing, a brief teaser, and more have been issued this week.
Formed in Minneapolis in 2005, BLUE OX instantly became recognized for their pummeling and wild performances as they grabbed the attention of heavy music fans across several genres and like-minded bands to share stages with. In 2007, Lost Archives Records released their debut album, Wet Dreams & Nightmares, the record delivering a balance of hardcore, bluesy stoner riffing, tribal beatings, and drifting feedback voids.
Following lineup changes, BLUE OX began writing and demoing their second album in 2009 and once again hooked up with Minneapolis local studio owner and operator Adam Tucker in 2010 to record their second LP, Stray Dogs On Pity Party Island. This album saw the band expanding their sound with more elements of thrash, grind and punk while weaving in subtleties of psychedelic elements, and delivered all-out moshers, solid hardcore, and slow burners to satisfy any heavy music fan who demands a bit more. The album was self-released in 2011 and followed by a handful of US Summer shows in 2012.
More lineup changes in early 2014 saw BLUE OX once again taking their tone and delivery to the next level, with a revamped rhythm section and the expansion into ardent d-beat drumming and triplet-picking expanding their sound with more dynamics than ever.
The third full-length BLUE OX LP Holy Vore showcases a thundering union of metallic hardcore, d-beat punk, catchy mid-paced chugging, mosh bursts, and fervent howling vocals, embodied by lyrical themes of despair and self-sabotage. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Signaturetone Recording by Adam Tucker and completed with art and design by the band’s Luke Olson and Dennis Hanson.
See a brief teaser for BLUE OX’s Holy Vore LP at THIS LOCATION.
Holy Vore will be available on limited pressings of vinyl and cassette and via streaming services on April 2nd. Watch for audio samples, official videos, preorders, and more to see release over the weeks ahead.
“It’s possible that, when BLUE OX formed, the band’s goal was to be a musical version of Macho Man Randy Savage… BLUE OX sounds like Torche doing an impression of Pantera. Crushing in the most fun way possible, like a mosh pit in a room of inflatable pool toys.” – Invisible Oranges
Holy Vore Track Listing:
1. It Doesn’t Work
2. Imploding Lazarus
3. Fly By Blight
4. Left To The Drift
5. Lesser Gods And The Science Of Superstition
6. Terrestrial Anxiety
7. Nostrum Bomb
BLUE OX:
Dennis Hanson – vocals
Logan Kelly – guitar
Mike Van Heel – guitar
Dan Johnson – drums
Luke Olson – bass/vocals
https://blueoxmpls.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/blueox_mpls
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRojoEJjZ7p_y0Xkq1CP4kA
https://www.facebook.com/blueoxmn