In 2007, an Irish youth living in Bristol by the name of Chris Murray, attempted to name a group called Full Intercourse. He was prevented from doing so, and The Band of the Eye was born. Proclaiming itself ‘here to win your hearts and interfere with your daughters’, The Band of the Eye emerged with a hard rock sound onto an English music scene fixated with flaccid indie-pop.

Progress was made form the offset. The toilet-venue tour led to better venues, and an early demo got the international exposure as it worked meticulously to find people to play the music on radio, university stations, podcasts and internet shows. A track was used on the compilation CD included with Alternative Magazine. Favourable reviews began to appear too: ‘amped-up gutter riffs’ and ‘neo-grunge’ declared the journalists. Here was a band that without having anything so preposterous as a message, were singing songs about something, and they shouted loud enough to sound like they meant it.

In early 2008, the bands’ first demo was heard by producer Paul Tipler (Placebo, Stereolab, Idlewild, 80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster). Tipler recorded 3 songs for the band, from which ‘Dress Down Day’, their first single, was released by excellent indie label Shifty Disco. Airplay, interviews and features increased in standing, including various BBC shows and a featured band week on XFM. It was decided that the band should record an album, so they went back to London to record more material with Tipler. Emerging from the studio, the title chosen for the album was ‘Maximum Fisting’. Realising that DJ’s might refuse to utter this title, ‘Contagious Ignorance’ was settled on instead.

The first single to be taken from the album will be ‘Why You Are So Awful ‘, is available now.

The bands' music can be listened to at www.myspace.com/thebandoftheeye