MELIAH RAGE founding guitarist/songwriter Anthony Nichols has teamed up with one of Boston's most illustrious indie front men, THE BAGS vocalist/ bassist Jon Hardy, to form a unique and edgy new project called MEXICAN APE-LORD. Nichols and Hardy were actually acquaintances prior to working together — both hailing from the same suburban Boston town of Lexington, Massachusetts.

MELIAH RAGE was signed to Epic Records in 1988 and has continued to release new music to this day — compiling a library of nine records since their inception. The band has embarked on multiple international tours, including stops at The Comcast Center and House of Blues in Boston as well as B.B. King Blues Club & Grill and The Ritz in New York City.

THE BAGS were a hard rock/punk rock band that gained traction in the Boston scene. The band's debut album, entitled "Rock Starve", was released in 1987 and received critical acclaim. THE BAGS began touring in 1988, releasing an album under the alias of "Swamp Oaf" and later releasing an actual self-titled LP. Their next album, "Night Of The Corn People", came in 1991, followed by a release in 2003 entitled "Sharpen Your Sticks", which featured a track ("Cavemen Rejoice") that landed on the PlayStation 2 game, Guitar Hero. In 2007, THE BAGS released a 14-track opus, "Mount Rockmore".

"Though we each have had our own thing going over the years, I've always had Jon's voice in the back of my head — I always liked his style and creative sensibilities," Nichols stated. "I have long thought that Jon would be a great vocalist/lyricist for the way I write music," added Nichols, who enlisted drummer Steve Fry and guitarist Dan Dykes to complete the project. The new material will feature the riff-based style that Nichols established with MELIAH RAGE.

MEXICAN APE-LORD will highlight Hardy's completely fresh approach to lyrics and voice — and both Fry and Dykes bring great skill and energy to the project.

The band's as-yet-untitled debut will be released in the spring of 2013 and will certainly be on the radar of MELIAH RAGE fans.