A rock band has put out its first album three years after reforming and is preparing to play a huge festival gig.

Accrington band Oxym are debuting their new self-released album ‘Passing Through Gateways’, which is the culmination of three years of intense work and more than 30 years of songwriting by its members.

The band grew out of the new wave of British heavy metal of the 70s and 80s and was formed in 1976 by Rhyddings High school friends Rob Rigby and Ross Halliwell.

Mike Wilson, a childhood friend of Rob’s who had attended Moorhead, joined them as a drummer, followed by Mike’s colleague Phil Lord.

However both of the founding members have passed away, leaving Mike and Phil who have resurrected the band with a new line-up.

Mike, who is from Accrington, said: “The album we have done now is a tribute to Rob and Ross, with a lot of the songs written by the band over the last 30 years.

“It was a massive project. It took three years to get it all done but we’re really pleased with it.”

He added: “Oxym came on the back of punk rock, we’re more classic rock than thrash metal. We split in 1981 and reformed just to do this album.

“Writing and recording the album while we all have jobs was hard but it was definitely worth it.”

The cover for Oxym's new album, Passing Through Gateways

Now the band are preparing for their first festival performance in decades at rock festival Brofest in Newcastle on Sunday, February 21 with warm-up gigs in Clitheroe and Accrington.

Mike said: “It’s a long, long time since we played a festival so this is massive and really different for us.

“We played a gig at Key Street in Clitheroe to practice, and a fan had come all the way from Belgium to see us, which was incredible.”

Currently the band’s line up consists of Doz McCarthy on lead and rhythm guitar, Nigel ‘Tolly’ Talbot on bass guitar and vocals, Mike Wilson on drums, Peter Joe Hulmes on lead vocals and Phil Lord on rhythm and lead guitar. However 55-year-old Mike says none of the band are spring chickens.

He said: “We’re all in our fifties, so we are definitely not young but we’re very lively!

“We can still keep up.”

Oxym warmed up for the Brofest festival by performing their new album live in Accrington at the Sydney Street Working Men’s Club on Saturday, February 13.