Artists of War was begun in the Summer of 2010 when Brad Olsen, fed up with the lack of talented metal musicians in his hometown, started performing as a solo act. Drawing form a large back-catalog and writing new material over the ensuing months, the bands s/t debut was released on March 25, 2011.

All instruments in AOW are performed by Brad under the guises of three Heavy Metal entities (the Artists of War); they are The Dragon, Dynamo, and Skullcrusher. They began collaborating on an epic concept project titled Peace briefly before the release of the s/t album.

The band strives to channel the inspired sounds of classic metal bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath through a totally modern and progressive scope. Their newer influences include TOOL, High On Fire, Mastodon, and The Sword. 

Artists Of War is: 

The Dragon - Guitars, lead vox, full stacks, katana

Dynamo - Bass, growls, Mjolnir

Skullcrusher - Drums, backing vox, axe

Brad likes to spend his free time lifting weights, doing yoga, thinking about cats, watching anime, and reading sci-fi.