Ogre is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band from Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

.

History

Ogre formed in 1999 when Ross Markonish and Will Broadbent grew tired of their current prog/drone/trance band, Hello Monster, and decided to start a 70s hard rock and heavy metal influenced project. They placed an ad in the local paper for a bassist/vocalist and were contacted by Ed Cunningham. In 2000 they released a six song demo, which led to their debut appearance on Water Dragon Records' Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (the same compilation which saw the debut of Swedish rockers Grand Magus). In 2003 Wurmhole Records released Ogre's debut album, Dawn of the Proto-Man. The band then signed to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's Leaf Hound Records

Leaf Hound Records

Leaf Hound Records is a Japanese record label specializing in 60s and 70s inspired stoner/doom metal. The label takes its name from the 70s hard rock band Leaf Hound. Leaf Hound Records has released material from Japanese bands such as Church of Misery and Sonic Flower, US bands such as Blood...

 for 2006's Seven Hells. Their third album, also on Leaf Hound, was released in 2008. It is entitled Plague of the Planet and consists of one long, multi-part, epic song. It was later rereleased by Shadow Kingdom Records, based out of Pennsylvania.

Ogre has announced that their 10th Anniversary show, set in their hometown of Portland, Maine for September 2009, will be a farewell for the band. However, some live shows may follow in Europe later in 2009 or early 2010.

Influences

Ogre has cited their biggest influences to be Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

, Pentagram

Pentagram (band)

Pentagram is a American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of doom metal. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost...

, Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

, Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus (band)

Saint Vitus is an American doom metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1978. They consist of founding members Dave Chandler and Mark Adams , alongside sporadic singer Scott Weinrich and recently added drummer Henry Vasquez...

, Cirith Ungol

Cirith Ungol (band)

Cirith Ungol was a Californian heavy metal band who formed in 1972 and split up in May 1992. They drew influences from other metal groups such as Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy, as well as Iggy and the Stooges...

, Rush

Rush (band)

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

, Sir Lord Baltimore

Sir Lord Baltimore

Sir Lord Baltimore is a pioneering American heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 1968 by lead vocalist/drummer John Garner, guitarist Louis Dambra, and bass player Gary Justin. They are notable for the fact that a 1971 review of their debut record, Kingdom Come, contained the first...

, AC/DC

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

, Judas Priest

Judas Priest

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...

, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

, Motorhead, Buffalo

Buffalo (band)

Buffalo was an early heavy metal band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1971. The band left a legacy with Australia's heavy metal, pub rock and alternative rock movements. The band had evolved from the Brisbane blues-rock outfit Head, which was originally formed in 1968 by Dave Tice and Peter Wells...

, Toad

Toad (band)

Toad were a Swiss hard rock band, formed by ex-Brainticket members. Their best known songs were a cover of "Purple Haze", "Using My Life" and "Stay".-History:In 1971, European Psychedelic rock band Brainticket released their first album...

, and Van Halen

Van Halen

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...

.

Line-up

• Ed Cunningham - vocals & bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Will Broadbent - drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s
• Ross Markonish - guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  

Albums

• Dawn of Proto-Man CD (2003 Wurmhole Records)
• Seven Hells CD (2006 Leaf Hound Records
  Leaf Hound Records
  Leaf Hound Records is a Japanese record label specializing in 60s and 70s inspired stoner/doom metal. The label takes its name from the 70s hard rock band Leaf Hound. Leaf Hound Records has released material from Japanese bands such as Church of Misery and Sonic Flower, US bands such as Blood...
  
  )
• Plague of the Planet CD (2008 Leaf Hound Records
  Leaf Hound Records
  Leaf Hound Records is a Japanese record label specializing in 60s and 70s inspired stoner/doom metal. The label takes its name from the 70s hard rock band Leaf Hound. Leaf Hound Records has released material from Japanese bands such as Church of Misery and Sonic Flower, US bands such as Blood...
  
  )

Compilation appearances

• "Ogre" and "Skeletonized" on Greatest Hits Vol. 1 CD (2000 Water Dragon Records)
• "Age of Ice" and "God of Iron" on Unleashed from the Northeast LP (2006 Swaying Ball Music)
• "The Centurion" on Short Songs from Long Fellows 7" (2007 Entertainment Experiment)
• "Plague of the planet on "Space Rock! (free with issue 139 of Classic Rock Magazine)