The band's origins are based in the New Orleans–based band Oz which guitarist Steve Blaze joined in the early 1980s, which included Rick Bohrer on vocals, Orlando "Ace" Palacio on guitar, Michael "Maxx" Darby on bass guitar, and Jeff Savelle on drums. When Palacio quit, the band told Blaze that he was the new lead guitarist. The band played gigs under the Oz moniker until Blaze came up with the name Lillian Axe driving home from seeing the movie
Creepshow. Blaze was inspired by a scene in the movie where a skeleton in a bridesmaid dress was floating in a window. The name "Lillian" came to mind as a "creepy sounding, old lady name" along with the word Axe to complete the name. Blaze noted, "So, it's like a skeleton with a veil, and it inspired me. What would that apparition's name be? Some creepy old lady's name, so the name Lillian came to mind. I was sitting at the red light on the corner of Houma Boulevard and Veterans when I immediately thought 'Lillian Axe.'" Bohrer and Cavalier left the band and were replaced by Johnny Vines and Danny King, respectively. For the next four years, Lillian Axe toured extensively opening for bands such as Ratt, Poison and Queensryche. In 1987 at a show in Dallas, the band caught the eye of MCA Records and Marshall Berle (nephew of
Milton Berle) who at the time was managing the band
Ratt. MCA wanted to sign Steve, since he wrote the songs and owned the name. At the time, the band was experiencing some tensions due to addictions. Blaze recalled, "Quite honestly the way things were going at the time, some of the things had gotten so out of hand that I thought that we wouldn't wind up lasting much longer in that capacity. It was chaotic at that time, a few of the guys had addiction issues and I had to make a decision to move forward." During this time, Blaze considered several singers including Jani Lane of Warrant. Marshal Berle mentioned Lane to Blaze and suggested the two meet even though Warrant was already under negotiations with Columbia Records. Jani flew down to New Orleans and spent four days with Blaze, attending Lillian Axe shows and hanging out with Blaze. While the two had a strong mutual respect for one another, it became clear that each of them were the leaders and chief songwriters of their respective bands. The classic lineup came together when former Stiff members, Ron Taylor (
lead vocals), Jon Ster (
rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Rob Stratton (
bass guitar), teamed up with Lillian Axe members Steve Blaze (
lead guitar,
keyboards, backing vocals), and Danny King (
drums) in 1987. The band caught the attention of
Ratt's management which led to a record deal with
MCA and Ratt's
Robbin Crosby producing the band's first album,
Lillian Axe. the band's biggest success to date, in part based on the strength of the single, "True Believer". Returning to the studio with the Swedish producer Leif Mases, the group issued
Psychoschizophrenia in 1993, In 2011, it was announced that the original lineup of Steve Blaze, Johnny Vines, Danny King and Michael "Maxx" Darby would reunite to record an album of classic unreleased songs from the band's early days. The project, entitled
Circle of Light, was named for one those early songs. The album was released in 2012. On August 8, 2013, Lillian Axe was involved in an automobile accident. Band members were treated at local hospitals for minor and non-threatening injuries. There was extensive damage to the band's equipment. Lillian Axe released
One Night in the Temple, an acoustic live album, early in 2014. On November 29, 2014, former guitarist Jon Ster died from heart failure at the age of 52. On January 12, 2017, Lillian Axe received the 2017 Jackson Indie Music Week Icon Award at Duling Hall in
Jackson, Mississippi. On June 4, 2017, Steve Blaze announced that the band was recording a new song entitled "The Weeping Moon", which was to be featured on the album
The Forgotten Art of Melancholy. According to Blaze, the album would feature "the best of the epic ballads" and was scheduled to be released in the fall of 2017. On November 30, 2018, Steve Blaze announced the next Lillian Axe album is in the works, tentatively entitled 'From Womb to Tomb', and it will be in large part an autobiographical work. Blaze also states the album will feature "strings, piano, big vocals" and describes it as a "celebration type record – of life – good and bad." On February 13, 2020, Steve Blaze announced that Lillian Axe were amicably parting ways with lead vocalist Brian Jones. On February 21, 2020, Blaze announced the new singer would be Brent Graham. Graham was the original vocalist for Blaze's side project "Sledgehammer," and vocalist of the New Orleans-based band Supercharger. In September 2021, Lillian Axe announced that they had signed to the newly-formed label Global Rock Records, and had started recording their first studio album in nearly a decade, titled
From Womb to Tomb. The album was released on August 19, 2022. Steve Blaze described the album by saying it was a "timeline from the birth of a child to the ascension of the soul, with each song emphasizing a specific time of one's life and the lessons learned therein." In October 2021, the Lillian Axe catalog was re-released on all digital formats worldwide by Global Rock. The vinyl followed in 2022. On November 5, 2021, Steve Blaze was inducted for the second time into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame for his contributions as a guitarist and songwriter. On September 12, 2023, it was announced that Lillian Axe had signed to BraveWords Records and will release their next album on that label in 2024. On November 24, 2023,
Lillian Axe: The Box, Volume One – Resurrection was released. It included seven remastered CDs, demos and several never-before-released tracks. On March 29, 2024,
Lillian Axe: The Box Volume Two – The Quickening was released. This six CD box set included a mammoth selection of rarities and live tracks, many released for the first time. In February 2025, Lillian Axe entered the recording studio to begin recording their 11th studio album tentatively named, 'The 10 Commandments'. == Members ==