The Ax
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The Ax

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"Our Queen of Dirt Record Release"

"The barebones twosome of guitar and drums is a relatively new thing in popular music..." "Portland garage-metal-punk duo The Ax aren't as interested in varying the limited template as they are in beefing it up to full power, a throttling twin assault that's intent on crushing the listener like a flapjack. These guys take the funnest part of rock music-the wicked riff-and bring it to the forefront, exaggerating it so that nothing else in the song matters. The Ax celebrate tonight with the release of their first full-length, Our Queen of Dirt, out on Whoa!Boat Records, and it's 14 short nuggets of evil-sounding down-tuned garage rock that'll likely cause a bit of headbanging."
-NED LANNAMANN - Portland Mercury


"Meet The Ax - Rock For Rock's Sake"

"The massive crack and thud of the Ax comes from only two members—Adam on drums, Chris on guitar. And though they have last names (Jelsing and Pierce, respectively) they're first-name kind of guys. They've played together for almost 10 years, yet they still have trouble putting a name to their sound.

"We're not metal, but we're not mellow," Adam says.

"We're not math rock, and we're not pop," Chris adds. Stoner rock? "We don't really smoke pot, so no."

What the Ax achieve are the best parts of all that. Heavy but not heady, they chug but never meander. There are bits of Melvins, Federation X, and even some Nirvana, but the only real constants are Chris' raw guitar and Adam beating the holy shit out the drums."
-Andrew Tonry - Portland Mercury


"Black Sea 7""

"THE AX is a turbulent two-man garage rock attack. Heavy and untamed this is an unbelievable output for just two guys. Two guys who know exactly what they’re doing. I’m impressed when a three-piece can pull it off…but a two-piece? This well? Well, that’s something else entirely. Dark, obsessed and feral, THE AX create quite an atmosphere and they’re ambiguous in the perfect way." - NO FRONT TEETH


"Dirt off your shoulders"

"Given sheer the amount of noise it creates, I was surprised to discover that local garage-punk band the Ax is just two dudes. On debut full-length 'Our Queen of Dirt,' the duo of Chris Pierce (guitar and vocals) and Adam Jelsing (drums and backing vox) create a stomping, distorted mess of trebly guitar fuzz and heavy percussion. The record is strikingly consistent, but I'm partial to "Sharp Teeth" and "We are the Pagans," two short oozing numbers that expand each time you play them."
-Michael Mannheimer - Willamette Week


"Black Sea 7" Review"

"The start/stop nature of "Black Sea" plays to the band's strengths, but it's the B-Side "The Zodiac" that steals the show. This song charges ahead like a punked-up and stoned version of "The Immigrant Song," and is just a refreshing blast of energy from start to finish. " - peacedogman.com


Discography

"Black Sea" b/w "The Zodiac" seven inch single 2007
'Our Queen of Dirt' Full-Length CD/LP 2009

Both on Whoa! Boat Records

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Bio

The two members of The Ax have been playing together in many different bands for over ten years. Influenced by a number of bands, mostly from the Northwest like Unwound, A Frames, Karp, Wipers, Tad & The Melvins.