The warchiefs of the Gore-Stained Axe Tribe came to the misty realm of Santa Cruz, California on the Winter Solstice in 2006 when a group of young nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons inadvertently activated a monster summoning spell by rolling dice on an ensorcelled “Random Encounter Table.” Unfortunately they encountered A BAND OF ORCS, who reacted with all the inappropriate violence you might expect from such savage creatures. When the Orcs heard the demonic sounds of SLAYER's "Raining Blood" emanating from upstairs, they became enchanted by this eerie paean and forced the amateur guitarist they ambushed there to show them how they could generate such unholy hymns. They spared Jed’s life and he showed them the ways and means needed to master this magic called metal, teaching the Orcs how to wield guitar, bass, and drum.

A BAND OF ORCS found metal an excellent sorcery for recruiting hordes to the cause of the Gore-Stained Axe Tribe. Now, the Orcs plot to use these instruments and incantations of destruction for whipping battalions of maelstrom-creating headbangers into a mosh pit frenzy to awaken their unholy god, Great Gzoroth, Dragon of Fire and Chaos, hastening the glorious and prophesied Domination.

In true orc fashion, A BAND OF ORCS scavenges battle-tested remnants from the morbid fields of death, thrash, black and heavy metal to forge a brutal orc metal assault on miserable human ear-drums. Following up on their debut EP “WarChiefs of the Apocalypse” (produced by Scott Lee Sargeant, M.O.D., Laaz Rocket, and Epidemic; engineered by Juan Urteaga), the Orcs’ latest offering, “Adding Heads to the Pile,” (Itchy Music and Entertainment; produced and engineered by Juan Urteaga, Machine Head “Unto the Locust,” Testament “Dark Roots of Earth,” Hatriot “Heroes of Origin”), is a concept album set in the Orc home realm of Hirntodia. It tells tales of how a cowardly and duplicitous human king hires the Gore-Stained Axe Tribe as a mercenary force to war against marauding Giants and their minions.

Gregory Burkart of Fearnet.com says,

“Adding Heads to the Pile demonstrates how the Orcs have a solid grip on their blackened death/thrash fundamentals, but they've also found a way to put their signature on the genre with their lyrical world-building, which helps bring the essence of their outlandish live personas to your earphones. The whole monstrous bundle is wrapped up with supreme artwork, including paintings by fantasy illustrators Chuck Lukacs (Magic: The Gathering) and Lorraine Schleter, which should have fans salivating for a proper vinyl edition.”

Bruce Moore of puregrainaudio.com remarks,

“Right from the get-go these guys make it clear that they're not a gimmick band; this is top-notch, face-melting brutality chock full of killer riffs, wicked shredding and totally insane drumming...I can’t say enough good things about this record; I truly dig the whole package...from the intense cover artwork and music to the whole underlying theme…These guys are the real deal!"

The San Francisco Weekly ranked it among the Top 10 Bay Area Metal albums of 2012 with the likes of Testament’s “Dark Roots of Earth,” High on Fire’s “De Vermis Mysteriis,” and Neurosis’ “Honor Found in Decay,” prompting reviewer Dave Pehling to comment:

“Sporting frighteningly detailed costumes that would make the average Comic-Con attendee soil their superhero tights with fear and/or envy, Santa Cruz outfit A Band of Orcs could probably get away with skimping a bit on the musical end of the equation. Instead, the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired quintet unleashed a positively barbaric debut packed with melodic death-metal anthems that easily stand on their own merit.”

Emerging victorious at the Bay Area edition of the Headbang for the Highway Battle for Mayhem in the summer of 2012, A BAND OF ORCS earned the right to attack the Mayhem Festival at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountainview with the likes of Slayer, Slipknot, Motorhead and Anthrax, then went on to assault the final date of the Summer Slaughter Tour in Anaheim, featuring such metal anti-luminaries as Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, Exhumed and Job for a Cowboy. The Orcs have also shared the battle stage with many worthy metal tribes: 3 Inches of Blood, Toxic Holocaust, Deicide, Holy Grail, Jungle Rot, Warbringer, Hatchet, Sothis, Witchaven, Exmortus and Master among many others.

Great Gzoroth has sent the warchiefs many omens of immanent Domination, such as when metal god and legendary Iron Maiden front-swordsman Bruce Dickinson played the track “Bring Out Your Dead” on his BBC radio show; or when Hollywood wizard Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn, My Cousin Earl) produced their epic battle video for “Into the Maelstrom” (Director, Jess Bryden); or when Fuse TV chose the “Into the Maelstrom” video to help launch their On-Demand service in November of 2008; or when they formed a partnership with Itchy Music and Entertainment. This list of omens goes on.

And now, the stars have aligned once more, the cracks of doom have fissured wider, and a plague-wind blows doom upon this world from the North-East to bring A BAND OF ORCS into a powerful alliance with the legate of EX DEO and KATAKLYSM, Maurizio Iacono. The Orcs have joined the ranks of the Hard Impact Music management team and the Rock the Nation Talent Agency. This is an alliance formed in the Nine Hells to bring forth Domination and take A BAND OF ORCS to the next stage in the invasion plans!

So, come on—Get your Tusks up, add your head to the pile, and prepare for Domination.

Hail Gzoroth!!!
- See more at: http://abandoforcs.com/band_bio/#sthash.pvH3t1Sr.dpuf