Ozenza

about

"We're dirt rock" - Matt Younker ------------------------------ Sprouting from the frozen ground of West Michigan during the first thaws of 2004, Matt Younker (guitar, vocals) and Josh Stacey (drums) first formed the group as an alternative to their work in progressive-hardcore act and Grand Rapids-scene staple Ren the Director, taking up each other’s instrument and working in the opposite direction of their precursor. Where Ren the Director bowled over audiences with technical maneuvers, mashed-up timing and decorative riffs, Younker and Stacey built from the ground up, syncing guitar and drum into a droning, bowel-shaking foundation that boasts more of its very existence than its essence. With the addition of Younker’s then fiancé (now wife) Britt on bass – her first band and try at the instrument, Mike Brown (formerly of Testadura) on guitar and an enigmatic front-man known only as “The Father,” the band started gigging, quickly making a name for itself on the local scene and leaving its brain-rattling stamp on ear drums around Michigan. In the summer of 2005, the young band hit the road for a week with sludge heroes EYEHATEGOD, opening shows throughout the Midwest. The band’s following was growing, but as it constructed a mighty tower of Babel, unified in sound and spirit, the gods grew jealous. Changes occurred. “The Father” was called elsewhere. Without his prophetic screeching and wailing, Younker and Brown were left to handle the vocals and develop a simpler, rhythm