OXX: Fourth Album From Danish Avant/Technical Metal/Hardcore Trio, The Primordial Blues, Now Available On Vinyl Through Nefarious Industries

photo by Rolf Meldgaard

One year after its initial release, The Primordial Blues, the fourth album from Aarhus, Denmark-based avant/technical metallic hardcore trio OXX, is now available on vinyl through Nefarious Industries.

Formed in 2012 by guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Alex Bossen and drummer Martin Aagard, OXX was born in the Danish punk/metal scene and has since grown into a feral beast of its own by weaving elements of avant/free music, afrobeat, and film scoring into its compositions. The band’s raw and spontaneous blend of chaotic hardcore, sludge, and crust acts as an extension of the lyrics; an unfiltered, feverish stream of thought – bits and pieces of novels, obscure cinema, video games, and more, rushing by in a maelstrom of impressions of existence filtered through the eyes of the woefully unstable.

Following the 2019 release of their third album, The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance, OXX was able to bring their glorious belligerence to US audiences for the first time with a sprawling month-long trek. In November of 2022, the band joined Cleric on a two-week tour through parts of Europe, and in early 2023 they welcomed new bassist Anders Frodo S. Mikkelsen.

OXX’s The Primordial Blues is a monument to misery and a harbinger of perpetual sadness. The album was recorded by the band, mixed by Klaus Q Hedegaard Nielsen, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Full Of Hell, Eyes), and completed with artwork by Aske A Hvidtfeldt and layout by Greg Meisenberg. The record also features guest contributions of violin/viola from Kristine Kier, cello from Emalia Slusarczyk, double bass from Adrian Christensen, and piano from Esben Tjalve. Fans of Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch, Refused, and Burnt By The Sun should not ignore OXX.

Initially released in August 2023 on CD, cassette, and digitally, OXX’s The Primordial Blues now arrives in LP format, pressed on Red Vinyl with an insert. The entire record was written with the vinyl format in mind, as both sides conclude with longer, sludgier tunes to tie the knots.

**OXX’s The Primordial Blues is available on all physical formats and digital points at Nefarious Industries where videos for “The Lake And Everything Around It” and “The Coast” are playing HERE**.

OXX continues to perform regularly throughout Denmark and has several new gigs rapidly approaching to support the vinyl release of the album. See confirmed dates below and watch for additional updates from the band to post over the months ahead.

OXX Live:
9/14/2024 Copenhagen Metal Fest @ Amager Bio – Copenhagen, DK [tickets]
9/21/2024 Bygning – Vejle, DK w/ Hexis [tickets]
11/16/2024 Lasher Fest @ Radar – Aarhus, DK [tickets]

“…is a crosscut between sludgy lumberings and manic riffing that feels both mathy and chaotic. It’s a helluva ride, punctuated by enraged vocals and a rhythm section that feels like it’s been given the unenviable task of making sense of complete madness… what should sound like a sonic train wreck has a sort of unexpected cohesiveness to it.” – Decibel Magazine

“Combining elements of technical death metal, metallic hardcore, progressive metal, and many other stylistic points in between… an arrangement that reveals odd twists and turns when you least expect them.” – No Echo

“What this Danish group brings to the table, in addition to belligerent, headbangingly heavy and sludgy riffs, is an amalgamation of off kilter, time signature stomping, tempo shifting chaos that is still somehow easy to digest… Tracks are almost cacophonous in nature, as the unrelenting pace and the stop/start transitions run circles around the listener’s head.” – Metal Epidemic

“…the technical level of the musicians is immense… stepping on post metal ideas that fit very well without exaggerating and give an interesting pause to what they have been doing, so, their personality is huge, and they can go where they want without spoiling the initial riffs or those that come after a main rhythm… 9/10 [translated]” – Metallerium