Axegrinder was a band formed in 1986 in London. They played music heavily influenced by Amebix, and other punk rock bands that had been experimenting with metal riffs and sounds. The members of the band had originally been part of two anarchist punk bands based in London: Stone the Crowz and the Proudhon. After both bands fell apart, the original Axegrinder lineup came together to form Tyrants of Hat. Tyrants played a few, violent gigs but broke up because they felt the anarchist punk scene was dying. Axegrinder came together as a politically motivated band without a defined sound.