IRON FIST #22 FOREWARD TO HELL

T
Iron Fist Magazine
Unit 2, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL
here are some things that you Elsewhere, Sabbat bassist Fraser
Tel: 0207 609 4537
can never tire of, and frankly Craske talks with Jimmy Martin
Email: darren@ironfistzine.com
Louise@IronFistMag.com
when it comes to seminal about the 30th anniversary of the
www.IronFistMag.com
www.Facebook.com/IronFistZine artists, as we wrap up Iron Fist 22 best UK thrash album ever made
and look over another mammoth - ‘History of A Time To Come’;
Iron Fist Magazine Paradise Lost tell Guy Strachan how
issue, it’s pretty clear just how many
Publisher: (Behind the) Will (of Sleep) Palmer they prefer their early demos to their
important artists are featured inside
Commissioning Editor: Darren “Sabbra” Ca-Sadler debut album and what went wrong
Staff Writer: Angela “Hand of Doom” Davey these pages. We are honoured
in the studio; and Doro talks about
Sub Editor: Louise “It’s Alright” Crane to have Black Sabbath grace our
her new double dose of metal and
Designer: Aaron (Heaven and) Howdle cover and, rest assured, we haven’t why she loves Iron Fist so much!
Additional Design & Cover: Pol (A National) Abran
cobbled together any cash-in of old
Senior Contributors:
quotes cunningly disguised as new And this is literally scratching the
Jimmy “Air Dance” Martin interviews; or rehashed old interviews surface to what’s inside this issue.
Kevin Stewart “Paranoid” Panko in an effort to sell you something As always, we strive to bring you
Dom “Lukes Wall” Lawson ‘new’. No way! The best drummer excellence and a unique approach
Chris “I’m Going Through Changes” Chantler in the world, Bill Ward spoke with to the genre we all love. We hope
J. “Born Again” Bennett
‘Fist scribe Chris Chantler about the you enjoy it and we’ll see you for
band’s early days right up to more Issue 23 very soon!
Wrecking Crew
Guy Strachan
TEACHER’S
recent times, and PETit all
– TRIBUTES TOan
makes for THE SPIRIT IN BLACK...
Kez Whelan excellent and coherent read, and I
Andreas Andreou sincerely hope you agree. Sabbath Darren J. Sadler
Peter Clarke on the cover - it doesn’t get much
John Consterdine
better in my opinion!
Kat Gillham

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DEATH, BLACK, HEAVY, THRASH, DOOM

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IRON FIST MAGAZINE 3

 CONTENTS
REGULARS
67. ZINE REPORT
This issue we explore the Brazilian scene with Marcelo Batista, author of zine
and now book, United Forces

46. BROKEN HEROES: PRAYING MANTIS

Behind the stunning Rodney Matthews artwork which graces their album
sleeves, lies some stupendous melodic hard rock. After 40 years, Praying
Mantis show no sign of letting up as new album ‘Gravity’ illustrates

84. THE PAST IS ALIVE: SATAN’S EMPIRE

Dundee’s best NWOBHM have finally released an album. We cannot con-

PAGE 46: PRAYING MANTIS

tain our excitement!

90. UNDER THE INFLUENCE: ANGEL OF MERCY

Cult American metallers Angel Of Mercy discuss their long lost, but recently
reissued, classic ‘The Avatar’
6. BLACK HORIZONS
World renowned heavy metal photographer Ester Segarra discusses her 102. HEAVY METAL HUNTER
photo-book ‘Ars Umbra’ and what it’s like working with killer bands Grammatically we should say Heavy Metal Hunters this issue as SPELL divulge
all their shared collections with us!
8. INTO BATTLE
Haunt, Octopus, Speedclaw, Seven Sisters and Impure all lead the charge in 130. LIVIN’ FAST
our pages dedicated to new and rising bands in metal Ryan Waste has the last word - as always!

FEATURES
PAGE 46: WYTCH HAZEL
18. MANILLA ROAD
As a mark of respect to Mark Shelton -  we have
replaced Justin’s feature with a tribute to the Ma-
nilla Road frontman who passed away last month.
Justin will be back next issue.
20. BLACK SABBATH
Bill Ward - legendary drummer and one quarter
of the band who invented Heavy Metal - talks to
Iron Fist about veganism, fame and success, and
why Black Sabbath hated the idea of releasing
singles. And lots of other things in between
28. PARADISE LOST
The Bradford doom crew talk about their early
demo days and the tape-trading roots that would
grow into one of the world’s most revered bands
38. YOB
Frontman Mike Scheidt discusses new album ‘Our
Raw Heart’ and his battle for survival after under-
going life-threatening surgery
42. WYTCH HAZEL
Back with their second album ‘Sojourn’, the UK
hard rockers have delivered one of the best al-
bums of the year - packed with positivity and killer
riffs, frontman Colin Hendra tells Iron Fist why the
Devil doesn’t have all the best tunes
44. JILL JANUS
Heartbreakingly, “The Shark” is not the only fallen
warrior to be remembered this issue. Here, J.
Bennett remembers his friend Huntress frontwom-
en Jill Janus.
50. ZEAL & ARDOR
Manuel Gagneux talks to Iron Fist about new
album ‘Stranger Fruit’, Varg Vikernes and his Swiss
upbringing
54. LIZZY BORDEN
The original ‘80s shock rocker, Lizzy Borden is back
with new album ‘My Midnight Things’, and Lizzy is
hoping the UK will once again embrace him
58. BULLET
It’s been a difficult few years for the Euro met-
allers, but Bullet tell Iron Fist there’s nothing going
to stop them right now!
60. DEE SNIDER
Twisted ‘F*cking’ Sister’s larger than life frontman
Dee Snider has gone solo and he’s still hungry to
rock!
64. ORANGE GOBLIN
Ben Ward, frontman with London rockers Orange
Goblin, reflects on the creation of ‘The Beast Bites
Back’ and heavy metal survival tactics
94. AGE OF TAURUS
Toby Wright explains the story behind Age Of Tau-
rus’ epic new album ‘The Colony Slain’ and just
why location won’t hinder the pursuit of playing
heavy metal
96. IRON VOID
A doom concept album about King Arthur - surely
not! Read and weep!
98. VIOLATION WOUND
When he’s not the backbone of Autopsy, Chris
Reifert is making more noise with Violation Wound
- he tells Iron Fist just why he loves it so
106. DORO
Germany’s Metal Queen Doro tells Iron Fist about
her continued love affair with heavy metal and
why she misses Lemmy
110. GHOST
Tobias Forge waxes lyrical about his new Ghost
frontman persona Cardinal Copia and what
makes him tick
114. SABBAT
Thirty years ago Sabbat’s ‘History Of A Time To
Come’ was released. Bassist Frazer Craske looks
back on the time when four youngsters from
Nottingham changed the face of heavy metal
forever
118. UK THRASH SPECIAL
Renowned metal and punk author Ian Glasper
celebrates the rather uncelebrated genre - the
UK thrash scene
124. SATAN
Releasing new album ‘Cruel Magic’ we talk to
the pioneers of metal about their legacy and why
they are still relevant now

32. LUCIFER 82. WITCHSORROW

A new line-up, new deal and a new album, Jo- It’s not easy playing in a UK doom band, but for
hanna Sadonis reveals to Iron Fist why a fresh start Nick Ruskell - founding member of Hampshire’s
has made Sweden’s Lucifer a stronger beast Witchsorrow - the results are positively worth it

36. KHEMMIS 88. WHIPSTRIKER

The Colorado doom crew talk about their new Victor Vasconcellos may have recorded Brazilian
album ‘Desolation’ and Iron Fist is eager to hear Venom-worshippers Whipstriker’s latest album in
an booze-induced haze, but the results of ‘Merci-
less Artillery’ are far from shoddy
 ARS UMBRA
Heavy metal photographer Ester Segarra this Summer has published her anthology of music
photography, ‘Ars Umbra - The Art Of Ester Segarra’. The book contains over 150 photographs,
spanning over 100 bands - with accompanying texts written by the featured musicians, detailing
the stories behind many of the pictures.
The book is also accompanied by a vinyl featuring an instrumental soundtrack was written and
performed by Uno Bruniusson (ex-In Solitude, Death Alley, Procession).
Barcelona-born Ester has shot the likes of Ghost, Watain, Electric Wizard, Venom, Triptykon,
Carcass and many more - many of which have featured in the pages of Iron Fist throughout its
existence. IRON FIST talks to the woman behind the lens.

“
T
ell us about the title of the book.
after months of having too many working titles,
Ars Umbra just came to me. It means the art
of shadow and it reflects very much my creative
process. My work is about the use of shadows, what
is in the shadow, what stays in the dark and what
gets brought into the light. And it is that dance
between light and shadow that the title refers to.”
aerial artists to be able to hang and hold mid-air with
silk and ropes and being able to capture it. Involved
body painting, silks and robes and many trial and errors
throughout a long exhausting day. But we did it and the
result turned out great!”
Who have you particularly enjoyed photographing over
the years?
“Chronologically, Electric Wizard, Lee Dorrian, Watain
and Ghost are the bands I have had the pleasure to work
with more often over the years and

“It feels pretty

What photo shoots have you found whom I have created some of the
the most challenging over the years longest lasting memories.”

special to do
and why?
“Photo shoots should be challenging You’ve provided Iron Fist with plenty

a shoot that
and working with musicians of pictures over the course of the
even more so. When you add magazine’s existence - any highlights

you know will

unpredictable elements like fire, for you?
smoke, snakes and guerrilla style “I think your first is always the one you

be the one
tactics to get to places you shouldn’t, remember the most and my first was
many times it’s a miracle that also the first cover for the magazine.

gracing the first

you get it done at all! One of the It feels pretty special to do a shoot
most challenging shoots was the that you know will be the one gracing

cover of a new
one for the artwork of Schamasch the first cover of a new magazine.
album, ‘Triangle’. A very interesting It was a thrill to wait and see how it

magazine”
concept but difficult, technically was going to look like as there was no
and physically; just to find the right prior reference and I suggested the

6 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

strapline (“You can’t resist the devil’s grip”). It was
Erik Danielsson from Watain and it was a memorable
shoot! We did it in London in collaboration with
make-up artist, Lucy Darkness. Former Editor Louise
Brown went around London looking for branches,
found in a cemetery, and wood sticks, found in a
skip, to turn Erik into a crucified antichrist.”

What is it about your work/ you, that artists/

musicians like and want to work with you?
“I keep asking myself the same! Haha! Maybe you
should ask them… From the quotes of the book
where musicians tell the story behind some of the
pictures, I can probably say is the outcome, the way
I work, the passion I show and the willingness to go as
far as is needed in order to get the picture.”

Tell us the idea behind the vinyl soundtrack that

accompanies the book - what prompted the idea,
how do you approach Uno and what does it add to
the experience of the book?
“The idea for the soundtrack was to provide a
rhythm a pace and a mind altering interactive
experience of the pictures by using one of the
earliest forms of music, drum-based percussion
sound. It is a music photography book, so contains
music and photography and it has been created
in a format that mirrors an album, reversing the
process by which the music pictures are born.
Music photography exists because of the music, the
soundtrack which takes you back to the very origin
of music exists because of the pictures. The end/
death becomes the beginning/birth, the serpent
that eats its own tail. The symbol of the book is an
Ouroboros.

“It was inspired by a Macumba ritual I attended in

Brazil. The first drummer that came to mind when
I thought of the soundtrack was Uno, talking to a
few people about the idea, prior to contacting him,
confirmed he was the right choice to do it. Luckily
we are friends so I just told him about my idea and
amazingly and gratefully he said yes! As I am no
musician but a visual artist, I sent him my ideas for it
as images. For me, listening to music inspires images
so I reversed the process by sending him images to
inspire the soundtrack, the book in digital format and
also some footage from the Macumba ritual.
“Not only he got it but he exceeded all my
expectations by creating one hell of a soundtrack!
By getting into the mind altering state that
percussion leads you to, you get drawn into the
pictures just like you would in an state of altered
consciousness. Or however else you experience
reality when in that state.”

Who have you not photographed yet, but would like

to?
“Black Sabbath, King Diamond, Nick Cave,
Diamanda Galas…”

Will there be a second book?

“After all the stress and hard work of getting this one
out, I would say: hell no! But I know that while going
through the nearly half a million pictures I have,
there was more than one book waiting to be out
and shared… Time will tell.”
www.e-segarra.com/
Photos: From top left: Venom; Tom G Warrior; Electric Wizard; Abbath

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 7

BLACK HORIZONS
A T T L E
INTO B DS
EW BAN
N DIE FOR
TO
“Beastmaker’s business
stuff really sucked the life
out of us and that’s part
of why I started another
band, because this time
no one is going to tell us
what to do”
8 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
HAUNT
Growing up in the ‘80s as the
son of parents obsessed with
heavy metal and hard rock,
one of whom happened to be
Montrose/Sammy Hagar bassist,
Bill ‘The Electric’ Church, you
could say that being a musician
was predestined for Trevor
Church. He recounts stories
about how, according to his
mother, when MTV would air
videos of songs on which his dad
played, toddler Trevor would
grab his ukulele and makeshift
mic-stand and set up in front of
the boob tube, miming along
to Hagar hits ‘I Can’t Drive 55’,
‘Three Lock Box’ and ‘There’s
Only One Way To Rock’.
Negative experiences with
an early drum teacher almost
soured him on music as a pre-
teen. It wasn’t until the Church’s
bought their sprog his own guitar
and he started hanging out with
an older cousin that his interest in
music really took off.
“The guitar had to be red,
obviously, because of Sammy!”
he laughs. “But I became more
interested in it, maybe because
Sammy was always running
around and that made it look
more energetic and interesting.
My cousin Mike was older,
played guitar and was really
into Maiden, Crüe, Priest and
Sabbath and his step-brother
was a drummer. I think that
impacted me more than my
dad. My dad was my dad;
he was strict and no one ever
wants to do what their dad tells
them! But he did teach me two
important lessons: he taught me
how to tune and how to change
strings properly.”
Trevor’s name might be
recognisable as the mastermind
behind Beastmaker, the doom
metal outfit that issued two
records through Rise Above
in 2016 and 2017. After an
exhausting period as the point
man for all the band’s creative
and logistical affairs and “some
really bad business decisions”,
they went on hiatus. During
the downtime, Trevor and
Beastmaker drummer Andy
Saldate found themselves
increasingly interested in
recording bands and working
on the other side of the glass
and console. Trevor built a studio
and began down that path. The
creative bug, however, couldn’t
be squashed and he soon found
himself writing material in the
vein of Angel Witch, Cauldron
and Dokken for what would
become Haunt.
“I think I have more fun doing
Haunt,” he reasons. “It’s
extremely challenging for me to
play guitar and sing at the same
time and also be behind all the
song writing and putting it all
together. Beastmaker’s business
stuff really sucked the life out
of us and that’s part of why I
started another band, because
this time no one is going to tell us
what to do.”
With the help of then-session
drummer Daniel Wilson, Trevor
released the ‘Luminous Eyes’
EP as Haunt in 2017. Non-stop
writing and having access to
a studio in the garage of the
house he bought last year has
provided a quick turnaround for
the band (now featuring Wilson,
Beastmaker guitarist John William
Tucker and bassist Matthew
Wilhoit) and their debut full-
length ‘Burst Into Flame’.
It was an album plagued by
sound problems, new studio
issues, equipment bugs and a
failed attempt working with an
outside producer which resulted
in it actually being recorded
three times over. Trevor says it
was a difficult and busy time –
compounded by various tours –
in which he was trying to set the
band’s business ducks in a row
so as to avoid the experience
he had with Beastmaker. But
the delay and hardships were
eventually overcome because
you can’t keep an obsessive lifer down.
“At this point in my life, I guess I’d consider myself
a singer-songwriter. I never put up walls and say,
‘this is what I’m going to do’. Obviously, my love for
heavy metal is massive, but I always just wanted to
play with other musicians who had strong songs. I’m
going to be 37 this year and it took until I was about
29 until I figured things out, like how to do stuff like
simultaneously sing while playing guitar. These days
I’m writing only for Haunt and I’m not even thinking
about keeping an old school approach or anything
like that. All I do is go out there is go out there write
riffs and complete the song. I write both guitar parts,
bass, drums, then have to sing on it. It’s a lot of work
but I fucking love it!”
KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
‘Burst Into Flame’ is out now on Shadow Kingdom
www.facebook.com/hauntthenation
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 9
BLACK HORIZONS
IMPURE
A T T L E
INTO B DS
“Impure was conceived by myself,
Horned Father of Desecration, in
2017 to conjure unclean, unblessed
EW BAN
N DIE FOR
black/death metal in the spirit of
all the depraved ancient gods”,
says drummer and vocalist of Saint
TO Louis blackened death metal duo,
Impure.
“Satyrannical Lord of Assault was
recruited to handle guitar duties
and within a few weeks of forming,
we recorded the ‘Satan’s Eclipse’
“Our ambition is creating promo demo tape, which was
dubbed for and distributed to
more devilish riffs” those within our close circle. Earlier
this year, Impure was unleashed
on stage with live bassist Obscure
Bleeder of Priests, performing
the first two live desecrations
with Occvlta, and a third show
supporting Negative Plane and
Malokarpatan. We recorded our
first proper record in early March
2018 — a single featuring two re-
recorded demo tracks, ‘Transfixed
in Limbo’ and ‘Apocryphal Chants’
— self-released on the Summer
Solstice [June 21st 2018].” The
Summer Solstice is an ironic release
date for a single that sounds like
the unholy rumblings of an evil
10 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
and ancient terror – their primeval,
visceral riffs create the ultimate in
primal black metal that will have
fans of the likes of VON, Beherit and
Samael the world over salivating.
“I am primarily responsible for the
song writing and lyrics, which are
all written outside of rehearsals,”
reveals Horned Father. “When we
meet together, we work on the
songs, and whatever structural
changes happen organically as we
play through them.” Having already
performed with some of the genre’s
most respected acts, Impure
plan on upholding their current
trajectory, with their goals primarily
focused on live performances and
creating more music. “Our ambition
is to maintain our momentum
and continue on our trajectory,
performing with like-minded and
formidable bands, assembling
some tours, and, most importantly,
crafting more devilish riffs,” HF
tells us. “We have been fortunate
enough so far to have only
participated in live performances
with bands we respect and who we
consider are truly honouring and
upholding the ways of old, and not
bastardizing it. We did face some
misfortune when Profanatica and
Sortilegia had to drop off of the
Chicago show with Occvlta due
to an “act of God”, but still we
prevailed and had a sinister black
magic evening with Occvlta and
Unspeakable, to which those who
still attended can attest.”
The duo will now begin work on
their first full length album, as well as
playing shows with more coveted
black metal royalty – true black
metal evil has been unleashed
and shows no signs of slowing its
momentum. “A full-length has been
written and will be recorded this
summer, which is also when the
debut 7” single will be released.”
Prepare yourselves – Impure truly
are in league with Satan.
ANGELA DAVEY
www.facebook.com/pg/electricassaultrecords
DREADFUL FATE
“Never give in, fight the world,
follow your own path and do
your best to feel good along
the way,” is the motto of
Scandinavia’s most savage
new band. Featuring current
and ex-members from the likes
of Deströyer 666, Benediction,
Entombed A.D, Panzerfaust and
Portrait, Sweden’s Dreadful Fate
are a band that goes hard. The
thrash/death metal four piece
may have existed for less than
a year but their history together
as a group of friends is one that
spans a much longer period of
time.
“We have all known each
other for centuries, more or less,
we’re old fucks playing the sort
of thrash/death/speed metal
that we adore the hell out of
ourselves,” drummer Corpse
Skelethor informs us. “The
band formed by myself, Total
Destruction [bass] and Death
Ripper [guitar] early 2017, and
after a few auditions, we found
the perfect vocalist for the group
named Bestial.
We’re all living kinda far away
from each other, but we’re
aiming for the same goal,
enjoy the music we play, and
oddly enough we actually like
to hang out even outside the
rehearsal room, which is a rarity
these days.” Their demo ‘The
Sin of Sodom’ and recently
released debut album proper
“If you love rock ‘n’ roll
and metal there are no
downsides, it always
supports you no matter
what, in good times as
well in bad”
‘Vengeance’ (released through
I Hate Records/To the Death
Records) are both an aggressive
mix of influences including Sadus,
Destruction, Kreator, Slayer,
Bathory, Demolition Hammer,
Root and Prime Evil. Pooling
together these resources, the
band are proud of their work
ethic and that every member
brings something different to the
table when writing their music.
“The riffs are mainly written by
Total Destruction and Death
Ripper, but on the debut album
Bestial also wrote a mayhemic
thrasher,” Corpse Skelethor says.
“On most of the songs we have
arranged them together at the
rehearsal studio.
Lyrics are mostly written by Bestial,
but I have also helped out a bit
on the subject. I like the way we
work, and I’m certain that we
have more brutality hidden under
our sleeves; time will tell.” Corpse
Skelethor is firm in his belief that
metal is all important in changing
the mood, and aims to channel
this through Dreadful Fate. “If
you love rock ‘n’ roll and metal
there are no downsides, it always
supports you no matter what, in
good times as well in bad”, he
reflects, “If you feel like shit, listen
to any classic Iron Maiden album
and you will feel good again. If
you feel too good, listen to some
Sabaton and they will take you
straight down to earth again, no
one here on earth was born to
have a perfect life, obviously.”
ANGELA DAVEY
www.Facebook.com/dreadfulfate
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 11
BLACK HORIZONS
CHRCH
A T T L E
INTO B DS
Doom metal’s hottest new
commodity are CHRCH - having
already garnered a huge amount
N
of success playing 2016’s edition
EW BA
N DIE FOR
of Roadburn, as well as this year’s
Desertfest London. The band
TO
captured the attention of Steve
Von Till and co.’s record label,
Neurot, who signed them for the
release of their sophomore album
‘Light Will Consume Us All’.
“I think our proximity to the Bay
Area and our personal network
of friends was the right kind of
“One of the basic combination to allow for them
intentions with to actually hear our music,” says
vocalist Eva, “We are really happy
everything we create that they liked what they heard
and welcomed us in.”
is that it is meant to
be explored, felt and While their debut ‘Unanswered
Hymns’ is what spring boarded
interpreted through your the Sacramento quintet - Chris
own personal lenses” (guitar/ vocals), Ben (bass), Adam
(drums), Karl (guitar/ vocals) -
into the spotlight, they feel their
latest effort is the truest and most
cohesive expression of the sound
12 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
they’re trying to achieve.
“We feel really proud of this
record. We pushed ourselves
in some aspects and further
experimented with pacing and
the slow development of theme.
One of the basic intentions with
everything we create in Chrch is
that it is meant to be explored, felt
and interpreted through your own
personal lenses. It isn’t something
that should be intellectualised. This
is why the lyrics aren’t released.
Ultimately we try and create
space within the music for the
listener. And in this way we all
become unified.”
Having packed out the Black
Heart at Desertfest and ‘Light
Will Consume Us All’ being met
with such critical acclaim, Chrch
are a little overwhelmed but
certainly not unappreciative of
all the attention they’re suddenly
receiving.
“We feel super lucky for all of
the opportunities we’ve had. It
can be hard to really process the
pace when you’re within it and
constantly working on things; but
there have definitely been times
that we’ve felt overwhelmed with
the response.”
Having signed to one of the
most esteemed labels within the
modern doom metal industry,
and a clear trajectory to the top
of their game clearly paved out
for them, it would easy to assume
that Chrch’s aspirations were
lofty and set on worldwide fame,
however, they remain humble
despite their rapid success.
“I don’t think our ambitions
have changed much since the
beginning of the band. We want
to create and play music with our
friends in as many places as we
can. And we feel very fortunate
to be able to do that.”
ANGELA DAVEY
‘Unanswered Hymns’ is out now on Neurot
www.facebook.com/chrchdoomca
MONUMENT
“I consider us to be a ‘Hellhound’ - released on Rock Of “We are the only new
continuation of bands like Iron Angels Records - is the band’s third
Maiden, Judas Priest, Rainbow album in just four years; quite a fast band currently coming
and Saxon. Monument is not turn around for any band.
about being new, it is about
out of the UK that is
being good”. says a proud “We are fortunate to be blessed truly flying the flag
Peter Ellis, vocalist of NWOBHM with a hard work ethic and also for
band Monument. “We would me, as the songwriter of the band, for Britain’s musical
not be the musicians we are if it I am constantly coming up with heritage”
wasn’t for those bands. Each of new ideas. I am in fact halfway
us has spent countless hours as through writing the next album inspire them to be ethical, to go
teenagers studying their works, already,” says Peter. But they’ve out there and do the right thing,
which of course naturally comes seen a quick improvement in their to follow their dreams without
out in our music and is part of sound in such a short time, stepping on the dreams of others.
what people find appealing “I am saddened that so many of
about the band”. “I feel that my songwriting has our fellow musicians seem to be
become a lot more mature since more concerned about booze,
The East London band, along ‘Renegades’ [the band’s debut] drugs and groupies than setting
with bulldog mascot Jack, are a and I am particularly proud of how an example for the people who
continuation of all the music they cohesive ‘Hellhound’s songs are as idolise them. No one is a saint,
loved as they grew up, as well as a unit, it is an album you can play but when you know young
the origins of said metal, from start to finish and every song people are looking up to you,
“We take great pride in being a compliments the last one,” he you have the responsibility to
British band and we feel that we says. set the right example, I strongly
are the only new band currently Having been brought up on the believe that”.
coming out of the UK that is band’s influences, the guys know
truly flying the flag for Britain’s that they have a responsibility to know young people are
musical heritage,” says Peter. their young fans” looking up to you, you have
“Unfortunately, we see it more the responsibility to set the right
and more these days, there is “I feel that when you reach a example, I strongly believe that”.
a sentiment in Western Europe level where you have a platform PETER CLARKE
where people seem to almost feel and you start becoming a role
ashamed of their cultural past, model for young people you ‘Hellhound’ is out now on Rock of Angels
which saddens me deeply and we have the responsibility to be a www.monumentband.com
are doing our part in making sure positive figure in their lives and
that people are reminded of why
the UK is still revered around the
world for the bands it produced
in the past. With that said, I need
to make it very clear that being
proud of being a British band
does not mean we share any
views with people who espouse
racism or nationalism, I myself am
an immigrant to this country who
moved here in his late teens from
Greece.”
He continues: “I believe that you
can only play this style of music
and have it sound authentic if
you live in the Britain. It is in the
culture of the East End that you
will find the authentic sources of
inspiration for this style of metal,
walking the streets of Whitechapel
daydreaming about Jack the
Ripper, going down the pub
listening to old geezers still talking
about Churchill.”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 13

BLACK HORIZONS
OCTOPUS everybody else how to feel about it.
You’re the best judge of what it means to

L E
you,” continues Frezzato.

A T T
INTO B DS
And what a sound it is! Powerful vocals
from Masha Marjieh alongside established
musicians (ex-Electric Six and Big Chief)

AN
have made for a classic rock sound, and

EW B
N DIE FOR
they want that genre to be kept as simple
as that.

TO “If somebody asks what we do, we’re

“The only rule is, we can
do whatever we want as
long as it fits with what
we want to do”
Between releasing stand-alone singles
and “dodging meteors”, a decade has
passed from Detroit’s newest purveyors of
occult/psych rock, Octopus’, inception
and the release of their debut record
‘Supernatural Alliance’ - released this
year on Rise Above. Not that this bothers
the band at all!
“We’ve given ourselves a lot of room to
spread out,” says guitarist and founding
member Joseph Frezzato, “The only rule is,
we can do whatever we want as long as
it fits with what we want to do”.
Octopus are not a band who care to give
too many opinions about their influences
on the band, instead letting the music
talk for itself.
“When somebody makes something
I think it’s weird if they go and tell
a rock band,” says Frezzato. “That’s a
pretty wide field, but I reckon we fit in
somewhere between the Shadows and
Slayer”.
Whatever their sound might be described
as, legendary label Rise Above have put
their full backing behind it.
“We’re ecstatic about working with Rise
Above,” says Frezzato, “Rise Above is my
favourite contemporary record label. No
joke. They have been for a long time.
We trust they signed us because they
were into what we’re doing.This isn’t a
company that’s super niche or super
limited about what they put out. It’s wide
open, which is right up our alley.”
Octopus want their music to do the
talking, so we’ll all shut up now, and
suggest you hear what the band have to
say!
PETER CLARKE
www.facebook.com/Octopus888Official

SEVEN SISTERS
Lake - it’s one of the best versions of that story I think. [The book]
sparked the idea of about taking the religious, philosophical and
political aspects of that story - the whole overarching themes of
an old way of life and a newer way of life colliding and struggling
to work with each other and ultimately there is sacrifice but
neither of them are right or wrong, it’s just the way it comes out.”

Arguably no UK metal band has produced such a concept

album since Sabbat’s ‘A HIstory Of A Time To Come’, released
30 years ago. And with all this talk of kings, queens, and magical
swords, it’s no wonder the band’s promo pictures were taken at
the top of Glastonbury’s legendary Tor - one of the most magical
and spiritual locations in Britain!

Recorded at Knight Time Studios in Ealing, London with Jim

Knight, ‘The Cauldron And The Cross’ was recorded and mixed
in 14 days.

“It wasn’t a massive amount of time to do an album, but we

managed to rehearse a lot more than we did for the first one so
we were fairly prepared,” says Kyle.

“There seems to be some momentum And following on from their debut on High Roller, ‘The Cauldron
And The Cross’ sees the London quartet find a new home at fast-
rising metal label Dissonance - “[Label boss Steve’s] a man with
and it’s exciting” a vision and he’s a hard worker and that’s attractive to a band”.

Understanding the premise of the themes and concepts behind
Seven Sisters’ second album ‘The Cauldron And The Cross’
really puts into perspective the adventure and the plight that
engulfs the sound and vibe contained within.
Says mainman Kyle McNeil: “It’s all sparked from the novel called
The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which is the re-
telling of the Arthurian Legends from the point of view of the
female characters - the daughters, the wives, the Lady Of The
And now it’s out, Kyle says the band has its sights on as much
touring as they can do, flying the flag for true British heavy metal.
“With bands like Eliminator, Amulet, Toledo Steel - there seems to
be some momentum and it’s exciting; it feels pretty cool to be
part of something.”
JOHN CONSTERDINE
www.facebook.com/sevensistersheavymetal

14 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

SPEEDCLAW
When Speedclaw’s latest release, ‘Beast In The Mist,’
found its way to the Iron Fist bunker, it inadvertently
started an assumptive joke amongst the brass. With
artwork depicting a menacing, yet cartoonish,
demon assaulting/abducting a young woman,
and photos of the band attired in requisite denim
‘n’ leather, the gag was that while none of us had
actually heard Speedclaw, there stood a good
chance it could be quickly deduced not only how
they sounded, but that the material would be wholly
appropriate for these pages. Sometimes judging
a book by its cover is a good thing, especially
when that cover hints at vintage melodic speed/
power metal. Ironically enough, the four Croatians
comprising Speedclaw weren’t even twinkles in the
eyes of strangers at an Evil Blood [Croatia’s most
infamous old-school thrash act] show when the
bands that influenced them most were making their
first rounds. Still, the quartet sure as heck sounds like
the ‘80s aren’t distant objects in the rear view mirror.
“We got together in 2015, but the serious work
started a year later after a line-up change,” says
guitarist Luka Jurisic. “Before Speedclaw, we all
played in various local garage bands, constantly
switching from one band to another. I think it’s safe
to say that bands like Metallica and Exodus led us
to discover the NWOBHM. We were already huge
fans of Priest, Maiden, Motorhead and Venom,
but discovering the NWOBHM was really a game
changer. To us, that wasn’t old-school metal; it was
simply metal the way metal was meant to be. We
wanted to sound like a NWOBHM band. That was
our goal. Shortly after releasing [first EP] ‘Iron Speed’
we realised that the sound has to come naturally
and that’s the direction we’re heading in now. Music
should come from the
heart. Speedclaw is the
first band any of us have
taken seriously.”
One of the ways in which
they’ve demonstrated this
seriousness is by getting
rid of their former moniker,
Kandža, the Croatian word
for “the claw,” in order
to “open ourselves to
international listeners.”
Secondly, the focus
remains on keeping busy.
‘Iron Speed’ came less
than a year after forming.
Their newest release, the
Olof Wikstrand-produced
‘Beast In The Mist,’ came
a year later. All the while,
there were gigs in their
home nation, a European tour, the filming of a video
for the mini-album’s title track (which Luka describes
as “old cars and young girls, what else do you
need?”) and working out a deal with American label
Shadow Kingdom.
“‘Iron Speed’ really showed us what we needed to
work on regarding our playing skills as well as writing.
Nonetheless, it was the right thing to do at the time
and it really prepared us for further work. ‘Beast In
The Mist’ was recorded in two studios. The tracks
‘Rising of the Claw’ and ‘Aggression Strikes’ were
meant to be singles, but things turned out in such
way that we got a chance to record a few more
tracks. And Olof Wikstrand did an awesome job. It’s
a huge step-up in comparison to ‘Iron Speed’.”
A good portion of the Speedclaw work ethic
comes from the recognition of the limitations of the
Croatian scene and the determination to avoid
returning to local circuit of hobbyist bands jamming
for fun in garages and basements.
“The Croatian metal scene is volatile. The fans are
very dedicated and that’s all that matters. There
aren’t a lot of bands playing the style of metal we
do, so I would say we stand out. But on the other
side, there aren’t a lot of metal fans into that kind of
metal, so there’s not much room for us to grow. We
love touring and are definitely going to do more in
the future. We don’t want to limit our audience to
Croatia, or even Europe, so who knows where we
might play in the future.”
KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
‘Beast In The Mist’ is out now on Shadow Kingdom.
www.Facebook.com/speedclawrijeka
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 15
BLACK HORIZONS
A T T L E
INTO B DS
EW BA N
N DIE FOR
TO
There is something about Canada
when it comes to ballsy metal.
Manacle started sometime in 2013
as a trio with the intent of being
a speed metal band like the first
Exciter album, or Agent Steel, but
kind of just naturally turned into a
more melodic heavy metal band
that plays fast. Manacle’s debut
album ‘No Fear To Persevere’ will
be one of those releases that will
dominate 2018 and also has Olof
Wikstrand (Enforcer) recruited
for mixing and mastering. “Olof
nailed the sound we were going
for and I couldn’t be happier
with how it sounds,” are the
exact words of guitarist and main
composer Inti Paredes and we
couldn’t agree more. What it
sounds like? Early-Omen, Agent
Steel, Savage Grace and lot of
Judas Priest! Inti is very specific
about his influences; “When I was
younger I looked up to the guitar
heroes of my favourite bands
and it definitely inspired me to
play. Randy Rhoads was a big
motivator and Judas Priest was a
huge discovery as well. I also think
Canada has such a good library
of rock and metal that it was easy
to be influenced by Canadian
classics”.
‘No Fear To Persevere” consists
of six songs and the composing
procedure can’t be more classic,
according to Inti. “Typically, I have
a lyric or melody idea come to
me and start from there. I have a
bunch of riffs in the old riff bank
16 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
and it’s just a matter of arranging
them in a way that sounds good
to me. I like trying to jam out song
ideas as well. Usually I’ll just play a
riff or two and see where it goes
from there”.
There is a new wave of metal
bands coming from United States
“Metal is my
life and I
love it”
and Canada, with Gatekeeper,
Eternal Champion, Visigoth, Spell,
Emblem and more. There might
be something boiling and ready
to explode. “Sometimes I feel like
metal is becoming popular again
and everything is big, lots of shows
and bands, and then suddenly
everything dries up for a bit and
suddenly no one is around,” says
Inti, to conclude with “if anything,
I don’t think it’s boiling over, but
simmering down and becoming
more concentrated”. But can
underground metal become the
new mainstream? Inti is clear on
this, both as a musician and fan,
“I think the underground could
become the new mainstream, but
MANACLE
it would take a lot to get it there.
In the ‘80s, heavy metal was
advertised on a mainstream level
like pop music. If they gave it that
kind of treatment again, I’m sure
it would rise… although I don’t
necessarily think it would be the
best thing… My view: Too much
hype on everything!”
However, Inti is deep into metal
and besides a huge fan, guitarist
and composer, he also runs a
metal label in Canada, promoting
shows and anything metal-
related. “Metal is my life and I love
it, sometimes it feels like a lot, and
there’s not much money in it… but
what else would I rather do?” And
that’s exactly what Manacle is all
about!
But what about Judas Priest? The
tour is running and Inti was already
there! “Priest will always be my
favourite band, and I have the
feeling this may be one of their
last tours. Of course it’s not the
same without KK and Glen, but
what other choice do I have since
I missed the glory days! They were
still great and I regret nothing,
long live the Priest!”
Don’t let your life pass you by!
ANDREAS ANDREOU
www.facebook.com/manaclemetal
 MARK ‘THE SHARK’ SHELTON - 1957-2018

“I always thought that my

music could be related to
by others but I was never
sure if it would amount
to anything. I always had
the dream and I guess
I’m proof that sometimes
dreams do come true.
But it appears this only
happens when you really

Photo: YouTube:unARTigNYC
work hard at it and don’t
give up.”

- Mark Shelton, Metal

Brothers webzine, 2017

MANILLA ROAD founder/ guitarist/ vocalist

MARK SHELTON passed away while on tour in Germany in
July. CHRIS CHANTLER pays tribute

M
ark Shelton was entranced and
consumed by music from the
earliest age. His mother was
Professor of Music at Friends University
in the Sheltons’ hometown Wichita,
Kansas, and she ensured that the fledgling
Shark was learning piano from the age
of four. At school Mark played trumpet
and baritone and sang in choirs before
playing drums in jazz band The Herd, but
he finally picked up an electric guitar after
bearing eyewitness to the birth of heavy
metal. Mark was still 13 years old when
he saw Black Sabbath live in Wichita
in 1971; “I stood right in front of Tony
Iommi all night going ‘Yeah, that’s what
I want to do’,” he told Mark Kadzielawa
in 2017. However, in his first rock band -
appropriately named Embryo - Mark was
drumming and singing on covers of songs
by abiding inspirations like Deep Purple,
Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Alice
Cooper, Grand Funk, Yes and Johnny
Winter. Mark’s first stint as guitarist
was in a band promisingly entitled
Apocalypse, but around this time he also
joined a couple of “country rock” groups
“just to make money” he later admitted
- surely the only time he ever applied
financial motives to making music.
After a stint in the Marine Corps, Mark
had a load of aggression to work out:
“When I got back I was all ready to rip
people’s heads off and shit down their
throats,” he explained to Snakepit zine
in 2000. “That’s what I was trying to
achieve with my music at that point.”
The result was Manilla Road, perhaps
the one band that best separates metal’s
true brethren from the dilettante part-
timers. A demo tape, ‘Underground’, was
recorded in 1979 (and subsequently lost),
but with such raw, arcane sound, label
support was unforthcoming. Undaunted,
Mark set up his own label, Roadster
Records, to produce and distribute the
trio’s debut LP ‘Invasion’ - a rough-
and-ready curio absorbing influences
like Rush, Hawkwind and the emerging
NWOBHM with an eccentric, late-night
stoner basement vibe. After recording and
scrapping an entire follow-up, ‘Dreams
Of Eschaton’, MR unleashed the self-
explanatory ‘Metal’ in 1982, a slightly
more accessible LP that fully embraced
Mark’s passion for epic fantasy in
infectious tunes like the Conan-indebted
‘Queen Of The Black Coast’ and the
mystical ‘Cage Of Mirrors’.
Although Mark was later critical of the
homemade naivety of those early records,

18 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

they bear testament to the development
of a highly singular talent, a man whose
lead playing spontaneously assimilated
the quirks of 70s rock’s finest axemen
and fired them through his own wholly
unorthodox and distinctive vision.
Mark’s voice already set the band fully
apart, although he often conceded that
his valorous nasal proclamations (once
likened to Skeletor fronting a metal band)
was an approach that people either loved
or hated (but really, how could you not
love it?). His songwriting nous was also
embryonically evident, taking a dead
simple, in-your-face riff and somehow
imbuing it with celestial magnitude. All
these were to radiantly crystallise on
1983’s ‘Crystal Logic’, a cast-iron classic
of doomy Weird Tales metal that was just
the first in a cryptic triptych of cast-iron
classics, with 1985’s ‘Open The Gates’ and
1986’s ‘The Deluge’ both benefitting from
richly-improved production, the auspices
of a ‘proper’ label (French imprint Black
Dragon, who signed Candlemass on the
strength of Mark’s enthusiasm) and a new
trump card behind the drum kit: Randy
‘Thrasher’ Foxe, pushing the propulsive
momentum to thrilling new levels.
With an impulse to get faster and heavier
with each release, 1987’s ’Mystification’
and 1988’s ’Out Of The Abyss’ edged
closer to the barbaric fury of thrash,
with Mark’s love of horror to the fore -
where it stayed for 1990s ‘The Courts
Of Chaos’. However, as the ‘90s began,
traditional heavy metal was in a state of
embattled confusion. “Metal is dead so
I’ve heard, but not while I’m still above
ground,” Mark sang on the hypnotic ‘Dig
Me No Grave’, but in truth the band he’d
fronted for 13 years was on the brink of
collapse. He assembled the all-new project
Circus Maximus, recording a versatile,
experimental LP in 1992, yet Black
Dragon insisted on releasing it as Manilla
Road, a weasel tactic that hastened Mark’s
withdrawal from the music business.
In retrospect, it was a savvy move to sit
out the ‘90s altogether; while metal was
diluted into increasingly undignified,
bastardised forms, the true cult epic
legend of Manilla Road continued to
grow, new generations cottoning on to the
secret majesty of those deep-underground
masterworks.
Manilla Road finally re-emerged in 2001
with a concept album that redefined the
concept of epic; ‘Atlantis Rising’ told of
a war between Cthulhu, Odin, Poseidon
and Thor, stuffed with sea beasts and
elder gods (“I don’t know how I came
up with it, except that I smoke a lot of
marijuana,” Mark quipped). It set the
tone for a Manilla Road comeback that
Mark undertook with total conviction and
commitment, gigging relentlessly while
releasing seven more studio albums in
15 years securing the band some long-
overdue recognition and devotion. “For
many years I had to work a normal job
as well as work at keeping a music career
alive,” Mark explained to Spanish webzine
Metal Brothers, accounting for his prolific
creativity. “That and also raising two
children left me very little time to spend
working on writing and recording music.
Nowadays my children are fully grown
and I am making a meagre living on my
music alone. I don’t have as much money
as I did, but I am much happier.”
In the last few years Mark was expanding
his horizons via the mischievous nom
de plume EC Hellwell, forming an
eponymous band to explore his love of
Seventies prog, also using the name to
pen weird tales for the metal musicians’
literary anthology Swords Of Steel.
Additionally, Mark recorded an acoustic
solo album ‘Obsidian Dreams’ in 2015,
and reunited with original MR drummer
Rick Fisher to form Riddlemaster,
releasing a stellar LP in 2017. Last month
Mark featured as guest vocalist on the
new album by Greek power metallers
Battleroar, as Manilla Road worked their
way around the European festival circuit.
It was in the midst of this busy activity
that Mark was suddenly and unexpectedly
taken from us after a headline show at
German festival Headbangers Open Air.
He leaves behind three children and a
granddaughter, as well as an immensely
passionate and loyal worldwide fanbase.
Just last month Iron Fist spoke to Mark for
a forthcoming feature on American metal.
He was the most easy, sincere and humble
interviewee, and we’re enormously glad
that we took the chance to thank him for
one of the all-time greatest discographies
in metal. We asked if there was a feeling
around ‘Crystal Logic’ that Manilla Road
had something truly magical going on:
“Oh hell yes!” he replied. “There was
and still is that overpowering feeling of
magical influence going on. I still feel it
today, stronger than ever. Onward and
upward into the never ending spiral of
magic we call music.”
www.gofundme.com/mark-shelton-rip
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 19
 BLACK SABBATH - the band that started metal
and continues to influence,
inspire and be enjoyed by millions worldwide.
With the release of a new (old) singles boxset,
IRON FIST’s CHRIS CHANTLER
talks with the backbone of doom BILL WARD
about those early years - the camaraderie, veganism,
and the trials of becoming rock stars.
 and some of those principles
stayed intact for quite a long time”
“We had wonderful principles at the outset,

L-R: Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, outside St Giles-in-the-Fields Church in London, 1970. Photo credit: MM-Media Archive/IconicPix
BLACK SABBATH
O
nce again Black Sabbath have repackaged their 70s
singles in yet another swanky ‘vintage years’ box
set. The CD package was released in 2000 (and has
anyone ever actually put any of them in their stereo?), so this
vinyl edition is arguably way overdue. Bill Ward, Sabbath’s
engine room from their inception in 1968 to his booze-induced
departure in 1980 (as well as sporadic reunions since Live
Aid), laughs a hollow laugh when the boxset is mentioned. Not
because he’s being called upon to promote yet another cash-in
product for the band that he was frozen out of in 2012, but
because the Black Sabbath that he remembers were always
united by an instinctive antipathy to the singles market.
“There was always an underlying fear that if we made singles
we might become a part of popdom, and that might somehow
threaten our more aggressive attitude,” explains Bill, sounding
relaxed on the phone from his holiday home in Las Vegas. “The
things we were writing really didn’t fit inside that image, that’s
one of the biggest reasons we didn’t like singles. We didn’t want
to go there.”
Another reason for the band’s aversion to seven inches is the
bitter taste left by their very first recorded offering, released
January 1970: ‘Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With
Me)’, a cover of a trumpet-heavy tune by Minneapolis blues
rockers Crow. As with Iron Maiden’s similarly gynocentric
’Women In Uniform’ 10 years later, sceptical bandmates were
cajoled into covering a mildly successful non-UK single, due to
a record company’s lack of confidence in their new signing. “I
don’t want to discredit our manager at the time, Jim Simpson,
but I think what was going on then was a certain amount of
fear and mistrust about what we could do,” reckons Bill. “We
had ‘Wicked World’, ‘NIB’ and ‘Black Sabbath’ by that time,
they’d all been written by the band, and it was a bit of a kick
in the arse for those songs to be passed over. For us to be
marketable and presentable we would have to play something
poppy, but I think they chose that song just because it had
the word ‘evil’ in it! ‘Oh let’s do that, ‘evil’ goes with Black
Sabbath…’ It was an over-a-whisky sort of idea. I actually
resented the whole thing. I don’t want to speak bad of the
band Crow, but for us, playing this song wasn’t where we were
at. It was very light, in terms of where we were going it was
miles away musically. But we learned very quickly from that,
to say ‘Let’s have some faith in what we’re doing, let’s promote
who we are, and not try to find success on the coattails of
someone else’s song’.”
Did the management ever convince Sabbath to play that song
live? “Nooo, no no,” Bill insists. “We were quite rebellious to
any kind of authority, it’s just the nature of the beast of where
we come from. For me there were still low self-esteem issues,
but I liked being with the guys, we were as one. We were angry
guys and we’d put things down, but we were very protective
of who we were; it was us and them. Managers were people
who were trying to cultivate us, and that was looked at as, you
know, ‘let’s be watchful here’. We believed in what we were
doing, and we did it the hard way. We went town by town, club
by club, that’s how we got our base.”
In particular, the first people who ‘got’ Sabbath were the
working men of the county of Cumberland - renamed Cumbria
in 1974 when Ted Heath’s Tories controversially redrew
ancient county boundaries. Sabbath’s debt to the pioneering
headbangers of England’s North-West even pre-dates the
Osbourne/Iommi/Butler/Ward line-up: “We were already
popular there because of what we’d done in Mythology,” the
drummer recalls, “so when the new band showed up they
were all ready, they bit right into the apple. They just loved it,
these incredible little places in and around the Lake District
- Workington, Whitehaven, Carlisle - they were so on, they
loved the loud, raucous sound, they just ate it up. They were
the first responders. It took a little while for fans in London
and even Birmingham to catch on, but it was instantaneous in
Cumbria.”
Sabbath’s hard-working, hard-drinking
grass roots support was of such
importance that Bill still keenly feels the
discomfort and concern within the band
when they started attracting a wider,
more mainstream fanbase, precipitated
by the release of their biggest single
in August 1970. “When ‘Paranoid’ was
released we suddenly became rock
stars,” Bill asserts. “I’m not saying that’s
a bad thing! But there’s something
about that romance of being attracted
to pop stars, as opposed to a band that
was taking itself rather seriously and
heading down a different road. We had a
taste of what it was like to be a hit band,
and the people who were attracted to the
idea of a band with a number one record
needed to be continually stimulated
by other number one records. At the
same time we had a lot of people who
were listening to our other work like
‘Electric Funeral’ and ‘Black Sabbath’,
they really liked that kind of thing, so
they were a bit upset that ‘Paranoid’
had got into the charts! You could get
away with making the album charts, but
when your single gets into the charts,
that makes it different; I think there was
resentment that would fly. We could feel
the separation between our core fanbase
and the pop base who had come to see
what it was all about. It took about 18
months for that pop base to dissipate,
and our normal base came back to the
front and closed their ranks. I’m not
faulting the pop crowd, I don’t want
to make a divisive statement. I’m glad
that these things came about and we
got a chance to experience it. I think if
we’d made another hit single we’d have
kept that pop fanbase; there were these
two audiences attracted to this same
sound. But we couldn’t do that, there
was something inside us that put the
integrity of the music first. That would
have taken out those business aspects.”
Leapfrogging over six years of hard
touring and several of the greatest
metal albums of all time, in 1976 Bill’s
own Beatles-ish ballad ‘It’s Alright’ was
chosen for release as a single in the
USA, Mexico, Japan, Netherlands, Italy,
Australia and the Philippines. Tony had
high hopes for the release, explaining
to US magazine Circus “We want to
break out as far as we can… so we’ve
decided to hit the singles market.” A
performance video was even filmed for
the song, featuring the bizarre sight of
Black Sabbath as a trio with a singing
drummer. Did it come as a surprise
to Bill when the song was chosen to
represent the band in such a visible
fashion?
“Yes!” Bill affirms. “Exactly. In fact, it
wasn’t until the mid-80s that I realised
that had happened! I thought ‘Oh my
God!’, you know? I don’t remember
doing what we actually see on film.
Then I heard Guns N’ Roses’ version
of it, and I love that. It was one of my
first compositions. I’d written quite a
lot actually, but it got kinda pushed to
the side or whatever. All the guys in
the band liked ‘It’s Alright’, but we all
knew it couldn’t be a Sabbath song. It
was hanging around for two or three
years, and one day we just needed one
more song, and it was actually Ozz who
suggested that we do ‘It’s Alright’, he
really liked it. I was against it, I felt very
BLACK SABBATH
Bill Ward live at The Rainbow Theatre in London, March 1973. Photo credit: Ian Dickson / IconicPix
shy and uncomfortable about the whole thing. Ozz, Geezer,
Tony and I were all writing different things at that time, that
were not necessarily hardcore Sabbath, and ‘It’s Alright’ was
something that Ozz would sing in the pub or whatever, it was
one of those things that just floated around the family. Then
Ozz said “Let’s do it”, and he meant for me to sing it. I’d done
backing vocals and made vocal suggestions, it wasn’t a lot, but
I did do things like that.”
In the summer of 1976 Ozzy temporarily left Sabbath to record
aborted solo sessions with members of Cumbrian proggers
Necromandus. Is this why ‘It’s Alright’ was chosen for such
heavy promotion? “I can’t remember the circumstances in
terms of when that was filmed, and was Ozzy in or out at
that point, I’m pretty vague on that,” admits Bill. “My only
recollection of that era is the time when we were working in
Los Angeles, when I went and spoke to Ozz about where the
band had come to, and how it had agreed to move forward… I
remember that because it’s something I will hold in my heart
for the rest of my life. Those were difficult circumstances.”
However shy Bill felt about taking the lead vocal on a Sabbath
song, the success of ‘It’s Alright’ guaranteed him another
showcase for his voice on ‘Swinging The Chain’, the closing
song from 1978’s ‘Never Say Die!’ (the last Ozzy-fronted
Sabbath studio LP until 2013). “We’d done it again, we’d
written the record and we were one song short, and we threw
that together in the studio,” explains Bill. “I’d been playing
with it at home, but we really built in in the studio. I thought
vocally it was actually quite good, back then I had three
octaves and I went all the way through, so I’m pleased with
the vocals on that, and there’s good backbeats on it. But it still
seems to me like it’s out of place. I much prefer Ozzy Osbourne
singing vocals in Black Sabbath! For me to have my voice on
a record is like, ‘Aaargh!’ I don’t think I’ve fully accepted it, to
be honest,” he laughs. “I interacted with rhythms, riffs, licks,
where we were going. I interacted in every way possible, but
primarily I played drums. So to step outside that and put a
vocal track down still feels a little odd, even as we speak about
it now. When I make music today I do vocals and keyboards
and all kinds of things, but it fits; it’s okay for me to do that,
I’ve given myself permission to sing in a band. But when
you’re the drummer in Black Sabbath… I dunno, it’s a bit
odd!” Bill breaks off, laughing. “Being shy, and having a bit of
a self-esteem problem, one of things I’ve learnt over the years
is that when my peers, my bandmates or fellow musicians, give
me congratulations, that really is an extra leg up for me. It’s
encouraged me into becoming whatever I am today. It’s been
through other musicians that brought me here, but right next
to those it’s been the fans who have pushed it along.”
While we’re on the subject of Bill singing for Sabbath, it would
be remiss not to mention ‘Blow On A Jug’, the brief drunken
BLACK SABBATH

ditty just audible at the end of 1975’s ‘Sabotage’. “The famous

Osbourne-Ward end-of-the-night studio song!” chuckles Bill.
“That was not our first take on that, by the way! ‘Blow On A
Jug’ was around for a long time, it was one of our popular “WHEN
party favourites, but this time someone put a mic on when
we didn’t know. I was playing the piano, doing my absolutely ‘PARANOID’
stupid voice with Ozz in accompaniment. That was one hell
of a song! But that kind of behaviour was stupidly paralysing WAS RELEASED
everything each day, so, you know…”
WE SUDDENLY
BECAME ROCK
A key facet of the band’s success in the 70s always seemed to
be that they were a gang of mates who could take the piss and

STARS.
laugh together. “That’s always how it’s been, we would just
poke fun at each other all the time,” affirms Bill. “Sadly that

WE HAD A TASTE
stopped when everything else stopped in 2012. Prior to that, I
was the brunt of all the usual jokes, but I liked to give as good
as I got, I had my own ways of kicking back - as we all did!
Terry is just brilliantly sarcastic. Tony’s so obvious with his
jokes, he’s stupidly laughable and wonderfully encouraging.
OF WHAT IT WAS
The humour I think held us very much together. You need that
when you’re coming back from a gig, and you’ve just put it all
LIKE TO BE
out. Doing stupid things afterwards is a light-hearted way of
getting rid of any tension. And I don’t think there was ever a A HIT BAND”
fight; there might have been a couple on bad drugs, but I can’t
remember us ever fighting with each other in a way that would
be horrible.”
Tony were crossing the globe on a definitely final world tour,
releasing one overly self-referential studio album, Bill has
You must have all felt effectively joined at the hip for the first
gone back to square one, forming an all-new power trio Day
ten years? “Pretty much, in everything. One of my favourite
Of Errors, as well as maintaining the Bill Ward Band and
stories is when we were in Hamburg, we shared one plate of
releasing his third solo album, the extraordinary ‘Accountable
food. And we had a road manager, so we had five forks! We
Beasts’. Although a Day Of Errors tour had to be cancelled
shared it equally as well - we had wonderful principles at the
in November 2017 when he was hospitalised with heart
outset, and some of those principles stayed intact for quite a
problems, Bill remains determined, ambitious and excited
long time. So it’s very enlightening for me to talk about these
about writing, recording and performing new music: “Right
things. What you do at the lunch table, and how you prepare to
now we’re hoping to go into the studios mid-July, we’ve got
eat off one plate with each other, is how you’re going to play,
four more songs to record for Day Of Errors, and literally
so it shows up in the music.”
this morning I’m working on another album for BWB, I just
finished a couple of songs for that. I’ve written two singles,
On the subject of culinary concerns, how difficult must it
we might put them on iTunes, and they’ll probably show up
have been to tour the UK in the early 70s with Geezer being
on an album within a year or two. So I’m gonna try and get
a vegan? “It was really, really tough for him to find food on
a few new releases out. I never stop. I’m in drum rehearsals
tour,” Bill emphasises. “We were all pretty skinny back then
all the time. I’m having to work on my right leg a bit, I’m not
but he was like a skeleton. I don’t know how he did that,
too pleased with it. I can play, but I’m not at the place where I
knowing how difficult it is to be vegan, even today. I’ve been
want to be. My left leg’s fine, my top half’s fine, my breathing
vegan myself for nearly 30 years, but I have to admire Terry,
- all the rest of me is fine! At rehearsal I’ll play whatever takes
because he went through so much. We never stopped in those
my fancy. I do ‘I Got Rhythm’, there’s a very old version of
early days, we’d come off a tour, make a record and go straight
it with Gene Krupa playing drums, so it’s very fast, and you
back out again, we were on the road all the time, so I really
really have to move, so I’m using that to try to build up my
take my hat off to him.”
right foot. I had to give up a bit in November but I’m back
playing drums, and we’re doing okay now.”
We all know how and why Bill’s path diverged from Sabbath’s
in the last years of the band’s chequered history. Unsignable
contracts, health problems and a he-said-she-said gossip-rag ‘Supersonic Years – The Seventies Singles Box Set’
media circus conspired to stain the legacy of Black Sabbath’s is out now on BMG

truly magical original quartet. But while Ozzy, Geezer and www.blacksabbath.com
 Sell It To The World
Commemorating (or commiserating) their 30th anniversary, IRON FIST
invited Bradford’s purveyors of death/doom PARADISE LOST to look back
at the early days. Guitarists GREGOR MACKINTOSH and AARON AEDY
tell GUY STRACHAN about the creation of two seminal, genre-defining
demos, standing out in the tape-trading scene, and “pasty” drumming...
”I personally think that the second were generally expensive to inimitable; in the case of Paradise
demo is better than the album, hire. Factor in the cost of tape, Lost it was also the health issues of
just from atmosphere point of and you might understand why one member that inadvertently
view more than anything else,” many recordings of the day were gave Paradise Lost one of their
says Paradise Lost guitarist completed in well under a week, key, standout traits at the time.
Gregor Mackintosh, comparing sometimes just a few hours. Often
the ‘Frozen Illusion’ demo to staffed by people who thought “We were going to be a faster
the band’s debut album, ‘Lost Bon Jovi was beyond the pale, band,” says guitarist Aaron Aedy,
Paradise’. “Nobody had a clue at attempting to capture something “but our drummer at the time, Tuds
the time. You were at the mercy of approximating a band’s sound [Matthew Archer], was diabetic
the record label and the in-house was often an impossible task. The and with the blast beat stuff
studio engineer. relative youth and inexperience he could only go so far before
of many of the bands also played running out of steam, so I suppose
If they didn’t know anything about a part in creating something that he indirectly forged the sound
that kind of music, which back of the band. Plus, he was really
then was highly likely; as it was good at the slow stuff and myself
just the beginnings of the scene, and Greg were huge fans of that
they were more used to mixing first Candlemass album. We were
voiceovers and now having to mix also into harmonies, which always
grindcore! Inevitably you were sound better at slower speeds. So
going to get these really bizarre Tuds only having so much fuel in
sounding records. For a handful his tank forged that sound really.”
of bands that worked because Four-fifths of the band had known
their albums sounded so unique; each other for many years
nowadays everyone sounds the previously (“Tuds had sat behind
same, but you ended up with a me at school from the age of 11”,
whole load of albums that just says Aaron), while bassist Steve
sounded odd.” had been sounded out by Aaron
as a possible bass player.
Back in the 1980s, one of the
primary difficulties for young With an eye towards the tape-
(underground) labels and bands trading scene that at the time was
alike was access to decent the key method of getting music
recording facilities. Long before out beyond friends and locals,
the advent of cheap home Greg had printed up some demo
recording, the studios of the day covers in his lunch hour while

28 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 “I always felt that
if you were going to
play extreme music
then there should
be absolutely no fun
in it whatsoever. It
should be as dour as
possible”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 29

 Paradise Lost
working as a printer for his local
council, adding Steve as the bass
player before he had even been
asked to join.
“Even before we’d asked him to
join, I had some free time at work
so I printed up the tape covers,”
says Greg. “I took one of them
down to the pub to show Steve.
I asked him if he could play bass,
and he said, ‘no but I’m bloody
well going to have to now, aren’t
I?”
Commencing rehearsals, the
quintet immediately stood apart
from almost every other band
taking their tentative first steps by
forsaking playing a cover version or
three and instead writing original
material together at their very first
rehearsal.
“We wrote a song at our very
first rehearsal called ‘Blood Filled
Eyes’ which never made it onto
anything. That was the
30 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
first song that we wrote together.
I think we knew what we wanted;
there were some faster bits but it
was all riff-orientated. That first song
was we wrote was quite up-tempo
but with a doomy edge. Bands
from the North are very good at
writing in minor keys and writing
miserable music,” he laughs.
“We were absolutely against the
‘fun’ side of those UK bands from
the start,” says Greg. “I always
felt that if you were going to
play extreme music then there
should be absolutely no fun in it
whatsoever. It should be as dour as
possible. It just what wasn’t what I
wanted to play or listen to. I really
wasn’t a fan of the slapstick and
comedy of those bands.”
Having issued a rehearsal tape via
the well-established tape trading
circuit, the band’s first studio
recording was the ‘Paradise Lost’
demo. Recorded at Lion Studios
in one day, the experience will
be familiar to anyone entering a
recording studio for the very first
time.
“It was a tiny place,” Aaron recalls.
“I remember Lion Studios was
basically like a corridor where you
stood in a line, like you were on
parade or something. Those demos
sounded great; the second demo
especially. That’s what we were
expecting the album to sound like!
We’d never been in a studio and
we thought everything sounded
great. It was really nerve racking;
we had to get it all done in a day
and half of that was spent miking
up Tuds’ drum kit and getting
everything in tune. Poor Nick
had to scream everything in at
the end! There was a guy called
Andy Tillison
engineering.
Tuds was
pacing himself
and wasn’t
hitting the drums
particularly hard,
and Andy, who
was somewhat
camp, said to
him. “Can you
give it a bit more
pasty, love?”.
“It’s become a
band saying,” adds Greg.
“The most un-death metal saying
ever,” laughs Aaron. “Tuds really hit
his drums after that!”
“I remember none of us could drive
so my dad had to hire a van and
drive us to the studio,” says Greg.
“Thinking back, it was poky little
place next to the train station; you
could barely get the drum kit in.
We had a friend with us, Daz Lee,
who was helping us lift the gear
in. I was writing our names down
for the demo and he said, ‘why
don’t you drop the ‘y’ off Gregory;
it sounds really creepy’. So that
happened here. We wanted to
put a keyboard intro on one of
the songs, but no-one knew how
to do it so we had to wait until the
second demo before that was
done properly.”
With a decent recording under
their belts and with the contacts
they were now making across the
underground (with bands such
as Samael being correspondents
at the time), the band found live
offers coming in from all over the
country and also from Holland,
where a couple of appearances
were made
“Playing squats and punk gigs
in Holland was a bit of an eye
opener,” Aaron remembers.
“You’d play the gig and then sleep
upstairs; we didn’t have anywhere
to stay. They’d look after you. Even
though there might be 40 people
there, there’d be another room
where there was a fridge with beer
and water, basic food, coffee, tea,
whereas you never got given any
of that in the UK. We’d be lucky
if we had got half a supermarket
sandwich!”
Legendary BBC DJ John Peel
aired a track from the tape, and
a particularly brutal recording of
a March 1989 support slot with
Napalm Death and Godflesh was
released as ‘’Plains Of Desolation’.
All this was a prelude to the
recording of the second demo,
‘Frozen Illusion’, that took place on
the 13th May 1989 and resulted in
easily the most powerful recording
the band had made to date.
“There was lot more confidence,”
Aaron recalls. “We wasted so much
time with the first demo by not know
knowing what we should be doing.
By the time we got to the ‘Frozen
Illusion’ demo we got the sound
right quickly, and nailed it. We
rehearsed like mad beforehand.
The sound of that demo really was
what we wanted. It was the same
guy and studio name but it was in
a different location, if I remember
correctly. We had our first headline
show around that time; we were
supposed to be supporting Coroner
at the Frog and Toad in Bradford,
and Coroner got stuck in customs
in Belgium because they had weed
on them. The promoter asked if we
had enough songs to headline, so
we did. There was an early version
of a couple of songs that we
hadn’t finished writing, but I think
that helped us because we had
the confidence of having our own
show. I think we got paid four pints
each for that one! I think it was
about month before we recorded
the second demo, and it gave us
a belief in ourselves. We sounded
good, and people seemed to enjoy
what we did. We sounded like a
proper band! It gave us a push to
go for it a bit more.”
“It went to the top of the Metal
Forces demo chart, which meant
promoters were getting in touch,”
says Greg. “We also got letters from
Earache and a couple of other
labels in Europe asking if we wanted
to do an album and we kind of got
freaked out by it. The reason we
went with Peaceville was because
they were local and we knew the
people there, and it seemed more
‘real’ in terms of punk rock ethics.
Even though Earache had a lot of
cool bands, Peaceville was more
Doom and grassroots.
At the time, both Peaceville and
Earache were already on the
receiving end from some of the
more DIY-than-thou elements over
their signings and the whole issue
of ‘going metal’, fuelled by the
success of Napalm Death and their
crossing over into the mainstream,
was a bone of contention with
many in the underground scene.
You might think that PL would come
in for flak but, by virtue of their
playing gigs with any number of
underground luminaries (from both
the UK and further afield), there was
actually little derision towards them.
“Because of the tape trading scene
and the way that it worked, most
of the bands that we were trading
with and hence the bands that
we often played gigs with were
from the hardcore scene, such
as Napalm, Concrete Sox and
Hellbastard,” says Greg. “We all
played on the same circuit. There
was some backlash against us, but
that was mainly because of our
speed. It was one of those things
where people were shouting ‘play
faster’. The doom metal thing
hadn’t really hit that scene at that
time. It was just play as fast as you
can. So we were stuck between
a rock and hard place. Being
stubborn, if people shouted at us to
“Being stubborn,
if people shouted
at us to play
faster, we’d slow
down even more”
play faster, we’d slow down even
more, which is another reason why
we ended up the way we did. It
wasn’t consciously trying to not (cough, Unseen
sound like anyone else, it was that Terror, cough).
we didn’t feel part of anything
in particular. As it went on, even “When we were recording, Hammy
beyond the early days, it continued was sat on the couch with a spliff
like that.” in his hand in the control room at
Academy reading a book,” laughs
Signing on the dotted line for an Aaron. “The book was ‘How To Be
album with Hammy and Peaceville A Producer’! While reading this
(“our contract was one side of A4, a book, he came up with a Great
third of which was taken up with the Idea, which we all went, “yeah,
Peaceville logo!” laughs Aaron), the okay!”. And I still can’t believe that
band entered Academy Studios to we did it. He suggested recording
hopefully replicate the sound of the the guitars clean, and then adding
‘Frozen Illusion’ demo. What came in distortion when we mixed. That’s
out, however, was one of the many why the guitars sound that way. It
albums where things didn’t sound didn’t work. It took the flow out of
quite right. A time when new ideas what we were playing and we had
abounded, the phrase “we’ll fix it to play slightly differently than we
in the mix” was often spoken, but were used to. Needless to say, we’d
rarely, if ever, properly acted upon. never done that since!”
The best example is the original
recording of Heresy’s ‘Face Up To www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial
It!’ LP, but there were many other
casualties of this thought process
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 31
 OPEN DOOR POLICY
A NEW ALBUM, A NEW LINE-UP AND A NEW RELATIONSHIP - IT’S LIKE A

FRESH START FOR LUCIFER FOUNDER JOHANNA SADONIS. AND WHAT

DOESN’T BREAK YOU, MAKES YOU STRONGER AS SHE TELLS KEVIN

STEWART-PANKO

Photos by Ester Segarra

W hen one door closes, usually
another door opens,” says
Johanna Sadonis, speaking with
a much less weathered tone than
deserves to be present. Considering
the roller coaster ride she has been
on with both Lucifer and previous
outfit, The Oath since the early
‘10s, she’s surprisingly chipper and
remarkably buoyant when a more
cautious, if not wholesale ‘here we go
again’ exasperation, would be expected
and understandable.
Johanna is used to doors closing and
opening with unexpected quickness in
front, behind and to either side of her.
In 2012, she grabbed her microphone
as her friend Linnéa Olsson grabbed
her guitar and the pair joined forces
to form the nucleus of The Oath.
With the involvement and contributions
of such notable names as Simon
Bouteloup of German heavy rockers
Kadavar, Andy Prestige the former
Cortizone & Mint 400 sticksman and
Leo Smee the virtuoso ex-Cathedral &
Firebird bassist, the band’s traditional-
tinged metal amassed a robust profile
with land speed record quickness
only to have it fall apart as quickly
and dramatically when they dissolved
less than two years later, actually
breaking up before their self-titled
debut album was officially released.
Shortly after that door abruptly closed,
another opened when she got together
with Gaz Jennings, the one-man
riff machine who had formed the
backbone of Cathedral, to jam and
write a few songs. The duo became
the core of Lucifer.
After bringing in Andy on drums and
bassist Dino Gollnick, ‘Lucifer I’ was
issued in 2015. The album was the
recipient of a proverbial bear hug from
the doom metal/heavy rock scene,
a scene that was missing Cathedral
after their 2013 break-up and eager to
scoop up the new creative output of
any of its ex-members. The reaction
to the debut was across-the-board
positive with glowing reviews and
wide-spread press coverage including
a couple high-profile magazine covers.
There were shows on the club and
festival level and well-received tours.
However, a falling out with the band’s
label, Rise Above followed the album’s
release. Depending to whom you listen
to, the severing of ties between Lucifer
and Rise Above was collateral damage
after the crumbling of Johanna’s
relationship with Rise Above boss,
Lee Dorrian. Johanna didn’t think the
personal would impact business, but
it did. She didn’t consider the broader
ramifications of the break-up until her
phone rang one day while she was
in California. A former Los Angeles
resident, Johanna was vacationing,
visiting old haunts, friends and family,
including her 17-year-old son who has
taken up permanent residence in the
Sunshine State, when she got a call
from Gaz.
“I guess it’s a known thing that I had
a personal relationship within Rise
Above Records and that fell apart,”
she acknowledges. “I didn’t think it
would be a problem for Gaz and I
because we always got along and
worked together really well. After the
tour, he called me up and I didn’t see
it coming. He felt like he was a bit in
between chairs. I was a little perplexed
at the time because everything was
cool between Gaz and me. Everyone
is grown up and it shouldn’t matter
if two people split up, but he’s still
working at Rise Above so I guess he
felt uncomfortable. But I was fine with
it and would have stayed in the band
with him. So he left, but there were
no hard feelings. I was actually sad
he left; I thought things were great,
but it was an amicable split.
”As quickly as that door shut,
another one opened in the form of
a conversation she found herself
engaged in that very same day with
Nicke Andersson.
“I’ve learned this lesson before and
have been here before with The Oath,”
she states. The Imperial State Electric
and Hellacopters frontman/Entombed
drummer and Johanna were already
previously acquainted. Nicke just so
happened to get Johanna on the
phone later that day with the innocent
intention of talking rock.
“LUCIFER WAS
MY BABY
AND THERE
WAS
NO WAY
I WAS GOING
TO
GIVE IT UP”
“The same day Gaz called me, I
was speaking to Nicke and told
him Gaz had left,” she recalls. “He
said right away that we should do
something together. He was digging
a bit and poking me about it for a
while and when I got back to Berlin I
thought maybe this would be a good
opportunity to rethink the whole style
of Lucifer. Nicke and I started to talk
about what direction Lucifer could go
and I told him my original idea for
Lucifer before Gaz came in was it to
be more of a ‘70s heavy rock band. It
became much more of a doom thing
with Gaz playing because he has
a very significant, personal style. Of
course, that gave the band a particular
sound, which was great, but a little
different from my original vision. When
Nicke and I started writing together,
Lucifer suddenly sounded way more
like I had originally envisioned it.
“I had put so much work into Lucifer and
Robin [Tidebrink], the guitarist who joined
after the first album, was still with me,”
she says, responding to whether or not it
ever felt like the band might be dead in
the water. “We wanted to continue. We
toured a lot, there was a lot of money
invested in the band, we had a great name
and, if anything, this was a development.
Bands change over the course of years and
it’s no news in rock ‘n’ roll history that
 LUCIFER
bands change stylistically, change members and whatnot. We had a good
thing and it wouldn’t make any sense to start something from scratch
completely new. Lucifer was my baby and there was no way I was going
to give it up.

”Essentially, in the course of four hours, Johanna reports finding herself

losing one high profile song writing partner and falling into the lap of
another. Not only did Nicke provide enthusiasm and the desire to want
to write alongside Johanna, a change from his usual method of writing
alone, but he brought an open mind to the collaboration which allowed

Photo by Ester Segarra

Johanna to re-direct the band. Furthermore, Nicke not only ended up
writing most of what became the new album, ‘Lucifer II’ and playing
most of the instruments. As well, his Honk Palace studio in Stockholm
provided a location for a relaxed approach to the recording. And on a
personal note, the working relationship soon developed into a romantic
one which eventually drew Johanna to Stockholm from Berlin in
September of 2017 allowing the pair to focus on the band and each other
without having to deal with physical distance between them.

“Things are totally different. The song writing method is similar; talking
about songs and doing songs that sound influenced by so-and-so other
song or artist. But before, I did everything alone. I booked everything,
organised everything, did all the interviews and blah, blah, blah. Now,
Nicke and I sit down together and do everything; the designs, the layout
and so on. And now that we live together and have the luxury of not
having regular jobs, we can really put our heads into the band. I’m not
alone anymore. He actually answers emails and does interviews. We do
everything together now. It’s awesome and feels way better than having
to pull all the weight by myself. Whenever he plays with Imperial or The
Hellacopters, I’ll join him. I’ll do merch or something just for fun. We
basically do everything together.
”‘Lucifer II’ is markedly different from its predecessor in that its traceable
lineage is more mustachioed and bell-bottomed hard rock like Blue
Oyster Cult, Heart, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath
instead of Black Sabbath strictly. Replacing Gaz’s doom-centric style with
the diversity of Nicke’s has allowed Lucifer to grow in a multitude of
directions. There’s a looser, more energetic vibe emerging, due in part
to the duo feeling less constricted by strict doom metal/rock and the
reduced stress of recording without having to clock watch.
“We actually recorded the album last year before I moved to Stockholm.
We would do it bit by bit, whenever I was visiting or on weekends. We’d
go down to the basement and record and it was so great to be able to
do that without the expense and time pressure. We would eat pizza and
watch horror movies, then go down and do some recording. It’s a cool
thing to have your own studio.
“We had demo-ed everything beforehand,” she continues about the
creative process. “I would work on my parts in Garage Band and we
would trade riffs and ideas. Whenever we had something finished, we
would record it. We did find ourselves having to say, ‘maybe we should
work on some songs that are doomier or more powerful’ because I
found myself having the tendency to go for the songs that were more
ballad-esque or moody and we didn’t want to throw off too many people
who bought the first album. There’s a lot of stuff that’s quite different
“THERE’S A LOT OF STUFF THAT’S QUITE
DIFFERENT AND MORE DIVERSE
AND MAYBE THAT OPENS US UP MORE
TO OTHER TYPES OF LISTENERS”
and more diverse and maybe that opens us up more to other types of
listeners. I would hope so, at least. A lot of bands in the doom scene or
whatever pick up on those very particular Black Sabbath heavy parts but
don’t take so much note of the Sabbath stuff that’s a little different and
there’s a lot of it. I thought it was time to open up because Lucifer would
have got boring and repetitive. It’s a good development.
”With a new line-up, a new album, a new label in Century Media, a
new relationship/partnership and an overall new lease on life, it would
be surprising if the band ended up trudging along in the same old way
operationally, logistically and structurally. Johanna reports that Lucifer is a
wholly different beast these days and they plan to take advantage of this
particular open door and run of good fortune.
“Nicke, Robin and I all are in Sweden and we recorded the album here.
[Guitarist] Martin Nordin and [bassist] Alex Mayr, who we got for the
live band, also happen to be in Sweden and that makes it so much easier
to rehearse and to fly out together from the same airport when we play
shows or tour. We’re totally looking to do more shows and touring; we’re
talking about playing in Japan again and America because we realised we
have quite a fan base in the US. We’re planning to tour there extensively.
We’re trying to do as much as possible and we’re already talking about
the next album.”
‘Lucifer: 11’ is out now on Century Media
www.Facebook.com/luciferofficial

34 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

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IRON FIST MAGAZINE 35

 KHEMMIS

Formed in 2012 in Denver, Colorado, KHEMMIS’ previous album

“Hunted” gained critical success in printed magazines like Rolling
Stone and Decibel, let alone the fans that sung about loss, grief and
remorse in their many live shows. With a new album under the title
“Desolation” Iron Fist’s ANDREAS ANDREOU talks once again
with guitarist/vocalist BEN HUTCHERSON about the new offering,
doomed heavy metal and how cool it’d be if ZZ Top would meet
Thin Lizzy and jammed on doom metal

“PART OF THE EXPERIENCE OF CREATING ART IS FIGURING

OUT HOW TO TAKE YOUR INFLUENCES AND CREATE
SOMETHING THAT IS YOURS, IS NEW, IS EXCITING, BUT ALSO
SPEAKS TO OTHERS IN A GENUINE WAY”
36 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
I t’s been a while since we last talked - again for
Iron Fist - and I remember you telling me just
after the release of ‘Hunted’ (2016), that you were
working on new material. Do you consider ‘Desolation’
as the natural next step for Khemmis, and what are the
differences between this and your two previous albums?
“Yes, we do consider this album to be part the natural
evolution of the band. We didn’t approach “Desolation” as
any sort of sequel to “Hunted”, as each album is its own
chapter in the band’s story. That said, we definitely took
what we learned over the last few years as a band and
pushed ourselves to explore those parts even further. In
our minds, this album is more varied than our previous
releases; we felt comfortable and confident to have
moments of full-on black and death metal, which weren’t
as explicitly showcased before.
There is an obvious diverse set of inspirations in
your music and ‘Desolation’ has a perfect tone, great
harmonies and arrangements. Do you have a plan when
writing and recording music or you just let your feelings
guide you?
“We begin the songwriting process with a set of loose
concepts in mind in terms of the feeling(s) we want to
evoke with the material. We don’t necessarily say ‘more of
X, less of Y, but instead might say ‘this song feels like it
should be more triumphant’ or ‘this track needs an evil,
caveman riff right here?and let our intuition guide the
riffing.
Songs like ‘Isolation’ sound like a “harmonised doom hit’’
and it is obvious that this is going to be a live favourite.
Is there a limit on success for a band like Khemmis, and
how would you describe “success” for a music act in
2018?
“We wouldn’t be bummed if our music achieved some
level of widespread of recognition, but we’re keenly aware
of the state of the music industry in 2018. We found
that “Isolation” went over very well on the Decibel Tour,
which thrilled us. What is success? At this point, we’ve
already achieved so much more than we ever could’ve
imagined; isn’t that a meaningful form of success? That
said, we want to play with Metallica because, well, that
would rule.
Lines like “How could I pray for salvation when I’m
the only mourner left to grieve” sound like a piece of
genius and are so suitable to your music. Is the current
status of United States the perfect place to draw lyrical
inspiration?
“This record absolutely draws on a sense of despondency
and utter hopelessness that is both shaped by the world
around us as well as some rather painful personal
experiences in the last few years. We’ve always drawn
inspiration from our lives when writing these songs, and
every joy and every sorrow of our lives from the last
few years has influenced the notes we’ve played and the
words we’ve sung.
There is a continuation on the amazing album cover
sleeves. Is there any special meaning behind them?
“We wanted to have album covers that felt like art,
creations that could exist independently of the music. We
don’t sing about wizards and demons, but who in their
right mind doesn’t think that sort of thing is rad?
Doomed heavy metal? Doom metal? Heavy metal? ZZ
Top meet Thin Lizzy and jamming on doom metal? How
would you describe your music after all?
“Oh man, ZZ Top and Thin Lizzy jamming on doom
metal sounds awesome! We like the idea of doomed
heavy metal, which is an evolution of the label our
friend [and one-time Iron Fist scribe] Kim Kelly gave
us – ‘doomed rock ‘n’ roll. To simply say we are a doom
band is, in our minds, to ignore our myriad non-doom
influences and over-emphasise riffs while missing the
importance of incorporating them into actual songs with
memorable verses and choruses that take the listener on
the journey. Sure, we love riffs, but a string of cool riffs
does not a classic song make. We cite bands like Maiden,
Lizzy, Priest, ZZ Top, and others as primary influences
because they knew how to balance catchy songwriting
with instrumental mastery.
Do we really need labels or boundaries for music?
“That’s a great question. On one hand, shouldn’t
every artist be taken as they are? Don’t labels give us
expectations before we hear the first note that, in turn,
keep us from potentially hearing the music as the artist
intended? Probably so. On the other hand, there’s so
much music at this point that without genre identifiers,
would people even listen to new music without having
a set of ideas about what they were gonna hear? Would
they go see shows if they didn’t have a friend saying
“Oh, you’ll like band X because you like bands Y and Z?
I don’t know, but I’m inclined to think that the answer
is no. Part of the experience of creating art of any sort
is figuring out how to take your influences and create
something that is yours, is new, is exciting, but also
speaks to others in a genuine way. Genre labels are, in
my mind, a somewhat necessary evil that are part of that
process.
You seem very active in regards to live shows. What’s
the best band you’ve played with, what’s the band you
want to play with and how would you describe the ideal
Khemmis live show?
“We’ve been fortunate to play with a number of awesome
bands since we started. Touring with Enslaved was
incredible, as that band has been big in my life for years
and now I count them among my friends. Off the top of
my head, Baroness, At the Gates, High on Fire, Neurosis,
YOB, Sleep, Metallica, and Judas Priest are all on the
would love to play with’ list, as are probably a few
hundred other bands.
Khemmis new studio album “Desolation” is out now via
Nuclear Blast
www.khemmisdoom.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 37
 The Sight Of The Other Shore
Forced to undergo intestinal surgery
after a life threatening medical emergency last year,
it’s no small miracle that YOB’s MIKE SCHEIDT
has not only survived, but persisted
to bring us one the band’s best albums to date
in the shape of ‘Our Raw Heart’.
KEZ WHELAN catches up with the frontman
to reflect on the experience and the band’s
past, present and future...

60 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

38 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
I
t’s been a tough year for Yob guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt,
to say the least. After enjoying widespread acclaim and some
of their biggest and most successful tours yet in the wake of
2014’s ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend’, a record already considered
classic in certain quarters, disaster struck in November 2016
when Mike was diagnosed with acute diverticulitis, a permanent
and potentially fatal intestinal disease, and was rushed into
emergency surgery in January 2017 following a major flare up.
“The future of the band was uncertain,” Mike recalls. “If I had
ended up with a permanent colostomy, touring would have been
done. I hadn’t sung in five months, and in the healing from
my abdominal surgeries, we didn’t know how my voice would
fair. Plus I had to survive both surgeries, and a MRSA infection
I acquired in the hospital which had attached to a shingles
outbreak due to my immune system being compromised. Life
was more groundless than it had ever been.
”After nine gruelling days in hospital, Mike was discharged and,
thankfully, made a fairly miraculous recovery, but coming this
close to the brink of death is an experience that has shifted his
perspective in many ways.
“Some are small shifts and some are huge ones. One big shift
is time is not a given. I know for certain this form will pass as
all forms do, and I want to make the most of the time I have
left – cliché and obvious maybe, but all the same very real to
me. While working on the album, we felt lucky to be recording
new music, with an increased sense of joy in doing it. We’ve
always had that feeling to some degree, but this time had more
current, and a different flavour to it. Words aren’t adequate.”
A testament to both music’s great healing power and Mike’s
sheer determination, Yob wasted no time in resuming work on
their seventh album, ‘Our Raw Heart’, even before the frontman
was fully back on his feet.
“We had small pieces of new music written, and one full song
before I became ill. Everything I had musically came into clear
focus post my first surgery, and the rest of the album unfolded
in short order. While working on it, each day I had a mindset
that wherever I was in the process, there were no guarantees
I was going to survive long enough to finish the album, record
etc. So each writing session had to be an arrival in itself,
playing guitar seated, often by myself, feeling both lucky and
grateful in each moment for the fact of just playing, no certain
future. That situation has never not been the truth, really, but
at the time the truth of that reality was acute.
”This willingness to live in the moment has had a powerful
impact on ‘Our Raw Heart’, manifesting itself not only in pensive,
starkly beautiful moments like ‘Beauty In Falling Leaves’ and
the title track, but also some of the band’s most triumphant,
direct and visceral material to date, like ‘Original Face’ and the
burly, impossibly heavy chug of ‘The Screen’. Taken as a whole,
the result is a powerful, life-affirming opus that’s arguably even
more diverse, well-realised and emotionally affecting than its
lauded predecessor.
“The album more or less shaped itself,” Mike says with trademark
humility. “I would say my hope towards the new album is that
it emits a sense of exploration and freedom that has its roots
in some new perspective, and miracles, really. The support and
love that was shared with me when I fell ill is nothing short of
astonishing. I hope this album’s music emotes the gratitude I
feel for the gift I received, it couldn’t have happened otherwise.
Aaron [Rieseberg, bass], Travis [Foster, drums] and I had a
great time working on these songs together, and we pushed
each other to try new things.
”Mike has returned his role as frontman with renewed vigour
and passion for his craft, explaining how he’s been hunkering
down on his music theory and trying to expand his vocal range.
“I’ve been taking voice lessons from Wolf Carr – who’s currently
located in Seattle and offers Skype lessons as well as in person
lessons – off and on since 2012, and I can’t recommend him
highly enough. As I was building my voice back up, I found
myself exploring new resonant places within my head and chest
because I couldn’t bear down too much on my diaphragm out
of fear of risking a hernia at the incision sites. As I became
stronger, those new resonant places merged with my previous
style and have become something new for me. As for studying
music theory, for the most part I’ve been adding some new
scales and chord progressions as well as studying bouzouki. I’ve
been learning scales that fit GDAD tuning so I can morph in
the moment and change keys and flavours as it strikes me. It’s
been a blast.
”Whilst Mike was always something of a powerhouse vocalist,
you can really hear the benefits of the extra work he’s put
in, with his voice soaring to ever more expressive peaks on
songslike ‘In Reverie’ and the aforementioned ‘Beauty In Falling
Leaves’, a song that seems to have been born from a similar
place to ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend’s much beloved final
track, ‘Marrow’, with the original idea germinating from Mike’s
acoustic solo work.
“I’d say ‘Beauty...’, ‘Our Raw Heart’, and even songs like ‘The
Great Cessation’ are informed by acoustic work.I tend to avoid
talking about what certain songs mean to me, in print,” he
continues. “If I talk about them, my take in that moment may
get frozen in time for the person reading the interview. Talking
about what songs ‘mean’ for me is like dissecting a frog. We
can get to its guts and understand it better (maybe), but the
creature doesn’t survive. I want a listener to have their own
original experience with a tune, therefore I don’t want to colour
it with rhetoric. One on one talking with someone about a
particular song is different, and in that case sometimes I get
to hear how the music strikes them independent of my story
around it. That I love.
IRONIRON
FISTFIST MAGAZINE39
MAGAZINE 61
 “I know what they mean to me, and in a way my lyrics
are looking into a mirror, revealing both my strengths and
my blind spots,” he continues. “What they mean to me
changes over time. They’re very personal, but I don’t need
to ‘own’ their ‘meaning’. Another’s take on what they
mean to them is best served without my commentary. I
will say I have changed in some significant ways in the last
year, and I have a different outlook on how I want to spend
the rest of my time and attention in this form. It’s a largely
joyous feeling. My depression is still there, sometimes
louder than other times, but I see it from a different place
than before.”  their finest records to date and (most importantly) Mike’s
It’s interesting that Mike brings up ‘The Great Cessation’;
originally released back in 2009 on Profound Lore, the
album was reissued via Relapse on CD and vinyl last year,
leading to Yob officially signing a deal with the label for
‘Our Raw Heart’. The impact this classic record has had
since its arrival almost a decade ago has only escalated
with time, and with the band recently casting their minds
back to the past with this reissue, it’s tempting to wax
lyrical about the album’s influence on their future too,
though Mike isn’t so sure.
“It’s hard for me to be objective about previous albums,”
he admits. “When I listen to them (which is not often),
I’m reminded each album was the best we had in us at the
time. We’ve kept those songs from ‘The Great Cessation’
in rotation, and they’ve grown with us as we have grown
as a band. The music from ‘The Great Cessation’ still feels
very good to play live. That album was our first album
after having taken a three [or] four year break from being
a band, it was our first album with Aaron Rieseberg, and
it came when doors were opening for bands like ours. It
was a very exciting time. We like change, and change our
surroundings often, change labels, etc. We also roll with
what’s happening and feels right. That is how this reissue
and new art came to be.”
Mike seems very pleased with this particular change too,
brimming with enthusiasm for his new label home.
40 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
“I’ve been listening to Relapse albums since, I don’t
know, ’91? The Suffocation ‘Human Waste’ EP, Disrupt,
Macabre, Morgion, Human Remains, Neurosis, High On
Fire, Nile, Today Is The Day, Benümb, and many more
have been of influence and enjoyment. I don’t know how
many Relapse albums I own, but it’s not a modest number.
Relapse has been great to us, and we’re excited for the
future.”
And it’s a future that’s looking much brighter now than
it did this time last year, with Relapse’s backing, one of
improving health being huge causes for celebration in the
Yob camp. The trio are looking forward to getting back
on the road too, with Mike recalling the rush of emotion
he felt when stepping out on stage after successfully
overcoming his surgery.
“Words fail,” he beams. “It was a true joy, and also a bit
scary as we didn’t know how my body would do. The first
show we played, which was at Northwest Terror Fest, we
played a solid set. I then hit the wall hard and had to sit
in the van and lay down, honestly worried I’d just hurt
myself and not sure how badly. Luckily I was ok and just
needed rest, but I’ve found my body has some new limits.
Over time I’ve gotten much stronger, but limits are still
there. However, I get to work, so I’m very grateful. We’ll
do a US tour and a European tour this year, along with
some scattered dates here and there. Next year we’ll likely
do the same, and also branch out to hit some places we
have yet to play. The future is writing itself as we go, and
we’re glad for it.” 
We are too, Mike, we are too.
‘Our Raw Heart is out now on Relapse
www.YobIsLove.Bandcamp.com
42 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
I
have always been a bit of an outsider, I’ve
never really fitted in completely and I have just
learned to accept that; just do my own thing
and be happy doing my own thing, happy being
an individual.” So speaks Colin Hendra, guitarist,
vocalist and visionary behind Lancaster rockers
Wytch Hazel. This Summer, the quartet released
their stunning second album ‘II: Sojourn’, (Friday
13th July, to be precise - the irony of a release
on such a superstitious date isn’t lost on the
hugely spiritual frontman) and hearing this opening
statement, it’s no wonder Wytch Hazel sound like
they do.
Two years on from releasing their debut ‘Prelude’ -
and add a few extra years on top from their earlier
EP releases - Wytch Hazel’s latest sojourn (pun
most definitely intended), sees the quartet explore
a more refined and focused classic heavy rock vibe.
Perhaps leaving behind more of the early music and
medieval flavour which featured their 2016 debut,
‘Prelude’, this second opus is packed to the rafters
with hook-laden riffs, twin guitar solos that Thin
Lizzy and Wishbone Ash would be proud of and
the overall vibe of feeling like you’re listening to
a proper album, as opposed to a collection of ad
hoc songs. In fact, it’s like listening to an album
that was destined to sit on two sides of plastic, and
that’s because it has been intentionally created that
way, says Colin.
“Side A is ‘the plight’ and Side B is ‘the victory’,”
he explains. “I ended up forming it as a Side A and
Side B as a Yin and Yang sort of thing because I
think lightness does overcome the dark. And when
it comes down to it people say things like “count
your blessings”.
“I am very fortunate I live in one of the richest
countries in the world despite all the negativity in
my life, in the country, or the world, I am actually
a fortunate person and I am a privileged person in
many different ways, so it wouldn’t be right for me
to have a bit of a moan, and that’s hopefully what
I am trying to portray in Side B - after all there is
a victory and it comes out alright in the end.
”Swapping the rural Welsh countryside that
surrounds Foel Studios where ‘Prelude’ was
recorded, this time around the quartet - completed
by Alex Haslam (guitar), Matt Gatley (bass, who
played guitar on ‘Prelude’ and Jack Spencer (drums)
- trekked over to Leeds to record with Gentleman’s
Pistols’James Atkinson at his Hand Of Law Studio.
For seven days, the converted police gaolhouse, a
heap of vintage gear and a whole lot of hard work
ensured a focussed recording session. Preparation
was also the key because creating the follow-up
to ‘Prelude’ also put the pressure on the singer,
he says with a laugh: “I knew ‘Prelude’ would
automatically reach a zbigger audience just by the
fact we were signed to a label who would make it
their priority to increase the fan base but I was
also expecting some of the response to be negative
just because of the whole Christianity thing - people
are quite critical of it in general, certainly in heavy
metal culture - but it didn’t really come. In fact it
was overwhelmingly positive, so I think added to
the pressure with writing the next album. I had a
short list of 10 songs and I think that a couple of
people were like ‘I think you could do better’ and
they were right to be fair. My wife was, like ‘you
don’t want people to look at it and be like it’s not
as a good as the first album, people are inevitably
going to compare them, so it has tso be at least as
a good if not better’. So there was pressure!”
The end result however, sees a gigantic leap in
musicality and song structures. From the Wishbone
Ash inspired artwork, to the 10 tracks contained
within, ‘II: Sojourn’ is the product of a band who
were well prepared before they went into the studio
and learned from the foundations of what had been
done before. Says Colin: “I think it’s more refined
from listening back to it; it’s more cohesive. There
were some things on the first one, which I thought
were unusual, this time I think we did a proper job
to be honest, and we went in prepared and like we
really meant it. There is no point me going into
that studio unless I am going to give it 100 per
cent in every aspect and overall I can’t really from,
my perspective at least, think that I could have
done much better.”Similarly to ‘Prelude’, the new
album’s lyrical inspirations come once again from
the Bible -Colin explains that a song like ‘Slaves
To Righteousness’ come from the Book of Romans.
However, he’s explores more personal themes on a
song like ‘Barrow Hill’ too.
“There is a bit more of a mix,’ he says. “I have
different approaches out in terms of subjects and
lyrics and what I have realised is that I prefer
to write from the Bible to be honest, rather than
coming from my own rhyme or poetry.Not that I
necessarily think any of those songs are bad, but
I get more cohesive songs and I get quicker and
better results when it’s like here’s a text and here’s
some poetry from the Bible.”Having already this
year played killer festivals such as Frost & Fire, like
most bands Colin is keen for the album to continue
the band’s journey of being discovered by as many
people as possible.
“I just hope we can reach a bigger audience,’ he
concludes. People who are just into classic rock can
listen to this and go ‘actually I do like this, I like
Rainbow and this has some of those characteristics’,
or an Iron Maiden fan and go ‘I can actually hear
some of those things’. It doesn’t have to be sold as
a folk metal thing; essentially, we are a rock band
and we are looking for rock fans especially classic
rock maybe not just the hardcore old school heavy
metal fans - music is for everyone.”
‘II: Sojourn’ is out now on Bad Omen
www.facebook.com/wytchhazel/
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 43
 I’ll Never Forget Jill Janus
On August 14, JILL JANUS - frontwoman for California heavy metallers HUNTRESS - passed
away. A long-time sufferer of mental illness, Jill took her own life outside of Portland, Oregon.
IRON FIST’s J. BENNETT pays tribute to his friend and heavy metal compadre
S
he was a force of nature. If you ever
saw Jill Janus perform, you already
know that. Her vocal prowess was
immense. Her intensity was ferocious.
Onstage with Huntress, she summoned
demons and angels. Offstage, she was
one of the sweetest human beings I’ve
ever known. I feel lucky to have been her
friend.
I met Jill for the first time in 2011 when
she asked my band, Ides Of Gemini, to
open for Huntress at the Viper Room
in Los Angeles. The date of that gig -
November 11, 2011 - was chosen for its
cosmic/numeric significance: 11.11.11.
It was Ides Of Gemini’s third or fourth
show, and I was loaded on painkillers
from the spinal surgery I had undergone
two months prior. I was so fucked up,
mentally and physically, that I had to play
sitting down. But I remember Huntress
vividly. It was the first time I’d seen
them live, and I was awestruck by the
sheer power of Jill’s performance. It
was immediately obvious that she was
connected to something beyond this
world.
A couple of months later, I went over to
her place to interview her prior to the
release of ‘Spell Eater’. At the time, she
and Huntress guitarist Blake Meahl lived
right up the street from me. We smoked
weed and talked about Heart, Judas
Priest, and King Diamond. Throughout
Huntress’ career, much was made of Jill’s
background in musical theatre and as a
Playboy model, as if her involvement in
those activities somehow made her less
committed to heavy metal. But that’s total
bullshit. Jill was a true metal fanatic, with
a deep love and passion for the genre. I
mean, have you heard a Huntress record?
You can’t fake that level of commitment.
Not long afterwards, I invited Jill and
Blake to be guest deejays at Heavy
44 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Tuesday, the weekly metal night I host at
Footsies in Los Angeles. Having enjoyed
a successful DJ career in New York
City before moving to L.A., Jill arrived
with her phonograph needles encased
in beautiful red velvet boxes. After a
fantastic night spinning Motörhead,
Maiden and Mercyful Fate classics, she
gave me those boxes. I still carry my
needles to Footsies in them every week.
“It was
immediately
obvious that
she was
connected to
something
beyond this
world”
In May of 2015, Jill called me and said
she’d just been released from the psych
ward. She wanted to publicly discuss her
mental health issues in an interview. I didn’t
know it at the time, but she’d been suffering
from a variety of mental illnesses for most
of her life - including bipolar disorder,
schizophrenia, and dissociative identity
disorder, a condition previously known as
multiple personality disorder.
She came over to my place and spent the
next few hours telling me about her stints
in mental health facilities, her various
personalities, and her numerous suicide
attempts. As if that weren’t enough, she
also revealed that she’d been diagnosed
with cancer. Last but certainly not least,
the interview marked the first time she
publicly revealed her longtime romantic
relationship with Blake, who had
essentially been her saviour and caretaker
for many years. I was humbled and
honoured that she trusted me to deliver
such sensitive and personal information to
the world.
The interview was published in Revolver
magazine. It was the first of many in
which Jill openly discussed her struggles.
She did it because she realised that
keeping her problems a secret wasn’t
helping anybody - least of all herself. At
one point, she addressed readers directly:
“If you are hurting, you are not alone,”
she said. “I am revealing these things
because you don’t have to be ashamed.
We are survivors.” At her behest, the
magazine included contact information
for the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at the bottom of the article.
On August 14, 2018, Jill Janus took her
own life. I can only imagine the state
of mind she was in when she did it, and
it breaks my fucking heart. People will
obsess over the details, but the details
don’t matter. What matters is that she’s
gone. Her friends, family and bandmates
will never be the same. Huntress’ many
fans around the globe will mourn her
passing. I’m gutted that I’ll never see her
again. But I’ll always remember her. She
was the kind of person you never forget.
Wherever she is, I hope she’s happier than
she was here.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 45
 Broken Heroes
Maiden Tour 1980

In For Th
e Kill
Praying Mantis far pre-date the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement that
shot them to fame in the early ‘80s. The Troy brothers, Tino (guitar) and Chris (bass),
are the surviving founders of a band whose story began nearly fifty years ago,
and continues in strong style on their 10th album ‘Gravity’, another sumptuous and
versatile collection of beautifully-crafted melodic hard rock. TINO TROY guided
CHRIS CHANTLER through some of their spectacular highs and crushing lows…

The band were paying the dues on the London pub
circuit throughout the 1970s, with a style that was far
more harmonic and emotionally-charged than the
standard headbanging fare. Were they tough crowds
in the early days?
“Not at all, it was a great scene back then. The
Magnet & Dewdrop in Millwall was quite rough
though, I remember once a bunch of punks came
in and threw snowballs at us onstage! One hit my
guitar square on the faceplate. I had an SG at the
time, and there was water going in my pickups. I
was about to jump into the audience to get him,
but our manager told me there were 20 of them so I
thought, maybe not! We were honing our art in the
rehearsal room more than gigs, there weren’t a lot
of pubs until about 1978 when we had our demo
tape. Then we started hearing about this Soundhouse
up at Kingsbury, run by Neal Kay, who was looking
for bands to play there and give punk a run for its
money. He played the three songs from our tape
and they got a good reaction, then he started
this heavy metal chart thing in Sounds magazine,
and up and down the country there were different
venues spawning this whole new movement. We
just happened to be lucky, and get recognised right
at that time. Of course we knew the boys from Iron
Maiden and Samson, and before we knew it, it was
like ‘This is happening!’ It was brilliant, it was just a
great music scene. You could play all week and earn
a wage from music in London, working the pubs and
clubs. It just doesn’t happen anymore, as you know.
Sad, really.”
1980 was the greatest year that the heavy metal
world has ever seen, and Praying Mantis were busier
than most, with a single, an EP, a Friday Rock Show
session, an appearance on EMI compilation ‘Metal
For Muthas’, signing a record deal with major label
Arista, plus going down a storm at the Reading Rock
Festival…
“It’s amazing how much we did in such a short space
of time. It was like a rollercoaster, it was going so
quickly. Once we started going like that I thought
‘This is it, we’re on the crest here!’ We came out with
our ‘Soundhouse Tapes’ at the same time as Iron
Maiden, back then Rod Smallwood and his partner
Bob Keen were managing Steve Harley and Cockney
Rebel. Of course this scene erupted, and before

46 IRON FIST MAGAZINE


we know it Rod’s managing Iron
Maiden and offered us Bob, but
I don’t think Bob had the same
musical ambitions and vision as
Rod had. Rod built Maiden up to
megastardom, and we felt a bit
hard done by at the time, but it’s
just one of those things. We also
had the great Peter Mensch who
was managing Def Leppard, he
told us ‘Get yourself a frontman
and I’ll sign you guys’. But we were
so cocky in those days, we were
like ’We can do it as a four-piece,
why do we need a singer?’ Then
we decided we were gonna go
that route, but kept on missing the
boat. It wasn’t the right person,
it wasn’t the right time… our
manager brought another partner
in to put some more finance into
the situation, and that all went, so
we went back to Arista for more
money and they didn’t want to
give us any. Shit happens! Basically
the bubble had burst, we’d lost all
momentum and the train stopped
a-rollin’. Sad, sad days.”
In 1984 Tino and Chris formed a
new band with Clive Burr. Was the
feeling that Praying Mantis really
were over forever, or was it just on
ice?
“That was it, we decided it was no
longer going to happen, let’s put
it to bed and start afresh. [In 1983]
Dave Potts, our drummer, got
offered the gig with Iron Maiden,
and he actually blew them out,
saying Praying Mantis were going
to be bigger! So he became a
manager instead - he thought he
“I remember once
a bunch of punks
came in and threw
snowballs at us
onstage”
was getting a bit old for this! - and
he said ‘You should start a band
up with Clive’. We were called
Clive Burr’s Escape at first - I’ve still
got posters of all that stuff, I’ve got
so much memorabilia here, I could
retire on it! We went through a few
name ideas and settled on Stratus.
We did an album, but we tried to
go the American AOR route and
it didn’t work in the band’s favour.
So, another venture, a little bit
gained, but not a lot. It fizzled out,
I lost touch with Dave and Clive,
Hammersmith Bridge 1980
end of another era.”
After a few years back at day
jobs (Tino is a carpenter), Praying
Mantis was revived in 1990. The
new line-up featured three ex-
members of Iron Maiden, how did
that come about?
“Dennis Stratton approached me
one day and said ‘Do you fancy
going to Japan?’ He wanted to
form a band with part of Praying
Mantis and part of Iron Maiden,
like a supergroup-type thing. ‘Yes,
that sounds interesting!’ I knew
we had a following in Japan, but
we’d never managed to carry it
through and go out there. Paul
Di’Anno was involved, I think he
wanted to make some waves for
his band Battlezone with Masahito,
the Japanese equivalent of
Tommy Vance, bless his soul.
Masahito said ‘I won’t bring
Battlezone over, but if you can
get these guys’ - meaning Dennis,
Clive and Praying Mantis - ‘we’ll
put something together’, and
that’s how it happened! Praying
Mantis was reborn, on the tenth
anniversary of the NWOBHM.”
What was it like working
with Di’Anno under those
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 47
 Broken Heroes
circumstances?
“It was alright, I’ve got some funny
stories for my book! He looks like
a menacing character, but he’s
got quite a soft heart, and I’ve
witnessed that. I mean, he didn’t
do himself any favours by wanting
his own dressing room away from
the band, being a bit big-headed
because he knew the promoter.
He tried it on and thought he was
the big cheese - that didn’t wear
very well with us! So it didn’t work
out, but we decided to carry
on after that. Paul went and did
Killers, and the next thing we hear
we’re a ‘load of cunts’ in his book!
I didn’t mind that. Bestio, I call him!
We still speak, he’s alright, it’s all a
bit of a laugh. A lot of it’s a front
with Paul, it’s got to come out that
way!”
Praying Mantis have always been
able to convey a wider range of
moods and emotions than the
standard metal act. Did these
facets always come naturally to
the band?
“They do, I don’t know if it’s a
Chris Troy and Bernie Shaw Backstage at Reading ‘82
48 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
blessing or what! I tend to write
about more personal, emotional
issues, whereas Chris tends to write
on the dark side, as it were. The
song ‘Lovers To The Grave’ on
our first album, Chris wrote that in
1977. Everyone thinks it’s about a
‘Lovers To The Grave’
on our first album -
everyone thinks it’s
about a romance
where both partners
are together until the
end. But listen to the
lyrics - it’s actually
about necrophilia”
romance where both partners are
together until the end. But listen
to the lyrics - it’s actually about
necrophilia! It’s about screwing
the dead, man. I know, I know,
I’ve spoilt it for you! Chris always
says he can’t write a love song, so
I let him go his own way on that!”
How has the process of songwriting
changed over the years?
“It’s pretty much the same
procedure. I had a bit of a dry
period over the last few albums
where my mojo wasn’t working,
but I seem to have got that back
since the last album. Sometimes
when I’m walking I get a rhythm
going in my pace - usually when
I’ve had a few drinks at the pub!
- and I’ll start singing lyrics and
riffs into my phone. Last year I
was recovering from a shoulder
op, so I decided to download all
these voice memos into my digital
audio workstation, and I had five
hours’ worth of material! I thought
‘Bloody hell, there’s some really
good stuff here!’ so I chose all
the best bits. The beauty of the
modern age is being able to keep
everything; yesteryear you’d put
a demo down on a cassette and
the quality wasn’t there, so you’d
try and go into a fancy 48-track
analogue studio to record it, and
it was never the same. The sound
quality was better, but you could
never capture the same feel.
Whereas now, it’s always there for
keeps.”
Have you ever heard a song and thought it a bit
close for comfort to something you’ve written?
“We did a gig with Dire Straits before they got
famous, at Loughton Polytechnic. Our original
guitarist Pete Moore, his sister was going out with a
fella who knew Mark Knopfler, that’s how we got
to support them. I remember them watching us in
the audience when we were doing ‘Lovers To The
Grave’. Afterwards they came up and said they
loved the bit in that song where it speeds up and
does the triplet on guitar, they really liked that. Next
thing I know, they’ve become famous and Mark
Knopfler is using that triplet thing in ‘Sultans Of Swing’
- and it wasn’t there when they played the original
at Loughton Polytechnic! But if you think about it,
all musical permutations of the last 300 years must
be exhausted now. Where can we go? There’s only
these eight notes! It’s a very grey area. I remember
our guitarist Steve Carroll and myself sitting in Hyde
Park, we were going to do a rendition of ‘Let It Be’
by the Beatles, and we kept speeding it up. I said
‘Why are we doing ‘Let It Be’? Let’s write our own
song.’ But you listen to the chords on the verse of our
first single Cheated: it’s ‘Let It Be’!”

Between 1981’s ‘Time Tells No Lies’ and 2018’s

‘Gravity’ many bandmates have come and gone
from the line-up, yet there remains a firmly distinctive
core to the band’s sound. How do you account for
that?
“There is this melodious Mediterranean thing
between my brother and myself, obviously having
the same parentage and the musical influences
that we grew up with, that’s been a strong nucleus;
being a family unit has helped create that sound.
Plus, we know where we’re going with each other
all the time. We wouldn’t have to talk, or even look
at each other, and the same things come out when
we’re jamming, so it does help! It’s been smooth; a
couple of outside elements have rocked the boat
slightly, but generally it’s been alright, we’ve kept
the musical side of things together, and we both
know to keep outside influences away from what we
do as a musical partnership.”

Is there a career high point that stands out above all

others?
“The Reading Festival in 1980, going out there,
looking at the audience and going ‘Whoaaa!’ We
didn’t know what it was going to sound like, we
didn’t even know if we were going to hear ourselves!
To calm our nerves we did a whole bottle of Remy
between the four of us, the tour manager topped
our pint glasses up with Coke and we went onstage
and did the show, and it was brilliant. We came
offstage with our heads inflated!”

‘Gravity’ is out now on Frontiers

www.prayingmantis.rocks

Top: ‘Gravity’ Praying Mantis cover art by Rodney Matthews

Middle-Top: Outside The Old Astoria (Harlesdon) 1981
Middle-Bottom: Iron Maiden with Praying Mantis flyer
Bottom: Praying Mantis at The Marquee in ‘79

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 49

 For the recording of “Stranger Fruit” in Pink
Basement Studios, Vienna, what did you do to
create ambience?
“I just went in there and sang. The demos were
done in either my kitchen, or in my basement,
where no one could watch me, which was really
important. I felt really alone or pretty much like I
was the last person on earth. That’s when the most
honest stuff comes out, because you are not catering
to anyone, but satisfy your curiosity, and your
fascination with music. That sounds as pretentious
asfuck, but that’s pretty much the headspace I
wanted to be in.”
For research on Satanism and the occult you did
Dzembarrassing amountsdzof research. What were
your resources?
Mostly the Lesser Key Of Solomon, and The Book
of Abramelin. I would love to tell you I went to a
library and a cloaked man handed over these books,
but in fact it was via PDFs on the internet, so it’s
not that spooky when you think about it.
PDFs lack mystery. Provide an alternative answer,
please.
”Okay. [Laughs] I was diving in a local creek in a
forest near my house. A shimmering light drew me
to towards this old leathery book. I ripped it out of
the muck, and it shared with me all these wisdoms.
These are the wisdoms I am trying to convey on
this record.”
Which poets inspired you?
“There is a poem called “The Windhover” by Gerard
50 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Manley Hopkins. He was a very devout person, a
monk at one time. The way he writes, he had a
certain sensibility for imagery. I was very drawn to
that.”
Which museums did you visit to get an
informed picture of slavery?
“I visited two in New York [when he lived for a
few years post-2012], which were more sensational
than anything else, but that were respectful to some
degree.Mostly, it was books I read, and the books
my mom made me read when I was a kid.”
What books did you read as a child?
“The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton was
one of them. It was small anecdotes that gave a
very small slice of daily life in slavery. The dark
imagery really struck me. It had a weird reverence,
which I found morbid, but stillfascinating.”
Why did your mom get you to read these books?
“Because she felt it was part of my [American]
heritage, and she is totally right in that. I grew up
in Switzerland without any actual strict connection
to American history, or black American history. In
part, it was my mom wanting to share that; also,
her not wanting to lose connection to her hometown
of North Carolina.”
You’ve said you like to create worlds. Tell me about
your protagonist for the album. You must have
been able to see this slave.
“That’s the thing, it’s not as much storytelling, not
so much a protagonist, as set dressing, I guess.
I pretty much built the stage, but the actors on
it are a blank canvas. I think
that’s really important, because
I wouldn’t want to set it strictly
in slave time. I want to leave
some ambiguity for people to
be able to interpret it like it’s
actually in current time. So the
listener is actually the protagonist.
Again, I’m very aware this sounds
pretentious.”
“Stranger Fruit” has a disturbing
contemporary resonance.
“Exactly. I think the fact it’s not
totally clear whether even it’s in
historical times or current time,
speaks volumes to me. In a way,
that is the message I’m trying to
convey. The fact this ambiguity
is allowed to exist is pretty
disturbing to me.”
Considering the themes of African-
American slavery, it’s interesting
that sonically, Burzum was an
influence: an alarming paradox
seeing Varg Vikernes advocates,
Dzrace hygienedz.
“To me, it’s very important to
separate the art from the artist. If
I were to say I don’t like Burzum
because I don’t like Varg, it
would be a lie. Of course I can’t
subscribe to his thoughts as they
are utter bullshit, but it would be
a lie to say I don’t appreciate his
music because of that. His music
holds emotional resonance to me.
The same thing happens when I
listen to Wagner, for instance. I
know he was a horrible person
but I still adore his music. That
separation is important. Maybe
it’s also like a self-protective
mechanism, but I’m pretty sure I
still like the music.”
What might Varg Vikernes make
of Zeal & Ardor?
“I don’t think he’d be too far
over the moon about it. He’s an
outlandish fellow. I think, apart
from committing murder, he has
said some interesting things. He
has this machine, the Hammer
of Odin, which can control
the weather. He also a world
champion tulip breeder, I believe.
He’s eclectic and interesting, but
somewhat of a silly person. I’m
pretty sure he would hate my
music.”
Your father is Swiss and your
mother is American. How did
they meet?
“They met in New York in
the early 1980s. My mum was
a struggling jazz singer and
my father also had musical
ambitions. Because the school
system is better in Switzerland,
they moved back. They spewed
out my brother — I was a
mistake. My dad studied biology
in Switzerland, and he now has
a master’s degree in biology,
chemistry and physics. He is a
software engineer, at a big, evil,
pharmacy corporation.”
You’ve talked about the Lomax
records your parents played
to you. Recordings made by
folklorist Alan Lomax in the
Deep South. How were these
songs explained to you?
My parents didn’t provide that
much context. My mom let the
music talk for itself, because
there is unmistakable suffering
in those pieces. She made me
approach her about their contexts:
why a work song was called a
work song, why a spiritual was
called a spiritual. It was actually
a pretty clever thing she did, just
exposing me to the music and
not providing any explanation and
making me dig for myself.
She thought it was important for
you to learn about this stuff.
From my perspective, she is my
only connection to that world. I
love my mom.
“I tried to adhere
to the strict code
of black metal, but
then it dawned on
me that my ethnicity
banned me from the
scene, so then I
figured, fuck it, I
don’t have to adhere
to anything”
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 51
 ZEAL & ARDOR
You said you were isolated as a teen. Why?
“It had to do with the bi-racial thing. I didn’t really
click with the white kids, I didn’t really click with
the black kids, so, I figured I might was well be by
myself, and be happy with what I am. In retrospect
I think that was kind of a lucky thing. Not a lot
of people find themselves in that situation where
they have to be utterly comfortable by themselves.
Spending a lot of time on my own made me think
about ego, perception of someone, or perception of
the self. That was a really helpful time for me.”
Who introduced you to black metal?
When I was 13, this kid said I should listen to
metal. I preferred punk, but when he played me
“The Trooper” by Iron Maiden, I thought it was
good. Darkthrone and Burzum albums followed.
As a teenager in Switzerland, how accessible were
black metal records?
There was this store in Basel called Atlantis
Records. The owner knew about the most obscure
music you could imagine. It was kind of due to that
weird record store (sadly it has closed), that I gained
access to all this weird music.
How did you afford records?
I acted in a couple of theatre productions and wrote
music for theatre productions. But I had an interest
in money before I had an interest in theatre—a
quick way to make a buck. Now that I’ve gotten
into the whole concept of writing a piece, I’ve
grown to appreciate the greats, but I prefer books.
52 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
How thoroughly did you immerse yourself
in the black metal scene?
At first I tried to adhere to the strict code of black
metal, but then it dawned on me that my ethnicity
banned me from the scene, so then I figured, fuck
it, I don’t have to adhere to anything. Black metal
is a weird thing in that it’s a scene, but I think a
huge part of black metal is being by yourself, and I
related to that.
At what age did you decide to be a musician?
Sixteen. I don’t know why. I realised that making
music was the thing that made me happiest. So
ever since then, that’s all I’ve focused on.”
You played every instrument on “Stranger Fruit”.
I didn’t play drums. I am simply too dumb, so
Marco von Allmen [who plays live in Z&A] did.
A huge reason for my instrumental prowess, as it
were, was not having a girlfriend in my teenage
years. That gave me a lot of time and energy to put
towards it.
What parts of you are traditionally Swiss?
I am really adamant about being on time. I guess
that comes with the [Swiss]clock. I also have an
affinity towards cheese.
”Stranger Fruit” is out now via MVKA.
www.zealandardor.com
 Legendary US metal eccentrics LIZZY BORDEN have been a mainstay in the metal world
since the mid-‘80s. Early albums like ‘Love You To Pieces’ and 1989’s theatrical epic
‘Master Of Disguise’ have earned the band and their titular frontman a huge international
following, and yet Lizzy Borden still seem like inveterate underdogs. Returning after more
than a decade with a brand new, and utterly infectious new album, ‘My Midnight Things’,
Lizzy himself speaks with IRON FIST about the benefits of the nostalgia circuit, the follies
of modern metal and why touring with Motörhead is the best way to avoid becoming
another rock ‘n’ roll casualty. DOM LAWSON enters the ring.

It’s been 11 years since
‘Appointment With Death’.
Obviously you’ve been touring
in the meantime, but why such a
long gap between albums?
“Well, it’s mainly because we were
touring the world and having a
good time. I’d put out two records,
‘Deal With The Devil’ [2000] and
‘Appointment With Death’ [2007],
and both of ‘em came out in the
middle of the collapse of the music
industry. I didn’t feel they were
getting any attention and I don’t
think that they were reaching the
audience I wanted them to reach.
So why bother putting out records
if they won’t reach the people I
want them to, you know? I had
two successful records, ‘Visual Lies’
and ‘Master Of Disguise’, but these
newer records weren’t doing what
those records did, and I thought
they were really good records...
so ultimately, what’s the point?
We were touring and reaching
a new audience all around the
world, a new audience that had
discovered our back catalogue.
But I missed being a recording
artist and I missed playing new
songs live, so here we are.”
Was there a particular catalyst
that made you think, ‘Okay, it’s
time to write a new album...’?
“Brian Slagel from Metal Blade
came to me and said ‘Yes, it’s
a whole different world...’ but
he said that they’d figured out
how to steer the ship and how
to manage the collapse of that
amazing industry that went away,
and that now they’re doing really
well. In fact, they’re doing better
than they’ve ever done. So he
talked me into doing it and then
he heard some demos of songs
I’d been working on and he loved

54 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

them, so that convinced me to
get back into it again.”
Did touring the back catalogue
help you to gain a new
appreciation for how strong those
records were /and/ how popular
they’ve become with a new
audience?
“Yeah, just from the fact that
we’re reaching a younger
audience. The last tour was a
‘best of’, anniversary tour, one
show in every country. We were
country hopping, it was a tough
tour, a different country every
night, but it was nearly all young
kids. We were like, ‘What’s going
on? Er... something’s happening
here!’ (laughs) How were they all
discovering this band at this age,
in all these different countries? It
must be the internet, that was all
we could come up with. So that
tour was particularly inspiring, just
because of the reaction we got.”
Given how theatrical and visual
your work has always been, has
the internet age given you a lot of
new ways to combine music with
those visual elements?
“Well it certainly /helps/ with
the visual side of things. I’ve just
finished work on a video for the
first single from the album and it’s
full-on theatrical. We went way
over the top with it. We didn’t plan
on it, but it’s just who I am. The first
concert I ever went to as a kid was
KISS and they brought me into that
world. I thought ‘I want to make
my own world!’ and that’s kind of
what I’ve been doing for the last
35 years.”
You released ‘Love You To
Pieces’ in 1985, as metal edged
towards its commercial peak. How
ambitious were you at that point?
“It was so early on in the whole
thing back then. Our first album,
‘Love You To Pieces’, was
supposed to be out a year earlier,
but the record label had no
money to make the record so we
just had to sit and wait. That’s why
the second album [‘Menace To
Society’, 1986] came out so fast,
because we were doing nothing
but playing shows and writing the
next album because we already
had one in the can. The first EP
came out in ’84 and the debut
album should’ve followed it right
away. But we really didn’t see any
success from those records. It was
very underground. It wasn’t until
‘Visual Lies’ [1987] and ‘Master
Of Disguise’ [1989] came out that
we saw real success. ‘Master…’
came out in ’89 and it’s by far our
biggest selling record. That was
at the end of the ‘80s and that’s
when we saw the majority of our
success.”
Why do you think ‘Master Of
Disguise’ was such a peak for you,
creatively and commercially?
“I don’t know, man. I guess I didn’t
have a band at the time. We
got our first piece of recording
equipment, which was an 8-track,
and I just stuck myself in a room
and I played and played and
wrote and recorded until I figured
out what kind of record I wanted
to make. Those creative juices
were flowing out of me. ‘Visual
Lies’ had taken us to a really good
point, so I felt ‘Okay, I’m have this
status but I want to go further...’ I
really wanted to make the record I
wanted to make and I didn’t want
to be deterred from that path by
guitarists or musicians or producers
or anybody. That’s why that album
is so true to what I believed and
what I was into, that’s why it found
that audience and became the
most successful record. This time
round, I just did the same thing.”
In the best possible way, ‘My
Midnight Things’, is an overtly
melodic, traditional sounding
hard rock record. In terms of
songwriting, it almost seems
purposefully old fashioned...
“It’s an extreme music world out
there. Even the most commercial
bands are playing some extreme
pieces in their music and I
didn’t want any part of that.
I just wanted to do my own
thing. I don’t really care what’s
happening in today’s world. I
don’t look at myself as a nostalgia
act. I write the songs I wanna write
and I don’t care what era I’m
in. All my influences are from the
‘70s. There were such great songs
written at that time, by so many
different sounding artists. They all
had their own thing. In the ‘80s,
in heavy metal everybody had
“I feel like an
explorer because I
don’t dread going
anywhere, no
matter where it is”
their own thing for a while and it
took time before people started
sounding like each other.”
This seems a more personal
album than most of your previous
records. Is that a fair observation?
“To be honest, I always try to put
a little bit of my personal life into
every song. But on this one, yeah,
that may be true. Especially the
song ‘Long May They Haunt Us’...
I had two guitarists pass away, I
had great friends pass away and
I wanted to write an anthem for
them. I thought it was a universal
theme. Everyone has people that
they no longer have in their lives
but they wake up every day and
still think about them. They’re
haunted by them. In this scenario,
I didn’t want that haunting to go
away. I’m revelling in the haunt,
celebrating it instead of mourning
it. But yeah, there’s lots of personal
stuff on this album. This one is a bit
more revealing, I guess, but there’s
still a main character, of course.”
What can you tell us about the
main character this time?
“Even with ‘Visual Lies’, where it
was more upfront, I didn’t want to
give the name of the character
away, but there are so many
reasons why this album screamed
to me to be called ‘My Midnight
Things’. I recorded most of it in
my studio in North Hollywood, in
an industrial area, all well after
midnight. There was dead silence
except for sirens going by, so I
wanted that kind of loneliness in
my voice. Sometimes I wouldn’t
see anybody for three weeks, so
I wanted that in my voice, what
I was going through personally
while I was recording. That’s
one piece of why it’s called ‘My
Midnight Things’, but there’s a
whole bunch more. I won’t tell
you exactly what it all means. I
love that everyone has their own
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 55
 Lizzy Borden
interpretation and I want to keep
that.”
You’ve always maintained a
strong following in Europe, much
more so than in the States...why do
you think that is?
“I think it’s because in North
America, all the kids veered off
into whatever was happening at
the time. When grunge came in,
they call took off into that, and
then it was hip hop or EDM or
whatever it is, and they’re
taking off into that new
thing each time. In Europe
it’s a different ball game.
They stick with their roots
and what they like and they
don’t just toss it aside. Plus,
it’s been handed down
through generations. On
the last tour, they felt like
gigs from the ‘80s, with that
intense enthusiasm. It was
awesome.”
It seems fair to say that the
UK isn’t the greatest territory
for you...any ideas why?
“Your guess is as good as
mine! (laughs) When we
first started, we played the
Reading Festival [in 1987]
and we played the original
Marquee. I thought it was
going to be the start of
an amazing relationship.
The press treated us really
well, we all got along really
well. I was there for two
weeks doing press and
it was so exciting. Then
we came back on the
‘Master Of Disguise’ tour
in ’89 and we were greeted a
little differently. The audience still
loved us but everything else was a
little different. We’ve since come
back sporadically and it’s been
a very difficult market for us. A lot
of it’s to do with the press, a lot of
it’s promoters. So I hope that ‘My
Midnight Things’ will bash down
that door again in the UK and we
can get back to business over
there. I’d play the UK twice a year
if I could!”
How do you see the future
56 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
panning out? You’re obviously
brimming with enthusiasm at this
point, so is this the first of many
new records?
“Oh yeah, I basically pushed the
restart on my career. The last show
we did was in Russia and I just cut
the band loose. I said ‘I’m going
to restart this and do a whole
different thing...’ The first order
of business was this album, then
we’re going to multiple videos. I’m
such a visual artist that we need
to bring this into that dimension.
We’re already writing the script for
the second video and I’m working
“All my influences
are from the
‘70s. There were
such great songs
written at that
time, by so many
different sounding
artists”
on the Midnight Things show right
now. As soon as I get the show
up and running, I’ll get the right
musicians to do the tour with
me and then we’ll start booking
shows. Then we’re looking at more
records and multiple tours around
the world. I should’ve done this a
while ago but the timing feels right,
so I don’t feel bad about that.”
Thirty-five years have passed since
the first Lizzy Borden demo. What
do you think separates people
who survive the heavy metal world
for such a long time and come
out the other end in good shape,
personally and creatively, and
those who don’t make it?
“It depends on how hard you live,
you know? I realised early on. Our
first tour was with Motörhead. They
were the first and one of the only
bands who ever took us on tour.
It was in Cleveland, Ohio, and
we went backstage. Obviously
I’d never met anybody before,
but we went there for the sound-
check and Lemmy was right there.
He greeted us and welcomed
us, and as he was talking to us,
he was popping black beauties
and drinking Jack Daniel’s
and this was two in the
afternoon! (laughs) I was
blown away by that, how he
was so matter-of-fact about
it. I realised I could never do
that. I know I wouldn’t be
able to sing. I’d sound like
Lemmy, which may not be
a bad thing, but it wouldn’t
be a good thing for me!
(laughs)”
So, in a nutshell (and to
quote Harry Callaghan), a
man has to know his own
limitations...
“Yeah, I realised that I
couldn’t live that hard. But
I did want to live the life.
I wanted to be involved,
to party and have a good
time, and I love touring. For
me it’s about the love of
touring the world. I feel like
an explorer because I don’t
dread going anywhere,
no matter where it is. I’m
excited to go into whatever
state, whatever country,
wherever it is. My eyes are
just wide open as I walk into
this new world and I always have
that wide-eyed boy thing going
on. We don’t stay in 5-star hotels
so we’re seeing the city and we
see the fans in that place, in their
home town, and we see a lot of
things that many bands don’t get
to see. That keeps me excited
about doing this.”
‘My Midnight Things’ is out now on
Metal Blade
www.lizzyborden.com
 FULLY LO A D ED
BULLET have had a rough time of late - line-up changes, label changes
and creative confidence issues. However, guitarist ALEXANDER LYRBO tells
ANGELA DAVEY that the Swedes are never a collective to crumble in the
wake of adversity, and instead they’ve powered through to deliver ‘Dust To
Gold’, one of the best rock albums you’ll hear all year!
"T his album is a really proud
moment! And I’m not just saying
it to sell records. I honestly think
this is Bullet’s best work so far. We
bloody nailed this one. At the same
time, writing this album has been like
heaven and hell. Some days you feel
like you’re on the top of the world,
some days you feel like the shittiest
song writer ever and you should sell
all your instruments and get a job in a
grocery store instead.”
So speaks Bullet axeman Alexander
Lyrbo when talking about the Swedish
rockers’ recently released sixth opus
‘Dust To Gold’.
“I think the whole record came about
very nicely as a whole, but the song
‘Fuel the Fire’ is certainly one of my
favourites. A heavy, groovy Accept-
influenced track that Wolf Hoffmann
would have been proud of,” continues
the guitarist. “’Wildfire’, which was one
of the first songs written for the album,
is a nice one as well. You’ve got this
big easy-to-sing-along-to chorus
where you can be drunk out of your
mind yet remember the lyrics. Which
is always a bonus! We did also put the
bar quite high for this one, we could
have released an album much sooner
but then we wouldn’t have been as
satisfied. Our attitude was that if this
would be our last album, then we
would like to go out with a bang.”
Fans will be relieved to hear that ‘Dust
to Gold’ will not be Bullet’s final album –
despite it being an incredibly frustrating
process for them to write: Bassist Adam
Hector departed, replaced by Gustav
Hector and after releasing their previous
two albums ‘Storm of Blades’ and ‘Full
Pull’ through Nuclear Blast, Bullet have
found themselves a new home in SPV/
Steamhammer.
58 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
“It was time for a change and we met
Olly from Steamhammer while touring
in Germany,” says Alex. “We hit it off
directly, he´s a hard worker and we
really took a liking in Olly’s drive and
passion. The guys on Steamhammer
have put in a lot of effort and time
upon this release which is what the
album deserves. They go the extra
mile, which feels great!”
Alex’s insecurities about the band’s
abilities are founded entirely in fiction
– the album deals with a variety of
issues, skilfully lyrically crafted into
songs that set the tone and pace for
issues concerning everything from
partying to post traumatic stress
disorder – no easy task, yet one Bullet
manage to make look deceptively
simple. “While writing this record
we sat in our small rehearsal space
longing for the road, longing to get
out and play and have some fun.
Therefore, many songs are about
just that. The easy life on the tour
bus. Going from city to city. Meeting
new and old friends. Some songs are
inspired from other stuff as well. When
Gustav Hjortsjö [drums] wrote the lyrics
for ‘Rogue Soldier’ he based it on a
story about a mutual friend of ours
who went to war and came home
suffering from PTSD. He thought there
were soldiers lurking everywhere he
went trying to kill him. He would carry
his gun with him all time in case of
being ambushed. The song kind of
deals with that.”
The recording process for the album
also verges on the stranger side,
with Bullet going to great lengths to
get the fiery harmonies synonymous
with '70s hard rock – a process that
involved recording the entire album
before playing it back through a tape
machine! “We recorded ‘Dust to
Gold’ digitally because it’s by far the
most convenient recording process for
us. It’s the easiest way to get tracks as
tight as we want,” explains Alex. “After
that we mixed it, then we played
the mix through an analogue tape
machine to get that warm sound of a
late '70s recording. I think that sound
fits our music really well. Many bands
nowadays compress the shit out of the
recordings to boost the volume which
leads to a loss of dynamic in the mix.
Therefore, we tried to avoid that trap
and go for a warmer more dynamic
sound without losing too much of the
punch.”
Having existed as a band for 17 years,
Bullet have accomplished the dreams
they set out to chase and then some,
however, as far as they’re concerned
they’re simply getting started, and those
first six albums are just the beginning
of their rise to the top of heavy metal
fame and fortune. “You lead quite a
different life compared to the ordinary
working man. And sometimes you ask
yourself if it’s really worth it, being away
from home for long periods of time,
being broke and all that stuff. So yeah,
of course, we still have a lot we want
to achieve!” Alex reflects, “We want to
grow as a band and be as big as we
possibly can. We don’t want to be a
hobby band, playing the occasional gig
in front of 20 drunks at a bar. We want
this to be our ‘job’. We still have a strong
drive to go further, to do more tours,
play in front of larger crowds, release
more albums. We’re still heading for the
top!”
‘Dust To Gold’ is out now on SPV/
Steamhammer
www.bulletrock.com
“Our attitude was
that if this would
be our last album,
then we would like
to go out with a
bang”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 59


The one and only DEE SNIDER is back with a solo album that stands proud
alongside his TWISTED SISTER back catalogue. DOM LAWSON talks about how
‘For The Love Of Metal’ became a reality with a little help from Hatebreed
frontman and Headbanger’s Ball VJ Jamey Jasta, and how he’s gained Dad
kudos points with his daughter...
Hand
ow far
about?howback
diddo
thisyou go with Jamey
collaboration Jasta
come
Jamey and I met a number of years
ago. It was the 20th anniversary of MTV’s
Headbanger’s Ball. I’m the creator of
that show. Back in ’85, MTV announced
internally that they were cutting down on
metal. I reached out and said, ‘Listen, give
the metalheads their own show...’ They
said if I’d host then I could do the show. I
thought, “Awesome, let’s do it!’ so a show
called Heavy Metal Mania was created – a
name that was not of my choosing [laughs]
and for a year and a half I hosted it. The
ratings weren’t huge, but as you know,
the metalheads will find their show, their
moment and their time to tune in. After a
year I asked to be paid and they said, ‘Oh
Dee, we don’t pay! It’s great promotion
for you!’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be fucking
kidding me!’ By 1985 I was so over exposed,
it was ludicrous. Kerrang! had stopped
putting my picture in the magazine, you
know? So they brought in different hosts
and changed it to Headbanger’s Ball
and Jamey Jasta was one of the hosts
over the years, so that’s how we met and
connected as people. I always thought ‘I
like this kid, he’s cool!’”
Did you know much about Jamey’s music
before you started working with him?
“Well, if I’m honest, I had no idea. I
shouldn’t even say this... I met him on a few
occasions and I always liked him, but I had
no idea. I knew he was in Hatebreed but I
thought he was the bass player! [laughs] I
didn’t know anything! I know he’s a mover
and shaker in the music industry, he’s an
influencer, I know that about him, but when
he challenged me, on his podcast... I was
like, ‘Awesome! This bass player guy seems
really organised...’ Bernie Tormé always
60 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Metal Health
said that bass players only have four strings
so they have a lot more time on their
hands to think about things. They’re always
hanging around, thinking ‘How come I’m
not making as much money as everyone
else?’ [laughs] I said, ‘Well this bass player’s
being very creative and productive...’ but
it turns out he’s the singer! But as we were
talking there was this genuine enthusiasm
on Jamey’s part and such a passion for my
voice...”
“When we made
‘Under The Blade’
and ‘You Can’t Stop
Rock & Roll’, we had
nothing to lose. We
had nothing”
Did it surprise you that someone from
Jamey’s generation would revere you in
that way?
“Yeah it did. I didn’t think there was a
place for me now. Honestly, I was done.
I did a mainstream rock record, because
someone challenged me to do that. Just
don’t challenge me. I’ll pretty much take
on anything. ‘Do a Broadway record!’
Okay, I’ll do it! ‘Do a Christmas record!’
I’ll do it, damn it! Don’t tempt me, you
know? I’ll fuckin’ do a Madonna covers
record! [laughs] But it was so flattering. As
egotistical and narcissistic as I am, and I’m
a frontman so those are qualifications for
the job, I’m still not that full of myself that
I’d use words like ‘iconic’. Jamey would
say, ‘You are one of those voices, like
Dio and Halford!’ and I’m going, ‘Woah!’
because he’s talking about two of my
heroes. I’m embarrassed that he’s out there
shouting my name from the rooftops in the
same breath!”
Jamey obviously talked you into it
eventually. How did he manage that?
“Well, Jamey’s not of my generation. He’s
from a younger generation. He’s like, ‘No,
man, I’ve seen you live, your voice is as
strong as ever and you’re as passionate
as ever. With the right music you could
transcend where you’ve been and
connect on a different level with people...’
So I said, ‘I accept the challenge!’ We had
no money, no budget, no deal, no nothing
other than the title of the record, ‘For The
Love Of Metal’. We went in and started
working on this thing, in between our other
engagements and responsibilities, and
slowly something started happening which
turned out to be pretty fucking great, I
think.”
It feels like a pretty even battle between
old school songwriting and new school
metal sonics. Is that fair?
“What I’m hearing is that we were writing a
crossover album in a way, something that
connected the present with the past and
the past with the present. It’s an album
that the old fans are hearing, and there’s
enough of the old, with my voice and those
old school influences, for them to go, ‘I get
this, this is cool!’ Then for the younger fans,
there’s enough of that newer flavour to
get that reaction too. It does seem to be
getting that reaction from everybody so
far.”

How conscious are you of a cultural divide between the old

school and the new generations of metal fans?
“I’m aware because my kids are metalheads and very proudly
so, all four of them, and I never expected that. My daughter, the
youngest, is the hardest and most brutal of them all. She started
off at a young age, wanting to go to these hardcore shows and
she cut her teeth on bands like Asking Alexandria and Bring Me
The Horizon, but then she’d say, ‘No that’s too light!’ and she’d
move on to Parkway Drive or Motionless In White or whatever
it was, but then that was too light and ‘It’s too commercial!’ so
now she’s transcending all of that and going as dark and as
heavy as possible. But I’d go to all these shows with her and be
exposed to these bands, and I could see the difference.”

Would it be safe to say that the new school kids need to learn
who you are?
“Ha ha, maybe! At the same time, my daughter would abandon
me at these festivals. I’d get them all in, she’d disappear with
her friends and then I’d be standing backstage on my own for
seven hours, like a tree in a parking lot. You could see everyone
looking, saying ‘Isn’t that Dee Snider?’ [laughs] Eventually they’d
send a roadie over to check and then when my daughter came
back at the end of the day, everybody was hanging out with
me and taking pictures with me. So she suddenly saw all her
heroes admiring her dad? They liked her dad’s music? She calls
what I do in Twisted Sister ‘dad rock’. She says ‘Oh yeah, there’s
all these dad rock bands at this festival...’ [laughs] So I’m very
aware of the differences, but my daughter heard this record and
was like ‘Fuck, this is great!’ It’s still a little melodic for her, but it
connected, it has that bridge. You’ve still got the older Maiden
and Motorhead influences in there, but she can still get into it.”

Despite the modern sound, ‘For The Love Of Metal’ is full of old
school songwriting...
“Well, credit to Jamey Jasta. I had two questions for him when
he challenged me. I said ‘Who’s producing?’ and he said ‘I am!’
Then I said ‘Who’s writing the songs because I can’t do it!’ When
I write, it sounds like the ‘80s or sounds like I’m trying to sound like
today. All I was doing in the ‘80s was being creative and it just
became the sound of an era. With this record, a lot of it came
from Jamey and his team, the Bellmore brothers, Charlie and
Nicky. Charlie played most of the guitars and bass, Nicky played
all the drums, they engineered, mixed, co-produced... they’re
from Toxic Holocaust [and Kingdom Of Sorrow]. But Jamey said
that once the word got out that we were making this record,
people started bombarding him with music and ideas. It was
his job to sort through it, and he told me he was losing sleep
because it mattered so much to him!”

Were you tempted to venture into a more modern vocal

approach?
“At one point I slipped into a Max Cavalera moment when we
were in the studio. I was shouting with no melody whatsoever
and Jamey said ‘Cut! Cut! What are you doing?’ I was just
feeling it at that moment, really going for it with no melody
at all. He said, ‘Yeah, but that’s not Dee! I don’t want you to
become us. I want to showcase that voice of yours, so good try,
but no thanks!’ He was right. I’m a melody guy and I want to be
singing.”

Speaking as a fan, never mind a critic, it’s hard not to wish that

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 61

 Dee Snider
you’d been making records like ‘For The
Love Of Metal’ all along...
“No, that’s fair enough. You know what?
I wish that too. I’ve never paid attention
to the naysayers, obviously. I remember
Rolling Stone’s review of ‘We’re Not Gonna
Take It’ was ‘What? From who?’ Three
words. Thanks. It’s like ‘shit sandwich’!
[laughs] So fuck you, Rolling Stone. But
when you get a criticism and it resonates
with something you feel yourself, those are
the times that hit you. I remember when the
second Widowmaker album came out, one
of the comments was that I was trying to
sound like the younger bands... and I was! I
was studying the younger bands and trying
to copy it, and they rightly called me on
my shit! [laughs] Another review that hit me
was ‘Young kids don’t want their brothers’
heroes...’ and there’s truth to that.’ Stay
Hungry’ was about that. We didn’t want
the old has-beens and wanna-be bands,
so get out of the goddamn way and let me
on the stage! So what about now? Was I
this old dad rocker that was blocking these
young bands? So at that point I said I was
done and I stopped.”
How do you feel about the three “solo”
albums you’ve released previously?
“‘Never Let The Bastards Wear You Down’
was literally something that happened
because I was offered a lot of money to
record songs that had been written but
hadn’t been used. But they were old songs,
Widowmaker or Desperado songs, and I
wasn’t creating. The next thing I did was
‘Dee Does Broadway’ and it was all cover
songs. I got involved because I’ve always
been a theatre guy and I’ve always heard
the rock in it. My manager said ‘Who’s
gonna buy this?’ and I said ‘Probably
nobody, but I want to do it!’ It was a
personal challenge. Then there was ‘We
Are The Ones’ and that’s what I consider
to be the first real solo album, but I was
playing it safe. I wasn’t taking a chance
within the metal community because I
didn’t feel there was a place for me. This
pop producer said, ‘I think you could do a
mainstream rock record...’ Labels wanted
to put up money, so alright, let’s give it a
shot.”
Do you feel like you’re returning to your
natural habitat with ‘For The Love Of
Metal’?
“I like what I did before, but I’m an O.G.
headbanger. I’m Day One, and you’re
welcome! I’m swinging the sledgehammer
62 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
and destroying the Woodstock generation.
I was watching Woodstock and going
‘Crosby, Stills & Nash suck!’ I liked Mountain
and The Who and the other bands were
fucking awful. So I was at the forefront of
what became the hard rock movement.
Then came Sabbath’s first album and there
I as. Blue Cheer’s first album, there I was.
Zeppelin’s first album in ’69, there I was.
I’m one of these kids that grew with it, so
this calls to me. It always, always has. Rob
Halford said, ‘Once a metalhead, always a
metalhead!’ and it’s true. It’s always been
my passion. Going to those shows with my
daughter, what I did love was the energy.
The bands aren’t making money and they
have nothing to lose. I love that passion,
the anger and the aggression of it. I just
didn’t think there was a place for me in it,
until Jasta came along and showed me
that I was wrong.”
Would it be fair to say that this album shares
some of the ‘fuck it’ attitude and vibe that
fuelled those early Twisted Sister albums?
“Rob
Halford
said, ‘Once a
metalhead, always
a metalhead!’
and it’s true. It’s
always been my
passion”
“People are definitely picking up on that
stuff, so yeah. When we made ‘Under The
Blade’ and ‘You Can’t Stop Rock & Roll’,
we had nothing to lose. We had nothing.
‘Under The Blade’ was a last ditch effort.
We’d been doing it for ten years, we
couldn’t go much further so it was all or
nothing. Now we’re doing it with no money,
no budget, no record company... so what’s
the worst thing that could happen? Some
label says ‘It’s no good! We don’t want to
do anything...’? Well that’s okay, because
we didn’t have anything before. We’re just
going for it, for the love of metal. Jamey
said, ‘That’s the title man!’ and I said,
‘You’re fucking right!’ We were all so juiced
up as it started happening.”
This definitely feels like the real start of Dee
Snider’s solo career, which is quite weird for
a man of your vintage...
“I agree, can you fucking believe it? It’s
the oddest thing. I’ve always been a late
starter. It’s frustrating! I hope I just live long.
I tell people that I don’t want to be in the
27 club. I want to be in the 87 Club! Like,
‘Here’s one of the six rockers who made
it to 87!’ [laughs] I want an 87 Club t-shirt.
But it does have that feeling. There’s just
no plan. Napalm have already picked
up the option for the second album.
They said, ‘This works for us and we see a
path here...’ and that’s great. To me, the
greatest solo career I’ve ever seen is Ozzy
Osbourne’s. He went from being the singer
in Black Sabbath to being a solo artist, and
now he does maybe one or two Sabbath
songs in his set, because he’s got a big,
free-standing Ozzy catalogue. That’s the
dream, to play a set of Dee Snider material
and then just do ‘We’re Not Gonna Take
It’ at hyperspeed for the encore! [laughs].
To stand on your own two feet and not
depend on stuff you did 30 years ago,
that’s the dream, and it feels like that for
me now too.”
You sound almost surprised that we all still
love you as much as we do!
“Well, thank you. I know I’m a beloved
character and I’ve seen evidence of
it, but there’s a difference between
being beloved for what you did for the
community and being loved for what
you’re doing now. Jamey really tried to
channel me. I said ‘I can’t write this stuff’,
so we talked and he studied. He was like
Buffalo Bill in Silence Of The Lambs, wearing
me as a skin suit. But I said I’d much rather
show people what I’m doing now than
what I was doing 40 years ago.”
How long do you think you can keep this up?
“Well, according to Alice [Cooper], he’s
looking forward to singing ‘I’m Eighty!’
[laughs]. He says, ‘Jagger’s got four years on
me, so when Jagger retires, I figure I’ve got
four years...’ If you’re going by those guys’
clocks, there’s plenty of time. I’m already
getting calls for all kinds of stuff. I’ve been
offered a major tour in Europe and they’re
talking to me about being special guest, in
2020! 2020? Holy fuck! I can’t get my brain
around that. But the reaction is so strong. It’s
crazy.”
And it’s all down to the bass player from
Hatebreed!
“Ha ha ha, yeah, it’s all down to the bass
player from Hatebreed. Fuck it, I don’t care if
you print that!”
‘For The Love Of Metal’ is out now on Napalm
www.deesnider.com
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 Let Us Prey
ORANGE GOBLIN’S ninth album ‘The Wolf Bites Back’ sees London’s stalwart
rockers once again cement themselves as leaders of the UK rock pack.
KEVIN STEWART-PANKO talks to man/ mountain BEN WARD about its
creation and survival tactics in the ever-fickle music scene

“G
oing back to the mid-‘90s in the UK, with the block a few times and seen some shit, as they say.
exception of Cathedral and the Peaceville These days, Ben’s love of the music he grew up
doom scene with Paradise Lost, Anathema listening to, learning to play and has been playing
and My Dying Bride, as far as younger bands in this since Our Haunted Kingdom changed its name to
country, there was only really Acrimony, Electric Orange Goblin in 1995 is tempered with cynicism.
Wizard and ourselves that were playing doom or It’s a cynical bent that comes with age, experience,
stoner or whatever it is you call it. Over the last 20 change and the arrival of mainstream elements
years, things have changed completely. I remember that have diminished the rough-and-tumble social
the first time hanging out with Lee Dorrian, Will experience of going to the pub and having dipshits in
Palmer, Jus Oborn and people like that; you could sparkling white trainers call you a “twat” for sporting
count the number of a Black Sabbath shirt and
people who knew the likes a Celtic Frost back patch.
of Pentagram, St. Vitus In Ben’s eye, everyone’s
or Trouble on one hand. in a band these days,
These days, you walk into though not all those bands
any bar in London and of worthy of the attention
there are hipsters wearing they’re receiving. In Ben’s
Pentagram shirts claiming experience, he’s been in
they’ve been there since a band – the same band
the ‘80s. It’s like, ‘Umm, – for over 20 years and has
no, you haven’t.’ That’s survived a rollercoaster ride
what I mean about the of trials and tribulations. In
scene getting diluted. All Ben’s mind, the best way of
of a sudden, anyone that’s asserting the never-say-die
heard the first Eyehategod attitude that’s driven him all
album considers themselves along is to do what a band
an expert on sludge or does. This brings us to ‘The
whatever. They down tune Wolf Bites Back’, Orange
their guitars, put a few Goblin’s latest and ninth
riffs together with friends album.
and the next thing you
know their band’s going “I think it’s a typical Orange
out on tour. I just don’t feel these younger bands Goblin album. It’s not an album where we give a shit
have earned their stripes and there’s been an influx about appealing to any particular scene as we don’t
of substandard quality and poor excuses. I’d rather feel there’s anybody we consider peers. I think we’re
have quality over quantity.” quite unique. We used to joke about the fact we’ve
ripped off so many bands that we’ve made a sound
Orange Goblin’s ceiling scraping frontman, Ben of our own. But I do actually feel that we are quite
Ward, is a metal lifer. With a history as an active different and that we incorporate so many different
participant going back to the early ‘90s with Our things that you can’t put your finger on what we are.
Haunted Kingdom, and as a fan going back to his This album is a perfect example of that; it’s obviously
less hirsute youth, the man has been around the got the Black Sabbath and Motorhead influences,

64 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

“We used to
joke about
the fact we’ve
ripped off so
many bands
that we’ve
made a sound
of our own”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 65

 Orange Goblin
but there’s a lot more to it like
Atomic Rooster, Can, Captain
Beyond and more obscure stuff
from the southern blues and the
song ‘Suicide Division’ which was
described as ‘a hardcore band
playing Bathory.’ I love that idea!
There’s a mixture of everything in
there and that’s all we strive to do,
really.
“Our label started making noise
about a new album around the
same time we started getting
festival offers from the likes of
Hellfest, saying that they’d have
us back if we had a new album
to promote,” he says about the
creative process that begat
‘The Wolf Bites Back’. “So, we sat
and had a chat about what to
do and decided to start writing
new material. The ideas came
together pretty quickly and
we put ourselves under added
pressure by booking the studio
time before it was finished being
written. We figured that even if
we gave ourselves six months,
we probably wouldn’t start until
the month before. So, it all came
together very last minute and
spontaneously but I feel that’s how
music should be. Normally, the
first idea you come up with is the
best one. It should be off the cuff,
natural and organic.”
Recorded by Jamie Gomez
Arellano during a particularly cold
winter at Orgone Studio, which is
essentially a stone building in the
middle of a field in the countryside
– “We bought this big, industrial
blower thing, the kind of thing
you’d expect to use to blow up
a hot air balloon, but we had it
firing flames into the middle of the
room four or five times a day to
keep us warm” - ‘The Wolf Bites
Back’ follows a particularly trying
time in Orange Goblin history.
Back in 2013, Ben and his band
mates – drummer Chris Turner,
bassist Martyn Millard and guitarist
Joe Hoare - took the plunge at
doing music professionally. After
the release of 2012’s ‘Eulogy For
The Damned,’ they sorted out
their ducks, put them in a row
and did what was necessary in
order to give up their day jobs
66 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
and completely subsist as Orange
Goblin. Things went well for the first
year and the touring cycle of ‘...
Damned.’
“We had 163 shows in that first
year which took us all over the
world. We did two full US tours, one
supporting Clutch, one headlining
run. We did Australia, we did
Europe for three months and a
couple of UK tours. It was a lot of
hard work, but...”
And this is the big, demoralising
“but” of the story.
“...we soon found out that it
wasn’t financially viable to do
it full-time. Supporting a family,
being away for that amount of
time and not seeing the children
was very testing. We tried different
things; different management
companies, different booking
agents, but no matter what we
“The reason we’re
still here is
that there was
never any sort
of predictions or
expectancions of
what we were
supposed to
achieve”
did, it didn’t help us break even.
The first year we spent doing a lot
of touring, the second year was
a lot of writing, recording and
releasing [follow up album] ‘Back
From The Abyss.’ Then, we did a
European tour with St. Vitus and
an American tour with Down and
by the end of that, we realised it
wasn’t working out. We gave it a
good go, but with the age that
we’re all at we’ve got mortgages
to pay and children to support.
The finances just didn’t support
that. It’s a shame that these sorts
of things are dictated by money,
but at the end of the day, that’s
the most important thing when
you’re trying to live. Especially
since none of us are getting any
younger and we need to think
about that kind of security.”
The inability to have the band
support a full and proper living
is an experience that may have
brought things crashing down on
most bands – especially those
with twenty-three years, umpteen
releases and hundreds of live
shows under its belt. However,
this experience only served as a
springboard for the re-evaluation
of what the band means to its
members – Joe Hoare (guitar),
Martyn Millard (bass) and Chris
Turner (drums).
“So, we’ve found ourselves going
back to day jobs and that’s
where we are now: doing the
band as a hobby, something
we enjoy and doing it when we
can; going away on weekends,
playing festivals, getting drunk with
friends, just making the most of the
opportunities to do it.”
Ben is also quick to point out that
the relegation of Orange Goblin
back to hobby status doesn’t
mean anything is being phoned
in. ‘The Wolf Bites back’ rocks with
as much power and diversity as
the rest of their discography with
the title being a proclamation
of strength, endurance and that
which doesn’t kill you, makes you
stronger.
“Having to go back to the day
jobs and everything, I think a lot of
people thought that would be the
end of us. There were changes in
our personal lives as well; there have
been relationships ending, divorces
and things like that and that breeds
a fire inside in everyone in the band.
Also, I think the scene has been
quite diluted lately and we wanted
to say we’re still here after 20 years,
but I feel like we still have a point
to prove. And I’m very proud of
the fact that we are still here. The
reason we’re still here is that there
was never any sort of predilections
or expectancies of what we were
supposed to achieve. It’s always
been fun, we’ve never been
disillusioned by the musical industry.
We take everything with a pinch of
salt. We’re the guys you can have a
beer with in the bar, but at the same
time, we know our work and there’s
a reason we’ve been around for
over 20 years and that’s because
we’re a fucking good band!”
‘The Wolf Bites Back’ is out now on
Candlelight/Spinefarm
www.orange-goblin.com
In the second
part of our series
KEVIN STEWART-
PANKO talks with
MARCELO BATISTA,
editor of Brazil’s
most influential
publication United
Forces – about the
fanzine and his
recently published
book
O
utside of Brazil, the word dyad
‘United Forces’ generally signals
that side one of S.O.D.’s ‘Speak
English Or Die’ is halfway done. As such,
there’s a pretty good chance there’s a hole
in the wall proximal to whatever stereo
the album is blasting from, and a lot less
beer in the fridge than 10 minutes and five
songs ago. And while these experiential
signposts aren’t likely to be foreign to
Brazilians either, to old school metal fans
in the land of fútbol and samba, ‘United
Forces’ also conjures up memories of
the impactful late ‘80s/early ‘90s fanzine.
As extreme music continues to mature
and take a deeper look back at its history
and how things arrived at where they’re
at today, original ‘United Forces’ editor,
Marcelo Batista has summoned the
same do-it-yourself energy that initially
spawned his labour of love and compiled
the original issues of the ‘zine into a book,
‘United Forces – Revirando Arquivos:
1986-1991’ (which, according to Google,
translates to ‘United Forces – Revolving
Files: 1986-1991’).
“In 1986, although I was a true metalhead
at the time, it was a little punk ‘zine done
by a friend of mine that gave me the idea
that I could do something like this too,”
Marcelo starts, recollecting how he first
got into the fanzine game. “I showed the
punk fanzine to another close friend
of mine who reacted the same way as
me and the next day we started cutting,
pasting and writing stuff for the first issue
of ‘United Forces.’ The name was taken
from the S.O.D. song. The crossover scene
was strong at that period and we wanted a
name that would support both metal and
hardcore. Brazil had some good fanzines
like ‘Rock Brigade’ and ‘Heavy Metal
Maniac.’ We grew up reading them and in
the beginning we were really influenced by
them because we had no idea how to do
our own or what to write in it. Two years
later, in 1988, we had a strong fanzine scene
with many ‘zines popping up everywhere!
“I still think the main motivation
was communication,” he adds, after
contemplating his reasons for kick starting
‘United Forces.’ “There was a strong need
to get in touch with other people and
share information and music. Having a
lot of tapes, records, fanzines and metal
magazines was not enough! I wanted to
get in touch with other people from the
most distant cities and the fanzine helped
out.”
Over the course of its existence, ‘United
Forces’ published nine issues which
covered the insularity and diversity of
Brazil’s extreme music scene as well as
whatever burgeoning bands from other
parts of the world that were willing to
send their music and interview answers
via snail mail. What may have started as
a vehicle for Marcelo to get in touch
with other metal maniacs from what
was ostensibly a third world country in
the pre-internet age quickly became a
dependable voice on the South American
metal scene respected by both punters
and performers. Not only did he shine
light on homegrown bands, but also
featured early interviews with Darkthrone
and Carcass.
“Yes, we had the bands supporting the
fanzine a lot by sending us their stuff.
Vulcano and Sarcófago were really amazing
at doing this! Also, I could leave fanzines to
sell at record shops and got many letters
from people asking for issues. Not many
were printed; around 60-100 copies of
the first five issues. Over 150 copies were
printed of issues six and seven and 250-
300 were made of issues eight and nine.
Copies were sent through the mail to the
bands that appeared, to other fanzines and
to people who sent money hidden inside
letters. And even though it was written
in Portuguese, a few were sent overseas.
I did lots of flyers and this helped let
people know about each new issue. It was
a totally different way of communication
compared to today. People were much
more interested and aware of every new
and obscure thing around.
“Most of the bands that appeared in the
fanzine were Brazilian and most are those
are from what is known as the ‘Golden
Period’ of the Brazilian metal scene:
Mutilator, Dorsal Atlântica, Sepultura,
Vulcano, Anthares, Sarcófago Genocidio,
Holocausto, etc. But I guess the most
important thing ‘United Forces’ did was
support those bands that had no record
deals or had just started. Bands like
Extreme Violence, Megaterio, Skullkrusher,
Sorcery, Necromancia and others. They
got the same attention and got the same
space with reviews and interviews. I didn’t
realise it had a significant impact until
the book project started and I got good
reactions from people who lived in that
period writing me saying, ‘Hey, I still have
a few issues of your ‘zine’ or ‘The book is
a great idea. I found a lot of bands reading
your fanzine.’”
The latent popularity of the ‘zine wasn’t
Marcelo’s initial motivation for the book,
however. He was nudged forward after
seeing other fanzines from the ‘80s and
‘90s like ‘Slayer,’ ‘XXX Fanzine,’ ‘Touch &
Go’ and ‘Isten’ compiled and published
into anthologies.As the present-day owner
of the Extreme Noise Discos record shop
in São Paulo and a small record label
called Absurd Records with a continued
connection to the ‘zine world (“I work
on a fanzine called ‘Nausea’ with my wife.
We did the first issue a few years ago, but
we want to release the second one this
year”), Marcelo culled his knowledge and
experience into the ‘United Forces’ book.
Just as back in the day, he took matters
into his own hands, eschewing the help of
a publisher and figuring out the production
process through trial and error.
“I got the motivation to do this after
seeing other publications doing the same.
Finding the original issues and other things
was not that hard as I’ve kept everything
well organized all these years. Writing the
extra texts and organising the ideas, dates
and everything else, as well as scanning all
the photos and flyers, was a bit difficult.
After that, finding the best layout idea to
make it a nice and enjoyable read took
some time too.”
In addition to reproductions of the
original issues, the book is teeming with
tons of drool-worthy flyers for drool-
worthy shows and rare photos of many
recognisable and lesser known names
of the nascent Brazilian underground, all
the way from a short-haired and skinny
Max Cavalera to short-lived all-female
thrashers, Havoc Savage. Marcelo also
includes personal recollections about his
life and the metal scene at the time as well
as the work involved in making each issue
a reality. Granted, it’s all in Portuguese, but
he assures us, “There are introducing texts
before each issue.The first one, before the
first issue, lets people know how I got
involved with heavy metal, thrash, etc. and
how I got the idea of doing the fanzine.
For the others, they are concentrated
on my personal experiences, how hard
it was getting the money for the fanzine,
how I got bands’ letters, interviews and
tapes. There’s stuff about my experiences
going to concerts, buying records, going
to bands’ practice rooms, discovering
new things. There is also a specific part
that gives readers an idea of the process
of making the fanzine, printing it and
spreading it around.”
Which demonstrates the sort of uphill
battle Marcelo was fighting in the creation
of ‘United Forces’.
“Just so you have an idea, before I started
doing the fanzine, I had never used a
typewriter before!” he exclaims. “I was
15-16 years old and I worked all day and
went to school at night. Some weekends
I had to do extra work because most of
the money I got from my job went to help
my mom with the bills, food and rent. To
get money for the fanzine, records, tapes
and letters, I used to do small jobs such
as handing out advertising flyers to people
on the streets. We were really poor guys
coming from the suburbs of São Paulo
where violence and criminality was strong
and where the music we listened to and
our way was considered bizarre. Often, I
got in fights because other guys did not
like my way or the music I listened to.
Looking at this all now, starting the fanzine
was the best thing for me. It helped me get
out of this situation and look for friends
in other places with whom I could share
the same tastes and the same needs. After
each issue I got more and more into this
all and learned a lot. In the beginning, it
was all very simple; we were basically just
reproducing what bands sent. After the
third issue, I started doing the ‘zine alone
 horrible! At the time, I thought it was a
live recording because in Portuguese ‘no’
means ‘in,’ ‘at’ or ‘on.’ So, I guessed that
Slayer had played a show in a venue called
‘Mercy,’” he laughs. “Later, an older friend
told me that I was totally wrong.

“The book is getting distributed in

different regions of Brazil, from north to
south. Also a few people from Chile have
contacted me about distribution there. I
and gave ‘United Forces’ a bit of a different something. The feeling of knowing about a have got mail from other non-Portuguese
direction. I noticed that I could improve band, a ‘zine, a scene from a city or from speaking South American countries and
the fanzine and make it more interesting a country that I didn`t know before. It’s that is great because Spanish is similar
instead of asking the same questions to the something hard to explain. Getting in to Portuguese so they can understand
bands and printing them as interviews.” touch with people around the world and most of it. I’m still trying to find someone
sharing music and experiences are the in Portugal to distribute the book there
After a total of nine issues, Marcelo threw best memories I have and that came back and am looking for someone to have
in the towel. However, he didn’t abandon when I started with the book project. it translated and printed in English. The
music or the scene. He instead redirected “There are many,” he responds when biggest problem nowadays is postage
his creative energy towards other asked about his favourite ‘United Forces’ prices. At the moment, the easiest way
endeavours. memory, “and I included most of them on to get a copy is getting in touch with
the book! One of my favourite is when me at infos@absurd.com.br or at www.
“I stopped doing it when some friends I first got a tape with Slayer’s ‘Show No extremenoisediscos.com.br where I’m
and I started a band called Rot. I got really Mercy’ on it back in 1984. My English selling it online.”
involved with the band duties: doing the was far from being considered bad; it was
mail, sending tapes all around and so on. In
1991, many things had changed since 1987-
1988 and I got more and more into bands
such as Napalm Death, Blood, Unseen
Terror, Fear of God and Agathocles. This
was not a problem because I continued to
have an open mind and covered all kind
of underground acts from heavy metal
to black metal, from punk to hardcore-
noise until last issue of ‘United Forces.’
The band’s duties were a lot, but it was
mainly my work - I was a steel worker at
that time – that made me stop and think
about it all. Since the band gave me the
same pleasure I got with trading tapes
and sending letters, I felt it wouldn’t be so
bad to stop the fanzine. Also, I got quite
frustrated with not being able to improve
it. I wanted to print it professionally and
have more copies made, but this meant
a lot of money and I could not afford to
spend too much money on the fanzine.”

The ‘United Forces’ book project was

an undertaking two-and-a-half years in
the making which brought Marcelo back
to his carefree metal-loving youth. And
while things have changed since he quit
being a ‘zine editor in 1991 and his steely
dedication to extreme music may have
moved towards different avenues, he’s
never forgotten his roots. The task of
independently constructing and creating
the book has strengthened those roots
and his commitment to the scene-at-large,
even as he’s into his 40s now.

“For me it was when I discovered

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 I
’m very glad it’s finished,” explains
guitarist and vocalist Nick ‘Necroskull’
Ruskell. “ It was very painful ‘cause we
have to switch off doing gig stuff, and go
into writing mode, which unfortunately
is quite an unhappy place to be. Not
because of the gloominess of the music,
but because it’s such a frustrating thing
to try and do. And I become this horrible
mixture between Phil Spector and Malcolm
Tucker while we’re doing it. Once you start
as well, you can’t stop, so you’re not doing
anything fun. It’s like being made to stay
indoors during the summer holidays. It’s
like watching all your mates going off and
playing tours, and festivals, and things, and
you’re stuck inside doing your homework.”
He continues: “It’s quite a frustrating
process, especially because I tend to go
one way and everyone else tends to go
another way with regard to what work
rate and stuff should be. I become very
unreasonable and it is a year of just living
under this grumpy little black cloud and
feeling really terrible about yourself, and
also having to produce something that’s
part of your life’s work at the end of it. I
personally put a lot of pressure on myself,
this is how I feel. I’m a very shallow person,
I feel the band is how some people judge
my worth as a human being, which is
complete ridiculous nonsense, but when
you’re looking at the business end of
making a record you can’t help thinking
like that. You start to have a very low
opinion of yourself and what you’re doing,
it’s a real fun time.”
The misery of having to shut themselves
away for a year while they wrote the
record has all been worth it for the end
result, in Nick’s own words they went for a
82 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
“Judas Priest over the top kind of angle”
and are incredibly proud of how it has
turned out. ‘Hexenhammer’ is a first class
display of heavy metal in its truest sense
that’s pleased both the band and their
fans alike. “The people I’ve showed it to so
far have said that they’ve liked it which is
a win for me. I try to distance myself from
it a bit once you’re done with it because
after something’s been driving you mad
for a year you don’t want to then sit there
and have a bath in it,” he says. “But when
I’ve had to listen to mixes or test pressings
or things like that I’ve sort of been quietly
impressed with how we sound. And we like
playing the songs live now. We’ve done a
couple of gigs, we’ve done some stuff live.
It’s felt really good playing in a live setting,
it’s been wonderful. So it’s a long journey
but it is what it is. I’m happy with it. I’m not
thinking about making other records for a
bit now.”
Continuing to play a genre that has
seemingly had its heyday and has moved
off in pursuit of more stoner influenced
nuances is a stoic stance to take, however,
Witchsorrow are firm believers of doom
in its truest form and for them this means
following in the footsteps of the pioneers
of the genre, such as Black Sabbath,
Reverend Bizarre, Cathedral and Electric
Wizard. “It’s weird because when we
started it was during a time when doom
as we play it, what then was called true
doom, there was not really a lot of bands
playing it. It was all very underground but
this was like a tiny corner of it. A lot of those
bands, Cathedral especially, they were
doing slightly different things at that time,
and I’d been completely obsessed with
doom metal,” he says. “For me it was doom
because there was this other edge to it that
I really loved the idea of the savageness to
it and the idea of wrought iron gates and
cemeteries and stuff. My grandparents are
from Sheffield so I knew what it was like
to go to Yorkshire in the pissing rain, and
Paradise Lost and that really spoke to me
on that level. But yeah, when we started
that kind of stuff it wasn’t cool. When we
started we wanted to be like Reverend
Bizarre or Cathedral or something like that.
We were very adamant.”
Despite their heroes residing within the
world of doom metal, there’s one very
important figure within heavy metal that
that the band admires and that Necroskull
would love to have hear ‘Hexenhammer’
– especially as some of the riffs within the
record are inspired directly by him and
his band. “Whenever I have one of my
moments I do try and anchor myself in my
mind’s eye an image of Rob Halford on
his motorcycle completely impervious to
anything life can throw at him. He actually
has a very sensible grown up approach
to life. I think that he is a very inspirational
man because he is so enthusiastic about
everything. He refuses to be defeated on
anything.”

Witchsorrow’s music was originally founded
lyrically on the ideal of the world coming
to an end – Nick was convinced that
doomsday was inevitable. However, time
has helped to mellow him out and as his
worldview has shifted, so too have the
themes that lie within his song writing.
Although witch hunts and the misogyny
within the malleus maleficarum aren’t all
sunshine and daisies, it’s a deliberate step
away from the extinction of mankind as we
know it. “Ironically now with what’s going
on in the world I’ve stopped caring about
it. It’s made me a little bit more relaxed
even though actually the chances of
someone firing a missile are now very high
compared to what they were five years
ago. But I want it to happen less now. It’s
clear I didn’t know how to step out of day
to day stuff. I’ve learned now that I shut my
front door and it goes away. I don’t have to
bring any of it into my house. My house can
just be full of doom metal and folk music
and you know, nice food and gardening,
and watching gardening programmes on
a Friday night and laughing at the dogs on
Photo:Ester Segarra
it but I don’t have to think about those sort
of things,” he confesses. “I think that’s kind
of fed into a bit of the album as well. There
isn’t this morbid hope for annihilation and
this sort of weird conviction that my own
death is just around the corner because
I’m fed up with everything. I’ve actually
learned to stop thinking and talking about
things that are making me unhappy. I wish
I’d learned how to do that a very long time
ago.”.
‘Hexenhammer’ is out now on Spinefarm
www.Facebook.com/witchsorrowdoom
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 83
 Dundee’s finest metal export, SATAN’S EMPIRE recorded one song
for Neat Records’ genre-defining ‘Lead Weight’ compilation in 1981 -
a stand-out, even alongside killer cuts from Venom, Raven, White
Spirit, Blitzkrieg, Fist and Jaguar - then seemingly disappeared.
For the next 35 years they remained the most tantalising mystery
of the entire NWOBHM, until the moment no one was expecting: the
unexpectedly reactivated band took the stage at the 2016 Brofest.
Now finally releasing their compulsive, rip-snorting debut LP
‘Rising’, CHRIS CHANTLER traces the untold story of Satan’s Empire
with the founder members, singer DEREK LYON and guitarist
SANDY MCRITCHIE.

Satan’s Empire was surely the
heaviest band name in the world
circa 1980, what inspired that?
Sandy: “When we made a
conscious decision to start writing
our own songs, and we realised we
were going to the heavier side, we
knew we needed a name to suit
the material. So we took a piece of
paper, threw some ideas down, and
that’s what came out. People said
to us we’d never get anywhere
with that name, nobody would
touch it. ‘There’s no way you’ll
get to America, they won’t let
you in with that name!’ It’s just
an image, a brand, but it’s kind
of stood the test of time.”
Derek: “People would get in
touch with us because they
thought we were Satanists. We
weren’t Satanists, we just wanted
a heavy-sounding name, like
Black Sabbath. We were all into
Judas Priest, and Priest had
a song called ‘Saints In Hell’, so
there was always a supernatural
connection, with the dark side
resembling the heaviness.”
Satan’s Empire supported Budgie at
a big show in Dundee in 1981, but
presumably the east coast of Scotland
was not then the easiest place for a
heavy metal band to get gigs?
Sandy: “At that time Scotland was
kind of a backwater, there were
not a lot of promoters putting on
rock bands, they were all down
south. We just couldn’t get the
work to be honest, there were
more pubs and clubs on the rock
scene in London than in the whole
of Scotland. There was one other
local band, Colossus, and we kept
going around the two or three
venues in Dundee, just to keep
playing.”
There was a two-track tape
circulated in 1981, featuring the
unorthodox prog-doom epic
‘Soldiers Of War’. It evidently
impressed the NWOBHM’s
leading label Neat Records, and
quickly ended up on their ‘Lead
Weight’ sampler. Was that tape
released as a proper demo?
Sandy: “We got about 100 tapes
done and sent them to record

84 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

companies and managers with a
flyer and that. At gigs, if anyone
asked if we had any music and we
had the tape on us, we’d just give
them a copy for nothing, just to
spread the word of the band, but
it was never any kind of official
release. It was just a clear shell
case with a black cassette inside, I
don’t know if it was even labelled!
We were just trying to get it out
there and hoping someone would
latch onto it. It was recorded at
a 16-track in Edinburgh called
Craighall Studios, we had eight
hours to do two songs, and thirty
percent of that time was spent
setting up the drums! It was a
case of just doing live tracks, then
overdubs, then Derek did the
vocals at the end - but we only had
an hour for that, and we still had to
mix it! That’s what you did in those
days. We had to go to Edinburgh
to even find a facility that could
record us!”
Derek: “I cringe at my vocals on
that, my voice is really weak! I
had only enough time left to do
one take, that’s all we had for the
budget at the time.”
“I hadn’t sung
for 30 years, but
now I’m finding
it no problem at
all!”
Presumably Neat Records were
looking to put out a full LP?
Sandy: “When Dave Hill put out
the ‘Lead Weight’ thing, obviously
there was a lot of interest in the
band and we actually moved
to London and did gigs there.
Not having any guidance or
management it was more word
of mouth, so we went round the
local circuit. [Kerrang! editor]
Geoff Barton came down to the
Woolwich Tramshed and he loved
it, so he brought a friend down
to see us the following week at
the Green Gate in Bethnal Green.
But that day we had to use a
different PA and the sound guy was
stoned, so we had to set the PA up
ourselves and we didn’t know what
we were doing! It was a right mess,
and unfortunately I think that
put the spanner into any further
interest.”
Was there any attempt at
merchandise in those days?
Sandy: “We had a friend, a
designer who worked for the
Dundee Courier, he designed five
or six T-shirts, one for each of us
and our backdrop. But we never
really thought about merchandise.
We were working, we were all
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 85
 employed, and we didn’t have any Wayne [Hudson, guitar] have kept you know. I thought I couldn’t sing
peers who were doing the same their hand in with cover bands, again, because of all the stress it
thing. All we wanted to do was play but Derek and I never got it back uses on your chest. So I hadn’t sung
music, we never thought about the together. I was a little worried as for 30 years, but now I’m finding
financial aspect.” I had some issues with RSI in my it no problem at all! It’s probably
wrist, so I thought I’d never be able keeping me fit in a way.”
Unable to get another break, Satan’s to play. But the playing has actually Sandy: “I keep saying to him, he’s
Empire ended in 1984. Have you helped it, it’s virtually gone now, got a much better resonance in
kept playing music since then? which is really strange but good his voice now, there’s a lot more
Sandy: “No, we’ve done the 2.4 side effect! emotion and power. When he was
children and a mortgage thing, you Derek: “I played in a band called younger he tended more to shout
know! Until I met up again with VHF after Satan’s Empire, but I a bit, but now he actually sings
Derek I hadn’t played guitar for 15 gave it up because I had a heart properly!”
or 20 years. Paul [Lewis, bass] and attack at 28, and it was a big one, Derek: “I’m very critical of my
86 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
voice - maybe overly critical - so
when we got the album back and
I listened to it, I said ‘The only
thing that ruins this is my singing!’
I always put myself down, it’s the
way I’ve always been. When people
tell me they love my voice, I think,
‘What were they listening to?!’”
How did the reunion come about?
Derek: “Guido [Gevels], who runs
Negasonic in Belgium, had been
in touch with us in 2012 about
getting the band together for a
gig. We were like ’Nooo, people
are all over the place’, but then me
and Sandy got together, and we
went on Facebook and said ‘What
do you reckon, shall we go for it?’
And there was a lot of people who
wanted the band to get together.
Then we held a meeting with Paul
and Wayne, the original London
members, and we all just agreed. It
was like we hadn’t been apart for
35 years, we all gelled right away,
and we agreed that next week, why
don’t we have a rehearsal?”
Do all the songs on ‘Rising’ date
back to the early ‘80s?
Sandy: “The last gigs we did were
in ’84, so that was the last time
these songs were actually heard!
Apart from the two-track tape,
most of this stuff has never got out
before.”
Did you make any changes to the
material?
Sandy: “They were written in the
days when 17-minute songs were
acceptable! Now we’ve cut them
down to six! We were inspired by
bands like Rush at the time, we
had a progressive edge in the early
days. Although obviously it was
fairly heavy stuff, we always liked
to throw things in. The songs had
to have loads of different life in
them: fast bits, slow bits, if there
weren’t more than five tempo
changes then it wasn’t a Satan’s
Empire song! The difference now
is the drummer. Billy [Masterton,
original drummer] was very
much a technical, Les Binks kind
of person, and Gary [Bowler,
new drummer] is more of a
powerhouse, so with him coming
in, he had loads of great ideas for
what was and wasn’t necessary,
what to cut out - the seven minute
intro jobs! He’s just tightened
everything up and made it really
solid. They’re much better songs
now. Originally they were kind of
thrown together, now they’re much
tighter, they sound more like songs
than five bits of music bolted back-
to-back!”
Derek: “I’ve got it in the car at
the moment, and it doesn’t show
its age, it seems relevant to metal
now. We’re always going to be a
performance band, it’s the live
sound that we want to record.
We’re not gonna go for high-gloss
multi-overdubs, it’s more of an in-
your-face thing.”
Are there any more songs left from
that era?
Sandy: “We’ve still got some old
stuff left, but as the band develops
we’re wanting to write new
material. We’ve already written six
songs for the second album…”
Derek: “That’s gonna be a cracker!”
Sandy: “You always wonder, are
we gonna be able to do it? Is
it gonna be relevant to people
today? But the new stuff has really
blown us away. We’re pleased with
how modern it sounds, and the
feedback to the new songs live has
been brilliant, so we know we’re on
the right track.”
Derek: “Now we’re competing with
guys half our age, but we’re giving
them a good run for their money.
I shouldn’t say run… a good walk
for their money! The difference
nowadays is the aches and pains
when you’re getting home at three
in the morning.”
Sandy: “There’s another generation
coming through and listening to
this music, they’ve done thrash
and death metal and maybe
they’re looking for something
a bit different and musical, but
they don’t want the high-end
commercial stuff, they want
something gritty and back-to-the-
roots, with an emotional content
to the performance. And the heavy
metal we play is like that!”
Many NWOBHM bands have
been reforming and living the
dream again, is there a feeling
of camaraderie among that
generation of musicians?
Sandy: “We’re all good friends, it’s
different now; in the ‘80s there was
quite a bit of bitching going on,
but now we’re all in the same boat.
There’s no band playing louder
than the other in the mix, we’re
all just, ‘Let’s get stuck in and give
everyone a good time’. It’s great,
we’re all family - a heavy metal
family!”
Was there ever a point in the last
35 years where you imagined that
Satan’s Empire would get back
together, release records and gig
around the world?
Sandy: “If you’d asked us even
three and a half years ago, we
would never have imagined this
would be happening. We never
thought we’d be able to do it
physically, I thought there was no
way I could play as well I used to,
but I’m probably enjoying it more
now than I did then. The other
good thing is that the band are
all on the same page; we all get
on brilliantly, all the wives and all
that. Everyone contributes to the
writing, it’s just going perfect. We
all love it, we can’t wait till the next
rehearsal!”
‘Rising’ is out now on 3MS
www.facebook.com/
SatansEmpireOfficial
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 87
 The Eternal War
Recording WHIPSTRIKER’s latest album ‘Merciless Artillery’ was something of a
rather quick affair according to bassist/ vocalist VICTOR VASCONCELLOS and yet,
the fourth album is arguably the band’s most forward thinking to date. IRON FIST
scribe KEVIN STEWART-PANKO gets the lowdown
Listening to the new album by room: Whipstriker has progressed.
Rio de Janeiro’s Whipstriker – the And while we’re not talking
fourth full-length from a band with about a wholesale Opeth-like
at least five or six times as many transformation where the band
recordings in its discography is unrecognisable to its early self,
– bassist/vocalist Victor there are differences to note.
Vasconcellos would like to point
out that ‘Merciless Artillery’ has “If you check our previous stuff
taken a step forward. No longer you will realise the songs are easier
is the band strictly and solely to play because they are more
beholden to metal’s nascent influenced by Venom, Motorhead
days and the punky overtones of and Warfare,” begins Victor.
speed metal’s early progenitors. “The new album has different
Those of you who have followed influences and is more speed/
the Brazilian miscreants since thrash and less punk. Since I
their 2010 debut, ‘Crude Rock ‘n’ composed all the songs I could
Roll’ get ready to spew whatever have recorded the rhythm guitars
beverage your necking across the like I always have, but I asked
Hugo [Golon]
to record the
guitars because
he plays better
than me. I also
asked him to
record the
guitar solos and
drums and he
composed the
solos himself.”
Victor sings
massive
amounts of
praise for Hugo,
who has laid
down various
guitar solos and
drum tracks for
Whipstriker since
2016’s ‘Only
88 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Filth Will Prevail.’ However, despite
this pairing of good friends and
musicians who are on the same
page, Victor still finds himself as
the sole composer in Whipstriker;
a trait which has existed,
somewhat begrudgingly, since the
beginning.
“I started as a one-man band
project back in 2008. I had like 20
songs ready to be recorded and I
invited some friends to record the
first stuff. This never has changed. I
still compose all the songs by myself
and invite friends to record and
play shows and do tours. I don’t
play drums or do guitar solos. Hugo
is a great musician and friend. I
met him for the first time in 2002
when Destruction and Kreator were
playing in São Paulo, where he lives.
But our partnership started when
we were invited to play bass and
drums for Toxic Holocaust in 2006.
After that, we played many shows
and tours together. We worked
together in our other projects too
- Atomic Roar, Diabolic Force and
Virgin’s Vomit – and Hugo plays in
many bands as well. I don’t wanna
change this team. Indeed, I beg for
collaborations! I always ask Hugo to
compose something new, but when
we meet up to create something
together, we immediately get drunk
and say ‘Fuck the new songs!’ He
lives six hours away, so I always miss
him. When we meet up, we have to
drink and celebrate.”
“In Rio, you
can see, feel
and hear the
merciless
artillery. It’s the
sound of death”
And here, gentle friends and
gentler readers, is the more
precise reason ‘Merciless Artillery’
sounds looser, faster and teems
with a greater sense of urgency
than previous Whipstriker releases:
booze.

“Well, we recorded this album

in three hours,” Victor relates,
sheepishly. “We had two days to
record the rhythm guitars and
drums, six hours on Saturday and
four hours on Sunday. The original
plan was this: Hugo arrives on
Friday and we practice the
songs. We record all the drums
on Saturday and the guitars
on Sunday. Easy! But what
happened? We got drunk on
Friday and didn’t sleep. We
went to the studio staggering
and were acting like retards.
In six hours we could not get it
together to record any tracks.
A fucking shame! [Producer]
Leon [Manssur] from Apokalyptic
Raids was there trying to keep
us standing and on our feet. It
didn’t work. We cancelled the
recording session and went to a
party near the studio. I think it was
some friend’s birthday. After a few
beers, we finally fell asleep - in the
friend´s apartment! You cannot
imagine how we felt on Sunday
morning. What a shame! We only
had four hours left to record. We
did it in three! It was different,” he
understates.
Given the hindrance posed by
their drunken lunacy, ‘Merciless
Artillery’ turned out with an
unhinged rabidity and incendiary
live feel that’s been cleaned up
and nudged along by Joel Grind
[Toxic Holocaust]’s mastering job.
And despite that same drunken
lunacy, overall, the future is looking
up for Whipstriker. They recently
completed a US tour, have had
their logo redesigned by Sadistic
Exekution vocalist, Rok, to reflect
the new album’s darker tone
and war-focused lyrical bent (“I
like this theme ‘cause here, we
live the war. It is part of our lives. I
walk in the streets and I see dead
children and mutilated corpses.
In Rio, you can see, feel and hear
the merciless artillery. It’s the sound
of death”) and, with their signing
to Hells Headbangers, the band
are finally going to see a release
backed by proper distribution and
promotion (“I like a lot of their work
and bands. I’ve followed the label
since the early days”).
“Yeah, the US tour was great.
It was our shortest tour, but we
played 13 killer shows. And it has
an impact; I always come home
with new ideas, we see many local
bands and talk to a lot of people.
I always come back excited to
compose new stuff. In 2019, I
want to play more shows in South
America or maybe Asia. We’ve
already done three European tours
and two American tours. Now it´s
time to destroy our neighbours!
“This is the only thing I really like to
do,” he says about his place in the
metal underground as a prolific
veteran. “I am exactly the same
guy from 1998 when we started our
first thrash band Farscape which is
still alive; we’re recording the new
album. Playing tours and recording
new songs is what I want. I don’t
play for money. Of course, money
is important to keep the band alive,
to pay the tour costs, studio costs,
etc. But I have a regular job. I don´t
wanna get rich with metal. I want
to stay hungry!”
‘Merciless Artillery’ is out now on
Hells Headbangers
www.whipstriker.bandcamp.com

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 89

Under The Influence
Considered as something of a Holy Grail collector’s item, Las Vegas’
ANGEL OF MERCY only album ‘The Avatar’ is enjoying a reissue. KEVIN
STEWART-PANKO talks to vocalist/guitarist DAVID ST. JAMES about the
band’s legendary album, dashed hopes and monstrous gigs.
as Vegas is a city everyone knows by name and
reputation. The city’s history goes back to the
1800s as a gateway to the west and eventually
a railroad town. Much of its recent history, though,
has involved mobsters, vice, broken dreams and
dirty money. Despite its billing as the Entertainment
Capital Of The World, Las Vegas isn’t a big place and
you have to do some digging to find ways to spend
time beyond the accepted enterprises of gambling,
drinking, eating and partying to excess. While it may
be awesome that bars and casinos are open around
the clock and activities that’ll get you in trouble with
the law and/or your significant other on your home
turf are accepted practices once that plane touches
down at McCarran International Airport – what
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, supposedly – the
fact of the matter is that there’s not a whole lot going
on if you’re under the age of 21. And if that’s the
case today, in 2018, you can imagine how destitute
90 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
things were for Vegas’ youth 40 years ago.
However, it’s in this setting that one of the strangest
stories to emerge from the annals of ‘80s American
metal plays out. It involves a band most people
haven’t ever heard of, but became shining obsidian
stars of the subterranean underground metal scene.
A band with big dreams and plans; a band that
built and ran its own venue; a band whose lone
album, ‘The Avatar’ was going for four figures on the
collectors scene; a band whose lone album wasn’t
even supposed to be an album.
Angel Of Mercy’s history goes back to the late ‘70s
when vocalist/guitarist David St. James was in high
school. After becoming obsessed with hard rock
and metal staples like KISS, Rush, Judas Priest, Black
Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and feeling the feeling of
artistic freedom after picking up and learning
an instrument, he wanted to form a band. By
the time 1980 rolled around, he had a few
ideas in his back pocket when he formed
Angel Of Mercy, initially as an instrumental
act, with drummer Deniz Derya Gallegos.
“I was a sophomore or junior in high school at
the time and my family moved around a lot.
We had just moved to Las Vegas after being
in California for a couple years and a year-
and-a-half in Florida. My high school years
are kind of fragmented and I really hadn’t
had much of a chance to be in band,
except for a cover band in Florida. When
I came out here, I met the guy who would
become our drummer. We were classmates,
we became best friends and we were
into all the same types of music. The thing
with Las Vegas then is that we didn’t have
concerts or tours coming through town
at all and there were three rock radio
stations, but they were more mainstream.
So, I started digging through imported albums at
record stores for those gems.
When I found Deniz, I had only just
started writing my own material in
the year prior to that. So we – or
at least I – decided that the way
to make it in the music business
was clearly to model our heroes;
not become a cover band and
write our own stuff, which kind of
fell to me. It was just the two of us
for a couple years while we were
looking for members [bassist/co-
vocalist Kaign Sevenson rounded
out the line-up] and I found the
band name on a piece of sheet
music while I was in concert choir,
ironically enough.
“When I first moved here,” he
continues, “the entire population
of Clark County, which includes
Las Vegas, Henderson, North
Las Vegas and Boulder City was
250,000. There wasn’t a budding
music scene. There are 2.5 million
people here today and it’s still
not different than then, really.
There were a couple of clubs we
could play, but it was pay-to-play.
You were at the mercy of club
owners who might let you come
in and play, and if you didn’t play
for free, you were only making
a couple hundred bucks for the
entire band. They really wanted
cover bands and weren’t looking
for heavy metal and hard rock.
“I found the
band name on
a piece of sheet
music while I
was in concert
choir, ironically
enough”
But, there were these new, giant
warehouses on the southwest side
of town...”
In the early-‘80s, David and the
other members of Angel Of Mercy
had rented and souped up one
of these new buildings for their
purposes. ‘The Warehouse’ quickly
became ground zero for all things
band related, including rehearsals,
storage and recording. Soon after,
the trio started hosting weekend
gigs at the spot. It was a place
that was somehow able to fly
under the radar of the licensing
and gaming commission, unlike
regular local clubs. And because
it was their place, Angel Of Mercy
could work intently and intensely
and when they played live, they
didn’t have to play anyone else’s
music.
“We figured we’d make our own
way, so we built a huge set up
with a stage and lightning with
sound reinforcement. We did our
own shows in there and it was
just as profitable, if not more,
than it was to go out and try and
play the same places over and
over and over again, doing 45
minute sets and getting nothing
for it. The scene at The Warehouse
was bedlam, but we ran it like
a professional thing. We had
recording equipment there and
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 91
Under The Influence
more than anything else we were
trying to get our show together.
There was a lot of rehearsing and
not a lot of distractions or people
coming in and out. We had
neighbours that were legitimate
businesses we wanted to respect
and not create issues with, so we
went to great lengths to have
relationships and form trust with
them. We didn’t want anyone
calling the cops or landlord on
us because we knew we were
taking a risk being there in the first
place. But come Friday, Saturday
and Sunday, we opened up and
people would come out. People
would drop money in a bucket we
had, bring their own beer and it
was on. We’d bring in 200 people
a night.”
The Warehouse also quickly
became a meeting ground for
members of the local metal scene.
“Mark Slaughter [Slaughter] and I
knew each other. We lived down
the street from one another and
our birthdays were a couple
weeks apart. I remember Deen
Castronova [GZR, Bad English,
Ozzy, Steve Vai] was in town
when he was playing in a band
called The Enemy. It was a small
core group of guys that tended
to know each other. There were
only a couple of rehearsal places
in town, before we built our place,
that everyone rehearsed at before
getting run out by the cops. So, we
all tended to gravitate and hang
out at the same couple of places.
At the same time, there weren’t a
lot of us.”
Despite Angel Of Mercy’s
isolation from the rest of the
American metal scene in the era
before quick and easy internet
communication, they had stars in
their eyes, dreams in their heads
and plans on paper. The band
had definite goals in mind and a
strong work ethic driving them.
“We had a masterplan, a
concept, a live concept with
costume changes and all this
stuff that was going to make it an
audio-visual experience. We were
experimenting with film and video
production and we wanted to get
92 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
signed.”
Their vision not only allowed
them to run and maintain The
Warehouse and the scene that
built up around it, but eventually
resulted in the issuing of ‘The
Avatar.’ However, the album,
which was cut from the same
cloth as the likes of Manilla Road,
Brocas Helm and Anvil Chorus, was
never supposed to be heard by
the general public.
“I was managing the largest
record store in Las Vegas at the
time which introduced me to a
lot of people in the business,”
“We had a
masterplan, a
concept, a live
concept with
costume changes
and all this stuff
that was going
to make it an
audio-visual
experience.”
says David about how the album
came to be. “Our store was one of
the handful reporting to Billboard
for the Top 100 chart, so there
were A&R people calling and
visiting all the time. I met a lot of
people and one of those people
was Rock Dibble who was with
Atlantic Records. Our plan was to
get signed and have a producer
come in and work with us. ‘The
Avatar’ was actually working
versions of songs and demos that
showed rough structures and
whatnot; we weren’t married to
the songs the way you hear them
on that record. They weren’t
finished products. I had given
Rock a copy of the demos and
his feedback was to take those
demos and release them; do a
quick, indie, homegrown release
to show the labels that we were
investing in ourselves. And that’s
what happened. We ended up
releasing ‘The Avatar’ in limited run
vinyl and cassette and it did really
well, but our ultimate goal was to
not be a local band, to not play
the local club circuit or be a cover
thing. We always set our mind on
being our own thing. A lot of what
people have heard of Angel Of
Mercy was never intended to be
heard.”
When it was issued in 1987, ‘The
Avatar’ sold well locally. In fact,
the initial pressing sold out. Once it
started appearing in local charts,
the band began the process of
setting up meetings with labels
and travelling four hours southwest
to Los Angeles in order to sell A&R
people and record company
execs on the band. It was at this
time, David reports, “that the
wheels fell off. We had issues with
certain band members and their
demons and issues with chemical
dependencies. It all fell by the
wayside and was pretty much
forgotten until Tim from Shadow
Kingdom called me.”
Shadow Kingdom’s Tim McGrogan
had been following the latent
success of ‘The Avatar’ online and
witnessed the demand from old-
school metal fans and archivists.
He proposed a reissuing of ‘The
Avatar’ in a 2-CD package that
includes a remixed and re-mastered
version of the original album plus
various studio session outtakes and
unreleased tracks.
“I’m a pack rat and had all the
masters,” David laughs. “I jumped
on board after Tim convinced me.
The interest in it today, and even
back then, always shocked me
because I knew it was only a demo.
In the back of my mind it was never
finished. We only did this because I
was given advice and counsel from
somebody in the industry I trusted.
But as a person who always had
the vision that this was going to
be more highly produced, I never
wanted anyone to think this was the
final version. I really thought we’d
sell some, get on a label, put this in
the past and one day in the future,
completists would track down the
indie release to see the seeds of
the final product. Unfortunately, we
never got to that place where we
could say we got a final product.”
‘The Avatar’ is out now on Shadow
Kingdom
www.shadowkingdomrecords.com
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Iron Fist - UK - Doro 08-18.indd 1 09.08.18 15:01

 AGE OF TAURUS
The Beast Is Back
While it’s been five years since their debut album, AGE OF TAURUS’
follow-up is definitely worthy of the wait. Founder TOBY Wright
tells IRON FIST’s ANGELA DAVEY about the concepts behind ‘The
Colony Slain’ and its creation; line-up changes and what it means
to doom in 2018

T
he dreaded second album – a
tough task for any established
band – made all the more
difficult for UK trad-doomers Age
of Taurus by a five year gap
between their debut ‘Desperate
Souls of Tortured Times’ and follow-
up ‘The Colony Slain’. Line-up
changes and necessary time out
for personal life have all played
their part in delaying the second
instalment in the Taurean Empire
saga, however, the London
quartet have used their time out
wisely and have returned with a
renewed energy to release an LP
of epic, traditional doom, imbued
with a galloping, classic heavy
metal spirit.
“Well, it’s been quite a few years
in the making, as it were”, says
guitarist and vocalist Toby Wright,
“We started writing
probably around about
four years ago, maybe
about a year after our
last record ‘Desperate
Souls of Tortured Times’.
It’s been quite a long
process to get everything
together and to get to
the finished article. We
actually recorded it last
summer, so it’s taken
quite a long time to get
to the point of release.”
What fans may be
unaware of is that Age
of Taurus are a concept
band. The Age of Taurus
story surrounds a mythical
place in the long distant
past, called the Taurean
Empire, which is ruled
by a Minotaur; an evil
dictator named Tauron. The first
album focused on various threads
of story happening throughout
the Empire, whereas its follow-
up follows the specific story of a
member of Tauron’s court that tries
to assassinate and overthrow him.
He is caught, but rather than being
executed, he is sentenced to a life
in a prison colony far to the west
of the Empire. Once he arrives he
attempts to insight an uprising,
which results in Tauron destroying
the entire colony.
“In a nutshell it’s gone much
more into the story. It’s a lot more
detailed, I think, this time round.
The last record was a bit more of
an introduction, the same with our
demo material, but now we’ve
gone and run a bit wild with the
conceptual side of things,” Toby
explains, “And so, I had a lot of
fun coming up with it all and
writing it. The lyrics follow the story
chronologically and there’s a
lot of different characters that
are involved, which people who
actually buy the physical copy
will find it’s a bit like a play or a
screenplay where you actually
have the characters listed in the
lyrics so you actually see who’s
talking, who’s singing, at different
points.”
Despite having produced a record
that’s as much a screenplay as
it is a collection of songs - Toby,
ever the perfectionist - feels the
band could do better. The bulk
of the album was recorded with
the inimitable Jaime ‘Gomez’
Arellano, who also worked on
their previous record, with Toby’s
vocals recorded in
Oslo by Yusaf Parvez of
Dødheimsgard. Even with
the skills involved in the
creation of ‘The Colony
Slain’, the Age of Taurus
frontman uses each
record the band releases
as a means of how they
can improve upon their
next opus. “It’s certainly
getting much closer to
where we want to be in
terms of being happy
with the record, I think,”
he says. “Yusaf is a very
sort of ‘out there’ kind
of guy and I’ve enjoyed
doing the vocals with
him. But one thing that he
said during the process
was ‘if you’re actually
happy with the record

94 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

completely, you’ll never make
another record again’. So I’d say
we’re probably about 80 to 90 per
cent satisfied, and that’s in a good
way, that we’ve still got room to
do things in a different way or in
a better way next time round, I
guess.”
Showcasing a new line-up
featuring bassist Leo Smee (With
The Dead/ex-Cathedral) alongside
Toby, drummer Darius Claydon
and most recent recruit, guitarist
Daniel Knight. Dan is a long-term
friend of both Toby and Darius
and, following the departure of
guitarist Alastair Riddell in 2017,
he seemed the obvious choice
to step up and take over guitar
duties, and has settled in perfectly
with the band. “Dan, I’ve known
for, I guess, 16, 17 years: both
myself and Darius, our drummer,
we’ve known him for a long, long
time. And when we were sort of
trouble shooting who we could
ask, maybe, to come in and fill
the spot, he was an easy choice,”
admits Toby, “He’s a good friend
and he’s also a fantastic guitarist.
He played previously with a band
called Messenger who are not
anything like us, but they’re much
more sort of ‘proggy’ almost
like Radiohead. Kind of lighter
sort of prog but very, very good.
And before that he played with
Akercocke as well, as well as a few
other bands. But yeah he’s been
fantastic. He’s settled in very well
but I think it helped that we knew
him pretty well already, so it’s
been an easy process.”
Having started in 2009, Age of
Taurus began when doom metal
was first gaining traction for all of
the multiple facets and subgenres
that were to spawn from it and
become a staple for doom fans
the world over. Toby and his
bandmates still champion doom
in its most traditional sense and,
despite the growing popularity
of bands who couldn’t sound
further from the likes of Trouble
and Candlemass, he believes that
there will always be a place of for
the genre in its truest form.
“It’s changed. I think, even in the
last, probably the last nine, 10
years, since Age of Taurus started,
I think doom metal and what “We’ve gone
people associate with doom metal
has changed massively,” Toby and run a bit
muses, “Now people are as likely
to label something more sludgy wild with the
or doom death like Bell Witch for
example. For me, I wouldn’t really conceptual side
think of them as doom metal.
When I think of doom metal I think
of things”
of Trouble and Candlemass and,
of course, Sabbath before that. our sort of geographical stretch.
But Sabbath are kind of different, The rest of the guys are still based
they’re just heavy metal I think, in London, but I’m very much
probably, for everybody. But based over here in Norway, so it’s
doom metal is so many things, and a little bit of a challenge here and
it would be easy to get frustrated there, but it’s not too bad,” Toby
and think ‘well that’s not doom tells us, “And we’ll try and do a fair
metal’. But if someone has found few festival shows and, maybe, a
something in a different kind of few little runs of shows, where we
band that they think is doom can manage.”
metal, that’s perfectly fine, it
doesn’t really matter does it? So Prepare yourselves for this year to
I think it is very much still relevant. be the rise of the Taurean Empire
It’s just very different in terms of – Age of Taurus are back and
how people identify with doom Tauron means business.
metal. The spectrum seems to be
broadening every month I think. ‘The Colony Slain’ is out now on
There’s post doom, shoegaze Rise Above
doom, it’s very different I think; it’s www.Facebook.com/AgeOfTaurus
changed a lot.
But for me it’ll
always be things
like Trouble and
Candlemass,
and then bands
like Cathedral
of course. But I
think it’s still very
much a relevant
spectrum of the
metal world.”
Five years are
five too many
to go without
the doom
inspired heavy
metal of Age
of Taurus, and
the band are
planning to
use 2018 and
beyond to
make up for
their absence
where ever
they possibly
can. “We’re
going to try
and do as
many shows
as we can
and is as
feasibly
possible with
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 95
 IRON VOID
I
t was planned as a concept
album from the very beginning.
It took around eighteen months
to compose the music and lyrics.
We originally had ideas to include
additional instrumentation such as
flute, recorder, female vocals and
lute but decided against this as we
didn’t want to veer too far away
from the core sound of the band or
alienate our fanbase,” says bassist/
vocalist Jonathan ‘Sealey’ Seale. “I’ve
been fascinated by the magic and
mysticism of the Arthurian legends
since I was a kid and I’ve always
loved the 1981 film, Excalibur by John
Boorman which is based on the 15th
century book, Le Morte d’Arthur by
Sir Thomas Malory. I visited Tintagel
Castle in Cornwall (the legendary
alleged birthplace of King Arthur) 10
years ago and was immediately blown
away by the breath-taking scenery
and dramatic beauty of the place. I
was very much inspired and decided
it would be a really cool idea to write
96 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
a concept album based upon the
legends. I read Le Morte d’Arthur but
decided after much deliberation that
it was too lengthy to base a single
album on. The film was much more
concise, so we chose to base the
narrative of the album on this version
of the story instead, with influences
from Le Morte d’Arthur and Idylls Of
The King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in
addition to other Arthurian texts.”
“I remember talking about the idea
of a King Arthur concept album years
ago, after Sealey’s visit to Tintagel,”
says guitarist/vocalist Steve Wilson,
picking up the thread. “We had a
lot of grand ideas originally, guest
musicians and folk songs. In the end,
we had to scale things down but it
worked out really well.”
Fans of the band’s previous opus
‘Doomsday’ won’t be disappointed
with ‘Excalibur’s triumphantly heavy
riffs, whether they choose to follow the
storyline or not. That said, ‘Excalibur’
still has several surprises up its sleeve,
not least in the form of acoustic album
closer ‘Avalon’.
“I wrote this all in one afternoon and
recorded a demo at home quite
quickly,” Steve explains. “I was trying
to come up with an acoustic intro
that we might be able to use and it
ended up being a full song. The lyrics
tell the final part of the story. Arthur is
mortally wounded by Mordred, then
his spirit travels off to the Isle of Avalon.
It’s written from his perspective as he
says his last goodbyes to Guinevere.
Musically, I’d say it was mainly
influenced by Lord Vicar. I wanted to
do something similar to one of their
acoustic songs and I think I managed
it, while keeping true to our own
sound.”
It’s a fitting end, rounding off the
album’s story but also providing a
suitably epic end to the record on a
purely musical level too. Unsurprisingly,
Sealey is all too aware of the pitfalls
that can befall a band whilst chasing
a concept at the expense of the
tunes.
“There are very few convincing
concept records in my opinion,” he
admits. “There are notable exceptions,
such as the classic ‘Abigail’ album by
King Diamond, ‘The Deluge’ by Manilla
Road and ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh
Son’ by Iron Maiden, of course.
The most challenging aspect of
narrating the story of King Arthur was
condensing the key points and plot
twists into lyrics in a standard verse/
chorus structure without sacrificing the
story itself. That was quite difficult to
achieve but I think we succeeded.”
Having based previous songs like ‘The
Mad Monk’ on the tales surrounding
Rasputin, this isn’t the first time Iron
Void have paired their evocative
sound with high concept storytelling.
“I would suggest that ‘Outlaw’ from
the self-titled debut was the original
blueprint for a concept album such
as this, as that song was based on the
legends of Robin Hood” Sealey muses.
“We’re very much inspired by various
myths and legends and I’m sure we’ll
continue to write about these subjects
in future. I think the next record will
be much more straightforward and it
certainly won’t be a concept record.
The next record will be entitled ‘IV’.”
“I think we will return to similar themes,
but we have talked about doing
something different next time” Steve
chips in. “We definitely didn’t want to
cover Norse mythology or anything
like that. It had to be authentic and
honest.”
All good concept albums need
a strong, memorable cover, and
‘Excalibur’ is no exception, boasting
an elegant depiction of the titular
sword from none other than Serpent
Venom guitarist Roland Scriver.
“It’s fantastic!” beams Sealey. “I’m
very impressed with the artwork
Roland has produced. I did give him
a brief, I had a rough sketch I did
of the cover concept which I drew
with a biro and Sharpie pens! Roland
really breathed life into this concept
and made the cover art come to life.
There’s an awful lot of detail if you look
closely, he’s done an amazing job and
the booklet design is exquisite.”
The album was once again recorded
at Skyhammer Studios by the almighty
Chris Fielding (“Chris is to us what Tom
Allom was to Judas Priest and what
Martin Birch was to Iron Maiden, I
can’t imagine working with anyone
else for the foreseeable future,” says
Sealey), and captures the band at
their crushing best, bolstered by the
burly battery of new drummer Richard
Maw.
“Rich is a great drummer, one of the
best I’ve ever worked with” Sealey
smiles. “What’s great about his style
is that he’s a very heavy and solid
drummer and doesn’t overplay the
songs which some of our previous
drummers have done. He also shares a
lot of the same classic metal influences
Steve and I do which is great!”
“He’s definitely got the same
grounding in classic bands – Dio’s
various bands, Sabbath, Maiden,
Motörhead and Priest. We all listen to
a broad range of bands from rock to
death metal, but that core of classic
bands is really important to us in terms
of the overall vibe. I listen to them
more and more as I get older and try
to bring that classic quality into our
songs. He also knows Maryland doom
bands like Iron Man, which helps to
create that doomy vibe that we’ve
been going for since day one. It’s sort
of Iron Man meets Iron Maiden at the
moment!”
Iron Void may be firing on all cylinders
at the moment, but it’s been a long,
arduous journey for the band to get to
this point. Having begun in embryonic
form back in 1998, it wasn’t until 2008
that Iron Void would become a fully
functioning live band. Fast forward
another ten years, and they’re about
to release their most ambitious album
so far on revered label Shadow
Kingdom.
“There’s no way I could have
imagined this back in ’98! The aim
then was to just get a stable line-up
together and record a demo on
cassette tape to send to labels in
the hope of getting signed” Sealey
recalls. “When the original line-up split
in 2000 I was so disappointed. I felt
there was a lot of unfinished business
and I wanted people to actually
hear the songs we had written
as they were very good in my
opinion. It still amazes me today
that people all over the world
dig Iron Void, it’s very humbling.
When I originally formed the band the
internet wasn’t really a thing as it is
nowadays and that definitely helped
to grow the band’s fanbase. In terms
of progression, I don’t think we’ve
strayed too far from our roots really,
we’ve just improved our playing ability
and compositional skills, that’s the
main thing. One of the key defining
moments for me was finally playing a
show with Pentagram at Day Of Doom
Barcelona in 2015. That was quite a
surreal experience and one I will never
forget! Another defining moment
was the first time we played at Malta
Doom Metal Festival in 2012. That was
our first international gig and I have a
lot of fond memories of the time we
spent there.”
“There are times when I’m still not sure
Barcelona really happened!” Steve
laughs. “Definitely the highlight so far.
I’ve had ten years of ups and downs
with the band and it’s gone further
than I ever thought possible. It’s great
to be working with a well-established
label now, too.”
“We intend to play as many shows
as we can but it can be difficult at
times as we all have our own careers
and family commitments outside the
band,” says Sealey. “We’re planning
a short UK tour for November 2018 to
promote the album and to celebrate
our 20th anniversary and we’re also
scheduled to perform at Doom Over
Vienna the same month. I want to do
more European shows in 2019 and
it would be great to play outside of
Europe if possible too. We do plan
to perform ‘Excalibur’ in full (barring
‘Avalon’) at a show later this year so
watch this space for more details!”
‘Excalibur’ is out now on Shadow
Kingdom
IronVoid.Bandcamp.com
Cover Art: Roland Skriver
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 97
 Best known for leading the charge with the legendary Autopsy,
CHRIS REIFERT talks to KEVIN STEWART-PANKO about his blistering
hardcore punk outfit VIOLATION WOUND and their latest album
‘With Man In Charge’
S
ince the 1970s, the San
Francisco Bay Area has
existed as an epicenter to
some of extreme music’s greatest
contributions and movements.
Heaping handfuls of instantly
recognisable metal, punk and
hardcore bands, scenes and
personalities have emerged from
the region; everything from the
much-vaunted Bay Area thrash
metal movement and the early
punk scene led by The Dead
Kennedys and Flipper to Neurosis’
post-metal majesty, the Fat Wreck
Chords sound and Berkeley’s long-
running collective venue at 924
Gilman St. Whether or not you’re
a fan of any the aforementioned,
the importance of the Bay Area
to music (which absolutely spans
beyond the genres mentioned
and into the mainstream) is
undeniable.
For those from other parts of the
world, what generally comes
to mind when the ‘Bay Area’ is
mentioned is metro San Francisco,
roughshod Oakland and the liberal
haven of Berkeley. However, the
‘Bay Area’ is comprised of much
more real estate than many realise
as it includes 12 counties spread
out over 26,000 km² and houses
a population approaching eight
million people. Given this, there
are a number of smaller and
lesser-known towns in the region
that have significantly impacted
extreme music. One of those is
Benicia, a North Bay hamlet of
30,000 residents on the shores of
the Carquinez Strait that, as the
home of Chris Reifert, has made
an unwitting contribution to four
decades of death metal and
some of the most furious hardcore
punk you’ll hear this year.
“We’re kind of tucked away, but
98 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
close to everything else,” explains
Chris. “San Francisco is 30 minutes
away, if there’s no traffic; Oakland
and Berkeley are less than that.
It’s all a short drive away, but I like
being away from everything and
doing the quiet town thing where I
can enjoy kicking back, not being
surrounded by traffic and too
many humans. It’s a weird town
because it’s quiet, pretty and
scenic, but half of it is an industrial
site with the Valero oil company
encompassing most of it and there
“I’d see D.R.I. and
Possessed play
together and D.R.I.’s
fans would egg
Possessed”
are straight up oil refineries by the
water. There’s always that kind of
unease to go with the scenic stuff.
It’s like, ‘if anything happens there,
we could totally blow up!’ We jam
in a storage unit facility and across
the street are a bunch of smoke
stacks constantly belching fire and
who knows what into the air.”
In addition to providing respite
from the traffic headaches,
overcrowding and the prohibitively
expensive cost of living in San
Francisco proper, Benicia is also
where Chris – whose past and
present has seen him occupy the
drum throne for Autopsy, Abscess,
Death, and The Ravenous,
amongst others - nailed down
Violation Wound’s line-up five
years ago with bassist Joe Orterry
and drummer Matt O’Connell,
(who, ironically, moved out of
town shortly before this interview).
“We live in a small town and if
you’re into underground music
here, you’re probably going
to know each other, at least in
passing,” says Chris about the
band’s formation, “but not only
was Joe a buddy of mine, but he
used to be in this band called Fog
Of War, which Matt is still in, and
I always thought his bass playing
was insane. He was an animal
on bass which is why I hit him up
immediately.”
Referring to himself as “an
instinctual dude,” Chris says there
wasn’t much of a plan once
the Violation Wound line-up
was secured. The band quickly
became the hardcore punk
personification of ‘grip it and rip
it’ as they dove head first into
churning out as much material as
time and opportunity permitted.
Since forming in 2013, the trio has
amassed a discography of at least
eight split EPs, LPs and 7”s along
with three full-length albums, the
most recent being ‘With Man In
Charge’.
“The first thing we wanted to do
was make a record. There was no
sense of foresight to this, as is usual
with me. I had this nagging urge
to play some gnarly punk and Joe
and Matt were game. We started
writing the first album [2014’s self-
titled debut] once the band was
put together because we wanted
to have some kind of goal instead
of just beating our heads against
the wall. We’d start jamming, get
hammered and have fun, but the
first album was the focus. It was fun
to do as much as we could and
as long as people were into it and
some label here or there wanted
to [release our] stuff, we were all
about it.
“It goes back to my teen days
when I discovered a lot of punk
and hardcore stuff around the
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 99
Violation Wound
same time as underground metal
stuff,” he continues about the
development of his interest in
punk and hardcore and how it’s
stuck with him, even while starring
in some of death metal’s most
legendary bands. “In my circle of
friends, people liked both and I got
in and out of it as time went on.
I got really heavily back into it in
the early ‘90s and it hasn’t let up.
I’ll hear cool bands that motivate
me, like when I heard that band
OFF!. It melted my fucking face
off! We were kind of having a lull in
Autopsy, like we do on occasion,
and I can’t sit still; I’m restless and it
sounded like a fun thing to do. We
did it without thinking about it too
much and here we are.
“These days it doesn’t matter so
much,” he says about his creative
crossing of genre lines. “I don’t
want to say everyone is into
everything, but it’s not like the
old days when you used to go to
shows and when it was a mixed
bill, the crowds hated each other.
Looking back, it’s like, ‘Fuck, man,
this is over music? For real?!’ I’d
see D.R.I. and Possessed play
together and D.R.I.’s fans would
egg Possessed. People may not
believe that now, but that shit
totally happened. I was on the
receiving end of that too because
I played in a thrash band when I
was 16 and we’d play with punk
bands. But I don’t really care.
To put it in perspective, when I
first started playing death metal
with Death, there were definitely
people in the thrash scene who
didn’t get it and thought death
metal was moronic. I was on the
end of some serious backlash. I
didn’t give a shit then and it’s the
same now. There hasn’t been any
backlash about Violation Wound,
yet. I’m still waiting for it,” he
laughs.
The hardcore punk and metal
scenes have long accepted one
another and ‘With Man In Charge’
is a furiously high octane twenty-
song slice featuring enough fiery
old-school aggression to satiate
energy junkies on both sides of
100 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
the most pit. Chris relinquishes his
spot behind the kit to channel the
classic hardcore of Raw Power,
C.O.C., and Discharge with his
riffing and vocals while Joe raises
the bass playing bar with blazing
fills that curiously reference both
noise-terrorists Man Is The Bastard
and hot rod punks, Zeke.
“We jam in a storage
unit facility and across
the street are a bunch
of smoke stacks
constantly belching
fire and who knows
what into the air”
For most of its history, Violation
Wound has existed on the
periphery of subterranean punk
and in the purview of Autopsy
fans willing to dig deeper into
Chris’ extracurricular activities.
The increased push given to
‘With Man In Charge’ is coming
courtesy of Peaceville, which
coincidentally, Autopsy has called
home since day one. To have
Chris tell it, however, the three-way
connection between Peaceville,
Violation Wound and Autopsy
wasn’t as clear-cut and simple as
it might appear.
“Actually, it was a weird chain of
events because, at first, I avoided
them on purpose. I wanted to
do this completely on our own
merits and not try and ride on any
Autopsy coattails or connections,
for better or for worse. Whether
one person liked us or thousands
did, I wanted to do it on our
own. A year or two went by and I
started to think, ‘Y’know, maybe
Peaceville would be cool?’” he
says with a conceding laugh.
“They’d get our stuff out there with
proper distribution and all that, so I
hit them up and they totally turned
us down! We went to a studio in
Oakland called Earhammer where
Autopsy recorded our last album
and it sounded really good and
was definitely a step up. So, I sent
a mass email out to everyone I
know, included Peaceville, with
two new songs we did there and
that seemed to do the trick. They
liked it and thought we could
do something together and that
felt good because it was strictly
by our own merit and without
connections to other bands. Or
at least that’s what I like to think.
I had actually given up on them
due to their lack of interest. But
I finally wore them down. It only
took five years!”
‘With Man In Charge’ is out now
on Peaceville
www.Facebook.com/Violationwound/
HIGH ROLLER RECORDS proudly presents :
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 “The riffing is deadly and
the singing is out of control.
It probably gets overlooked because
the cover art isn’t so cool”

CAM MESMER, GRAHAM MCVIE and LESTER SPRUCE

SPELL
Normally we ask one band member to share their record collections - this month we
went overboard and asked all three members of Vancouver’s SPELL - CAM MESMER,
GRAHAM MCVIE and LESTER SPRUCE. Why? As Cam says: “Rock ‘n roll is a
vicious game, and so is record collecting. As a band, we’re always on the hunt for new
music and sharing our latest discoveries with each other. To us, music isn’t wallpaper
– it’s magic, with the power to completely change someone’s reality. When Lester and
I discovered Maiden’s ‘Piece of Mind’ at a secondhand shop as kids, our entire lives
underwent a dramatic and almost immediate shift, for better or for worse – suddenly,
we were growing out our hair, learning rock guitar, and dreaming of touring Europe!
Fast forward nearly 20 years, and here we are – broke losers with thousands of
records. At least we finally toured Europe!”

102 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

The record I regret lending to a
friend is…
C: “‘Genesis Live’ from ‘73 with
Peter Gabriel. Whenever I see
a copy of this album I’ll buy
it to give to someone I think
needs it. I’m baffled by how
few hardrockers recognise the
greatness of Gabriel-era Genesis.
The music is untouchable –
heavy, mysterious, sensitive,
soulful, technical, and I’ve rarely
seen a weirder, cooler album
cover. Peter Gabriel looks like
some bizarre polygonal wraith
from pluto! I went to play it on
while writing this, only to find that
I no longer have a copy. Looks
like I got a bit carried away with
handing out gifts... time to track
down another.”
The record that was a brilliant gift
is…
C: “Lester gave me a copy
of King Crimson’s ‘Red’ for
my birthday years ago and
it changed my life! I’d been
searching high and low and
refused to listen to the whole
album through until I could play
it on my own turntable. Turns
out he’d found a copy in secret
and watched me spend months
rooting through every shop in
town without letting on. It was
said that “the chase is better
than the catch” - in the case of
‘Red’, perhaps they’re on par.
King Crimson has never delivered
a sharper, more furiously
disorienting attack on my sanity!”
The record I found in a bizarre
place is…
C: “When we go on tour, we
have a lot of trouble resisting
the urge to land ourselves
deeply in debt buying records.
We’ve been known to bring
back hundreds and strap our
gear to the roof of the van to
make room. Typically, we’ll tell
ourselves that we won’t spend
any money and go into record
shops under the guise of ‘selling
them a few of our own LPs’,
but this tends to give way to
a rampage of uncontrolled
spending. It’s become a bit
of a joke! We don’t just look in
record stores, either – we’ll stop
for garage sales, swap meets,
and personal collections. In small
town Saskatchewan we found
a copy of the rare Canadian
progressive group Man Made at
a garage sale, and it was priced
to move!”
The record score that was the
best bargain is…
C: “I do most of my record
hunting in bargain bins! I’d
rather gamble on 10 unknown
records and discover one great
new band than pay the same
amount for an album I already
know. I don’t believe that record
hunting should just be for rich
people dropping huge money
to hoard rarities from eBay. Broke
but devoted fans will always be
able to find gems hiding in the
bargain bin because there’s
always great music that’s out
of style. I recently found a copy
of Babe Ruth’s self-titled for 50
cents, and I’m blown away.
Everyone loves their ‘First Base’
album, but this one knocks it out
of the park! The riffing is deadly
and the singing is out of control.
It probably gets overlooked
because the cover art isn’t so
cool.”
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 103
 The record that always gets
played at a party is…
C: “In 2007, some great musicians
from Vancouver - a few of whom
formerly played in 3 Inches of
Blood - formed a band called
Pride Tiger and released an
album called ‘The Lucky Ones’.
They somehow landed a spot
on a major label (EMI) for about
10 seconds before the album
flopped and they were dropped
and disbanded. I think it’s a
huge shame because ‘The Lucky
Ones’ is one of the greatest party
albums I’ve ever heard, and it’s
been on the turntable at every
party I’ve hosted for more than
a decade. It’s energetic and
groovy and never fails to get
people moving. People always
ask me what it is as soon as the
needle drops – I guess 2007 just
wasn’t quite ready for ‘em.”
The record that I wish I owned is...
C: “Nina Simone’s ‘High Priestess
104 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Of Soul’. I’ve searched high and
low for this record. I first heard
it while on a week long hiking
trip in the Canadian wilderness.
Despite my heavy pack, Nina
“It’s an irresistible
dose of joyous
nihilism and can
ramp up any
situation from 1 to
10 in a matter of
seconds”
made me feel weightless – her
voice carried me for miles. One
evening I spooked a bear and
he began to get defensive. My
yelling didn’t scare him off and
it wasn’t until I played ‘High
Priestess…’ and sang along that
he calmed down and went on
his way. Nina’s voice is rich with
power and control and her piano
playing is full of those jazzy notes
that I’m pretty sure aren’t on
my guitar. I also have Nina to
thank for helping me understand
the Civil Rights movement and
opening my eyes to the whole
genre of soul music – it gets as
dark as Sabbath and as wild as
Venom!”
The record that has the best
photo is…
L: ‘In the gatefold of Sacred
Blade ‘Of Sun And Moon’ there
is an amazing panoramic photo
of the band in the woods with a
massive structure that looks like a
spaceship. I cannot for the life of
me figure out how it was made
or what it even is! Perplexing.
Then of course the band, their
amps, guitars, and other peculiar
objects are strewn throughout
a lush forest scape full of fog, as
though they are just about to set
up space camp for the night. This
is a great and underrated gem
of unique and off-kilter Canadian
heavy metal and the photo says
it all.”
Record I’ve travelled the furthest
for...
L: “In 2009 Cam and I traveled
to Oberhausen, Germany to
see the Devil’s Blood. Since
we were backpacking I knew
I wouldn’t be able to keep the
‘Come, Reap’ 12” record safe,
so I got the ‘Graveyard Shuffle’
7” instead and then we camped
in parks and cemeteries and on
benches until we flew home to
Canada. The sleeve got totally
bent and a little wet after all
that, but it reminds me of how
powerful that show was - maybe
the most intense show I have
seen to this day.”
The record that makes me want
to party is…
L: “There is no better album for
bad decisions than Dead Boys
‘Young Loud And Snotty’. It’s
an irresistible dose of joyous
nihilism and can ramp up any
situation from 1 to 10 in a matter
of seconds. It’s the kind of record
that makes you want to stick
and poke tattoo “Dead Boy” on
your leg, and then get too drunk
and give up after only tattooing
“Dead” - worked well for me.”
The album that helps me sleep
is…
L: “I used to fall asleep with
headphones listening to Katharsis
‘VVorldVVithoutEnd’ because of
how all absorbing it is, But mostly
these days I like falling asleep
to Bo Hansson ‘Attic Thoughts’,
because it is laid back but still
gives your mind somewhere to
wander.”
My favourite artwork is…
L: “Sodom ‘Obsessed By Cruelty’
has got to be one of the most
deranged album covers out
there. I think it captivates me
because it sits inexplicably
between utterly horrifying
and completely inept, which
somehow only adds to the
power and allure. The wonky
claw hands, the illegible dripping
ketchup lettering. It truly matches
the bombastic insanity and
barely adept execution that
makes the album so special.”
My favourite Christmas album is…
L: “Definitely Leonard Cohen
‘Songs Of Love And Hate’. I only
put this record on at certain
times because it will drag you
down into its murky and abysmal
world if you aren’t prepared for
it. It’s a great match for seasonal
affective disorder, and you never
“That album
describes the cycle
of a year way
better than any
calendar!”
know if it will lift you up or knock
you down.”
The record that got me into the
most trouble is...
G: “Years ago I was listening to
Genesis’ ‘The Lamb Lies Down
On Broadway’ at the beach
beside a fire with a friend, totally
transfixed. Somehow the mood
of the album got all intense and
I noticed the blanket we were
on had caught fire. I threw it in
the ocean, but it was my friend’s
mom’s nice blanket so we still
brought it home and tried to
wash it. His mom was furious and
we never lived it down.”
The record I acquired in the
strangest way is...
G: “I was one of a few people
I’ve met to get the ‘Tales Of
Medusa’ LP unexpectedly
mailed to me by the band when
it was released, along with an
embroidered certificate of
authenticity. This was the only
way anyone got the album – it
was never for sale to the public,
and nobody seems to know the
identities of the band members
or have any way of contacting
them. I have no idea how they
got my address or why they
chose to send it to me. Later on I
got the matching shirt in a trade.
It was way too small for the guy I
got it off but he still didn’t want to
let it go!”
My favourite record is...
G: “That has to be Todd
Rundgren’s ‘Something/
Anything?’ My granny showed it
to me when I was really young,
and I’ve always loved it. It’s
the perfect album – a double
LP of solid gold that never gets
old. In my mind it could appeal
to anyone. Todd wrote, sang,
produced and engineered it all
himself, and he played all the
instruments. This album crushed
the top 40 pop charts, and at the
same time Rundgren was touring
and exploding people’s mind
with Utopia. This album taught
me how to write songs and be a
live performer.”
The craziest deal I’ve ever gotten
on a record is...
G: “I scored the first pressing of
Black Death’s self titled and the
7” for next to nothing from a
local shop in town. I’ve seen it on
sale for $800 elsewhere. That guy
had no idea what it was worth, I
almost felt bad buying it.”
My favourite concept album is...
G: “That has to be ‘Les Cinq
Saisons’ by the French-Canadian
band Harmonium. As a kid I
found it in my buddy’s dad’s
small record collection. His dad
was a total nerd so it was a
surprise to find something cool.
We all spoke French understood
the lyrics, so we’d sit around in
the yard of his mansion getting
baked as apple pies spinning
it on repeat. I always loved
how the songs flow through the
seasons. That album describes
the cycle of a year way better
than any calendar!”
www.bad-omen-records.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 105
 Listen To Your Heart
The Queen of Metal is back with a new double album ‘Forever
Warriors, Forever United’. DORO PESCH talks to CHRIS CHANTLER
about how cool IRON FIST is, her love of the UK, life lessons and of
course her new release!
"
Y ou are from Iron Fist, right? Hey,
I loved our last feature, and that
cover, my God, it was so nice!”
gushes Doro Pesch, beginning our
conversation at a level of euphoric
excitement that somehow never
falters for the next 40 minutes. “One
of my best friends bought me one
on the Internet for, I don’t know, a
couple of hundred dollars! I thought it
was so great, so innocent, it perfectly
captured that spirit of the Eighties!”
There aren’t many who start an
interview with gushing praise for the
magazine they’re talking to, but Doro’s
passion for metal and metalheads
remains stronger than ever 38 years
after she formed her first band in
Düsseldorf, West Germany in 1980. Her
long-awaited new album, ‘Forever
Warriors, Forever United’, is a double-
disc celebration of those passions,
and her first for six years, so no wonder
she speaks with such fervent
good cheer and infectious
enthusiasm…
It’s a good thing this is a double
album, as we’ve waited six years
since ‘Raise Your Fist’…
“For me, actually, time flew by,
because we worked two and
a half years on the DVD for our
30th anniversary, and a live CD
and a beautiful booklet, we
worked so hard on that. Then
there was another two and a
half years on the double album,
plus non-stop touring, doing all
the festivals, so to me it didn’t
feel that long!”
The new album is dedicated
to Lemmy, and his spirit hangs
heavy over it with the cover
106 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
of Motörhead’s ‘Lost In The Ozone’
and the song about the great man,
‘Living Life To The Fullest’. Did Lemmy’s
memory act as a spur to action?
“It was one of the most heartbreaking
moments. When I was on my way to
Lemmy’s funeral, suddenly that song
just came out, and I recorded the
tune on my cellphone - I know you’re
not allowed to use your cellphone on
an aeroplane, but I did it, because
I didn’t want to forget it! So right
away we recorded it in Hamburg with
Andreas, he’s a great guy, I’ve been
working with him for 22 years. I rang
him up and said I had to record this
song right away, I felt this urgency to
do it right now. Then we recorded ‘Lost
In The Ozone’, because Lemmy was
my best friend, and everybody loved
him, so I wanted to do something to
honour him. I loved him so much.
“That’s how it started, then the songs
came out one after the other. It was
like a kick in the ass to do something
right now, because you never know
how long anything will last. I always
thought Lemmy was so invincible, that
he would never, ever go… It was so
shocking that someone like him would
leave us, but I do feel he’s still around
us in spirit!”
Can you tell us a bit more about your
friendship?
“I first met Lemmy in England in the
‘80s - I’ve told that story many times!
- but after we did two songs together
on the ‘Calling The Wild’ album we
became really great friends. I was in
a bad frame of mind because my
dad had just died, and Lemmy was
so sensitive, so loving, so meaningful.
If it hadn’t been for Lemmy I don’t
think I’d have survived that, because
it was so hard. But Lemmy gave me
new hope, he said ‘There are
so many fans who love you, it
would not be good if you gave
up’. Every time I went to sing in
the studio, Lemmy gave me a
little kiss on my forehead and
said ‘Okay, now you do good’,
and I’d be singing with his little
wet kiss on my forehead, it was
so nice, I sang like a little bird!
I wanted to make him feel
proud of me. Every time we did
something together - a record,
a tour or festival - our friendship
got deeper and deeper, and
it very much influenced this
record. I learnt a lot from him,
and I think, man, I was so lucky
that I got to meet and be friends
with him. So everything I learnt I
had to put into this record!”
 “Always follow
your heart, go
by feeling, don’t
ever think about
doing whatever
people tell you
if it doesn’t feel
right for you”
At what stage of the process did you
decide to make it a double album?
“We had 35 to 40 songs! So I called
the record company and told them
I would love to do a double record.
They said ‘That’s very unusual in this
day and age,’ so I said ‘Yeah but
they’re all of such good quality!’ Then
I could put songs on there that I would
never normally have put on an LP,
like ‘Caruso’, our first song in Italian,
and a song we did for a movie called
‘Anuk III: Die Dunkle Flut’, and there
are cover versions like ‘Don’t Break
My Heart Again’. Whitesnake was
my first rock concert I ever saw, so it
meant a lot to me. When I wzzas 15
my first band was called Snakebite,
so I was always big-time inspired by
Whitesnake!”

The two discs are broadly divided into

harder and softer material, ranging
from bloodthirsty headbangers like
‘Bastardos’ to tender ballads like ‘It
Cuts So Deep’. Does the songwriting
process differ according to what type
of song you’re writing?
“Sometimes I feel like an instrument,
like something is out there, some
energy in the universe. You get a
certain idea and somehow you feel
you have to do it right, you have to
really take care of the idea. I always
feel what direction the song needs,
and when I feel everything is right,
then I can sleep at night. I can be
peaceful, my heart is not beating
fast! In the process it’s always such
an adventure, every song is different.
When we finished the ‘Triumph And
Agony’ album in 1987, I was very
happy with all the songs, we were in
mixing mode, and I said ‘Hey, can we
do one more song? I want to make
the most aggressive, brutal, heavy,
hardcore song, the fastest in the
world!’ So we sat down to do it - and
out came this German ballad, ‘Fur
Immer’! So you never know. When you
follow your heart and the good vibes,
it can be magic sometimes.”
You’ve said that the songs “deal with
some political themes”. Could you
elaborate on these?
“The world is in so much turmoil and
confusion, it seems really dangerous
right now, and I think the good people
have to stay together. The song
‘Résistance’ is meant in a political
way, to not let other people take over,
but that’s the meaning of the whole
record: we have to stick together,
fight the good fight and not let other
people ruin our thing. Even for stuff
that might be not so important in the
whole world scheme, whether it be
fighting for our music, for vinyl, for
record stores to survive, all that stuff!
Fighting for the good things in life,
for freedom of speech. I never felt
any disadvantage being a girl, it was
always cool, I was always treated
great, but in some countries now I
cannot even tour anymore, the world
Photo:David Havlena
has changed so much. I definitely
want to fight for freedom, and to keep
it positive. There is more intolerance
and hatred these days than ever
before, so I feel we have to stick up for
what’s good and right.”
One of the catchiest new songs is
the duet with Amon Amarth’s Johan
Hegg, ‘If I Can’t Have You - No One
Will’. You’ve also duetted with the
likes of Lemmy, Biff Byford, Dee Snider
and Udo, but who else is on your list of
most-desired collaborators?
“I hope that I can do many, many
more records and that more things
will work out, but I have many people
that I’d love, like Rob Halford or Bruce
Dickinson, or James Hetfield, or Till of
Rammstein, or David Coverdale, or
Jody Turner of Rock Goddess - I was
big-time inspired by Rock Goddess
when I had my first band! ‘My Angel’ is

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 107

 still one of my top favourite songs!”
If you could send a message back
in time to the 21-year-old Doro, what
advice would you give her?
“I’d say it’s important when you’re a
young musician, before you sign a
contract definitely take the advice of
a lawyer! Do not sign your life away.
We did it many times, and it was so
hard to get out of it. For me it was
always the music, I didn’t care about
anything else, I was so naive and
trusting, I thought everybody was our
friend and supporter. But sometimes
people are a bit shady and they have
another agenda, and we got into
so much deep shit, so I’d say ‘Make
sure you know what you’re signing!’
And always follow your heart, go by
feeling, don’t ever think about doing
whatever people tell you if it doesn’t
feel right for you. Do as you feel and
stay true to yourself, and eventually
you will get support, from other people
and from the universe. Sometimes it
can take longer than expected, you
just have to hang in there. Do what’s
necessary, always give it 100 per cent,
and never give up!”
Were these lessons you had to learn
pretty quick in the late ‘80s, when
Warlock broke up?
“Yeah, but sometimes you don’t
even have to make those mistakes,
sometimes when it gets a little bit
108 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
successful some people just lose
their fucking minds! I saw my best
friend suddenly become totally
crazy. Sometimes too much money is
definitely not good for a musician. You
can get lazy, or turn into shit, or take
drugs and booze and go to casinos.
Just to keep going is most important,
keep doing good tours and records;
it’s about music and nothing else.
Success is fine, but maybe it’s just for
a year, and next year you have to
start from scratch again. I learnt that
from Gene Simmons. He was doing our
record in 1990, I was a big KISS fan, it
was overwhelming to have him as our
producer! He wrote many songs for
that record. Back then, I remember,
the Kiss record came out and he was
doing all these interviews for it. I said
‘Hey Gene, do you still do interviews?’
And he said ‘Of course! Doro, every
time there’s a new record, you always
start from zero.’ I couldn’t believe that
someone like Gene would say that!
“When I was 15
my first band was
called Snakebite,
so I was always
big-time inspired
by Whitesnake!”
So every time we have a new record,
I always think, ‘We have to start from
scratch again!’ You can’t expect to
have it easy!”
You’re back in the UK with Saxon
in December, but what can you
remember of your first visit?
“My first time in England was
unbelievable! England was way
advanced in the metal scene, they
had real magazines - in Germany we
just had fanzines, these photocopied,
hand-written things! Plus of course
all my favourite bands came from
England: Priest and Maiden and Saxon
and Motörhead and everybody!
We played some great TV shows in
England when they would never have
put metal on TV in Germany, it was
so awesome! Then we played the
Marquee, and we hopped on tour
around England with WASP and then
Judas Priest in Europe. That’s when I
finally quit my job! I went to my boss
and said ‘I wanna be a musician’,
he said I was totally stupid and crazy,
and I said ‘Yeah, but I wanna try it!’
He said ‘You’re young, you’ll see, you
will starve.’ I said ‘It doesn’t matter, I’m
a metalhead!’ He didn’t know what
I was all about. Starving for metal?
That’s cool!”
www.Facebook.com/DoroPeschOfficial
110 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Since 2015’s ‘Meliora’ - and a lawsuit from former
band members - the masked and robed antichrist
superstars GHOST have dropped all pretence of
anonymity. So now we all know, Ghost is the personal
project of TOBIAS FORGE, ex-frontman with Swedish
death metal revivalists Repugnant. And yet, with this
acknowledgement of the mundane humanity behind the
outlandish fantasy, Ghost have doubled down on the
theatrics. On Ghost’s latest album, the sublime, plague-
themed ‘Prequelle’, the band’s totemic papal frontman
Papa Emertus III has ceded the role to an intriguing
new figure known as Cardinal Copia. Tobias eloquently
talked us through this new chapter in the Ghost story.
When the character of Cardinal Copia was
introduced, I saw you say that you didn’t know
if you liked him very much. How is he settling
in?
“He’s growing on me! But initially - the same way that
I haven’t really liked any of the frontmen to begin
with - that’s just my stance. There is a certain degree of
friction, in my head and many others, but it usually pans
out quite well. I think what makes this a little bit extra-
interesting, is that you get to see a character that isn’t
already a winner. Whereas the other Papas you met for
the first time as they had risen to their ultimate position,
which is in the grand tradition of telling the story.
Obviously we don’t know yet if the Cardinal will become
a Papa, but, we’re hoping!”
‘Prequelle’ is an intriguing title. To what does it
refer?
“As some have detected, there is a bit of a chronological
jump, backwards and sideways, and that’s the point.
‘Meliora’ was a loosely futuristic album, sitting in some
pre-apocalyptic point in time, whereas this is in the
midst of an apocalypse, back in the Middle Ages. The
title also implies the idea of circulation; that the world
has, to various degrees, ended many times. Back in
the mid-1300s, I’m sure a lot of people saw current
events as being the literal end of the world, with God’s
hand coming down and putting a stop to it. Just as
in the 30s and 40s in Europe I’m sure a lot of people
thought like that, and people in the Middle East today.
It’s a way to shine a light on the fact that apocalypse
is not necessarily the end of the world, even though it
will come at the expense of someone who has to pay.
The loose concept was on the table already when I
started making ‘Meliora’. I had two albums in mind:
‘Meliora’ was about the absence of God, and ‘Prequelle’
was about the return of God. Initially at that time I
was entertaining the idea of recording two albums
at the same time, even though I know obviously that
is generally not a good idea. It’s very hard making
one record, but two records, 20 songs? I know this
is cursing a little, but I don’t even think ‘The White
Album’ is that good, let alone ‘Exile On Main Street’!
Most writers are incapable of writing that much good
material… it’s very hard, basically. Klas (Åhlund,
‘Meliora’ producer/co-writer) was saying we should just
make one record, and the futuristic one seemed to be
more his style, so I just put ‘the plague album’, as we
were referring to ‘Prequelle’, onto one side.”
So was ‘Prequelle’ mostly written before
‘Meliora’ was recorded?
“In my head, a record is not written until we send it off
for mastering. Even in the mixing process I hear things
where it’s like ‘Whoa! Let me get a microphone, I just
need to nail this thing.’ But there were definitely a lot of
bits and pieces going into making ‘Prequelle’ that had
been lying around for a while. The song ‘Rats’, the main
theme was already there four years ago. Klas wanted to
use a segment of that as a little interlude, so that became
‘Spöksonat’ on ‘Meliora’. Bits of ‘Faith’ were written
back in 1999, it’s an old Repugnant riff. I always write
a lot of bits and pieces, I still have a lot of old riffs and
ideas that have been written over the course of the last
10 years, so I’ll go from now until 2020 just assembling
stuff. By the time I go into a pre-production studio, I
have quite a solid pile. Then the work of pre-production
is putting it all together into a functional, interesting,
autonomous piece of work.”
Have you ever approached an album as a clean
slate?
“No, that’s a good thing and a bad thing. I’ve never
worked by beginning with a blank paper. I’ve always had
a larger bank of ideas, and I seem to have got quite good
at handling that, but sometimes it’s quite frustrating in
a way, because you grow fond of old ideas, and once you
get to craft them a little, they’re not necessarily as good
as you think. They change; I can be very elastic when it
comes to writing, and then sometimes I get super-locked
in on an idea and have trouble changing it, but that’s the
beauty and freedom of not necessarily being a band. I’m
a capable drummer so I write all the drum parts, but I
also write all the bass, guitar, keyboard and vocal parts.
So at some point I’ve taken the drummer in my head
and played the song, then I go in from a bassist point
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 111
 of view and try to write a really good bass track based on
knowing the drummer very well. So it’s basically all a big
jam session, but in my head.
“The good thing about that from a creative point of view
is that if I have a vocal part that I don’t find interesting
enough, I can use that as part of the lead guitar. A lot
of the leads you hear in songs are actually old, rejected
vocal parts that I just play once - or sometimes I’ll think
it sounds better on the bass. So it’ll go from being a vocal
line, through a guitar part, and ends up as a bass line.
Imagine doing that in a band! That wouldn’t fly, telling a
singer ‘I think the guitar player should do that.’ ‘No no, I,
the bass player, should do that instead!’ That would ruin
a band! So it leads to a lot of creative freedom, because
you can dictate the band, and kill darlings left and right.
But sometimes you have to really step out of the room and
go ‘Whoa, what the fuck am I doing here?!’ But that’s the
trick; the last two records I’ve been working very closely
with a producer, someone I can bounce things back with,
so you can keep your eye on the track.”
With the recent change of Nameless Ghouls, has
it been hard to find collaborators who can really
understand your vision for how Ghost works?
“I’ve found a few people that I work very well within the
Ghost set-up. I’ve used the same drummer on three of
the four records - a drummer from my hometown, called
Ludovic - who plays on ‘Opus Eponymous’, ‘Meliora’ and
‘Prequelle’, who is very good at executing drums the way I
want them played, which is very helpful! But on the other
hand, we don’t jam the songs together, it’s more a case
of him coming in and executing what I tell him to, but he
does it very well, which not every drummer would! We
use a technique called cymbal separation, which is a bit of
a ‘green-screen’ way of recording drums; you play drums
and cymbals separately. That’s an old ‘70s technique, a
lot of hi-fi bands in the ‘70s used it to get a very big drum
sound. A lot of drummers don’t like doing that because
you don’t end up playing your drum kit traditionally, but
Ludovic is very good at that, so he’s a fantastic asset. He’s
a fantastic person, very positive, that helps. For this record
I’ve also found a fantastic pianist, Salem. Whatever I want,
he can do it backwards, in his sleep. When I record demos
I can compose on piano, but I’m not a pianist, the same
way that I’m not a saxophone player. I can hum exactly
how I want a saxophone solo to be played, but I still need
someone to come in and play it. It’s kind of like being the
director of a film; you know what info you want in the line,
but still you need a really good actor.”
112 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Were there any specific sax solos in rock
history that particularly moved you to include
saxophone on ‘Prequelle’?
“Yes, I’ve always been a big fan of Rolling Stones, one
of my favourite albums ever is ‘Let It Bleed’, and ‘Live
With Me’ has a really nice sax solo. Also ‘Badlands’ by
Springsteen. It just feels very nocturnally rock ’n’ roll
in a big stadium when you hear a sax solo, for some
reason. It has that super-classic rock feel. But I also like
horns in general; Blood Sweat & Tears did a lot like that.
A lot of people have been so blown away by the idea of
saxophone being used in a ‘metal’ record, it’s funny.
Anyone remember Siege? I don’t think sax is that weird,
from a rock ’n’ roll highlight point of view I think that’s
when things go to 11. Guitar solos are all over the place,
but if you want to really reach the zenith, a sax solo makes
people smile for real.”
‘Prequelle’ seems to offer a positive take on the
black death, just as ‘Opus Eponymous’ made
Satan almost romantically seductive. Is there an
instinct for Ghost to take the darkest themes and
give them an upbeat pop spin?
“I guess so! The idea of making a record that ties in with
the plague has obviously been done before; for anyone
who is somewhat oriented in black metal, we know it’s
a used concept. But most of those records usually focus
on the death part, the ones that perished; this record
is about survival. I wanted to make a record about that
part of the population who did not die, and focus more
on the traumas of being a survivalist in an environment
that seems to have the controls set on total annihilation,
which is a very haunting feeling. When the world seems
programmed for you to succumb, it’s alarming.
“It might stem from the fact that to a degree my
fascination with the dark, and my attempts at merging
with it - everything from my adolescent devil worship to
my interest in horror movies that I’ve had for most of my
life, to now obviously being very close to dark elements
in my everyday work - stems from the fact that I am very
afraid of the dark. My imagination is definitely playing
tricks on me, and it’s a way to control that. If I was forced
to spend the night in a castle on my own, I would probably,
just as a survival ritual, start trying to communicate with
the ghosts immediately! ‘Hello? We’re okay, yes? I’m going
to the basement now, see you there! I bring nothing but
darkness myself, so we’re kosher, correct?’ Haha!”
‘Prequelle’ is out now on Universal
www.ghost-official.com
 “This
record
is about
survival ”

Photo: Mikael Eriksson

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 113
 I
t begins, as do so many great heavy metal
albums, with the toll of a bell. The sinister
rumble of voices soon make their presence
felt, muttering indistinguishable incantations
of evil over the roaring of winds and the
mounting dread of horrorscore-style synths,
before finally solemn words ring out; “So; it is
done”
It’s no picnic to sum up quite the impact that
Border Illustration: Aaron Howdle, Photos courtesy of Frazer Craske with respect to the copyright owners
Glasper’s excellent book ‘Contract In Blood’,
discussed elsewhere this issue - metalheads
are left wondering why the UK fell so far short
in providing contenders amidst the almost
indecently exciting rise of thrash metal in the
mid-late ‘80s. Yet all this aside, for this writer
at least this Nottingham-based troupe were
the only band on this sceptred isle with the
sufficient identity, power and charisma to
take on the heroes of the form at their own

Sabbat’s debut ‘History Of A Time To Come’ game, adding a very British theatricality and
had upon impressionable ears in the UK in eccentricity to proceedings
the late ‘80s - how arresting the above intro
sounded - even when poorly copied onto a
TDK C-90 - as a prelude to the frantic scything
riffage of ‘A Cautionary Tale’ that opened
the album proper, not to mention the vitriolic
intensity of Martin Walkyier’s dezmonic and
dramatic vocal attack. Yet it was clear within
seconds of most thrash fans’ introduction
to Sabbat that this was a unique band -
one who weren’t content to simply pay
lip service to the established giants of the
genre, but instead married the savagery and
technicality of thrash metal with occultist
bravura and a mystical allure that elevated
their assault to strange new frontiers on the
fringes of consciousness.

Time and again - and particularly in Ian

without compromising on the
brutality and barbarism one iota.
Perhaps fittingly, as bassist Frazer
Craske confirms, the origins of this
band were not only in Britain’s
most influential purveyors of
metallic satanic spite, but also in
amateur dramatics.
“We were all part of the dramatics
lot at school,” he relates, “We
were all in plays and things like
that, and the first time I met Martin
he was playing Friar Lawrence
in Romeo And Juliet, so he was
onstage and stuff but he wasn’t
singing, I was in the fifth year and
Martin was in the fourth year [Year
11 and Year 10 to younger readers
- J.] We were all enemies, but we
were all grebes and we were all
getting beaten up by the rest of
the school. So I thought ‘this is
stupid’ and I made friends with
them.
“They’d got a band together
called Mystic WItch, it was Martin
and Adam Ferman - the original
guitarist - so I got in with that.
Martin was playing rhythm guitar.
We were doing some Venom
tracks at the time. We’d got ‘Black
Metal’ and there was the ‘At War
With Satan’ bit at the end. Me
and Adam, we could play it and -
because it was just ace - we were
jamming it along at rehearsal.
Martin didn’t know how to play it,
so he just picked the microphone
up, because it was Adam who
was singing originally. That voice
came out, and it was like ‘Right!
this is what you need to do - do
not play the guitar again! Do
that!”
“Me and Martin had always had
a real fascination with theatrical
bands - we were mad Jethro
Tull fans and Marillion fans, hand
in hand with the Venom and
Metallica and stuff like that. I had
Demon painted on the back of
my jacket - because again that
was another massive influence.
Mercyful Fate blew us out of the
water because that was incredible
when we first heard them. All the
dark mystical stuff, that’s what
we were really into. which is why
our favourite band at the time
was Hell - we used to go and see
Hell all the time, because they
were head and shoulders over
everything else at the time.”
In fact, if there was one band
who set the course for Sabbat, it
was these unsung heroes of the
midlands. It was at a Hell show in
Nuneaton - at which point Mystic
Witch had metamorphosised
into Hydra - that Frazer was first
introduced to the fifteen-year-
old Andy Sneap, who was then
being taught guitar by Hell’s
Dave Halliday. He soon made
his presence felt in the band,
not least as his arrival soon led to
the departure of the disgruntled
Adam Ferman, but also as his
tight, fast, thrash-influenced style
supercharged the approach
already in place. “(With) Mystic
Witch and Hydra the bands
weren’t thrash at all, it was more
classic rock - it only really started
to get thrashy when I found Andy!
it worked perfectly because he
came from the harder edged
side, and you put those two worlds
together and basically created
Sabbat”
Soon another name change
was in order, and the perhaps
surprising inspiration for this came
from author Erica Jong, who
despite being mostly famous for
her second-wave feminist set-text
‘Fear Of Flying’ had also written a
large-form book on mythos and
magick named ‘Witches’, which
was owned by Andy Sneap’s
mother and subsequently lent to
Frazer and Martin. “Hydra we’d
basically chosen because it was
mentioned in [Venom’s] “Seven
Gates Of Hell” - so we were trying
to work out what we wanted, and
I remember flicking to the page
that was called ’The Sabbat’.”
Demos soon followed, with Andy
Sneap’s sheer zeal for promoting
the band coming to the fore. Both
‘Magick In Theory And Practice’
(recorded at the local MEK
studios) was swiftly followed by
‘Fragments Of A Faith Forgotten’,
which Andy himself recorded on
a 4-track - perhaps the first sign
of the recording acumen that
would eventually lead to him
becoming one of modern metal’s
most sought-after producers.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 115
 Sabbat
Heightening the band’s mystique
still further, these arrived with
handwritten lyric sheets, stickers
and all sorts of associated sundries.
“What we thought was, if we
send our demo to people - like
with Kerrang! they get 20 demos a
day - you’ve got to make yourself
stand out from all the others,”
reasons Frazer. “We sent it down
there with all this bumph that
Andy had done, made headed
notepaper, really hyping ourselves
up, Geoff Barton from Kerrang!
saw our demo, thought that looks
interesting, put it on, liked it and
basically gave us a two page
interview when we weren’t even
signed.”
Indeed, things were hotting up
very quickly for the nascent
quartet, with Paul Miller and
Malcolm Dome from the aforesaid
rag soon on board as supporters,
and thus an eyebrow-raising
cover story in the extreme-fixated
Mega Metal Kerrang!, for which
Fraser enlisted some old contacts
from his live role-playing and D&D
days to send a crate of masks
and costumes to the Kerrang!
offices for the attendant photo-
shoot, to the consternation and
amusement of the mag’s staff. A
Friday Rock Show session wasn’t
long in coming, whilst amidst
such mayhem and through other
contacts with the Nottingham-
based Games Workshop the
band also soon
116 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
recorded the ‘Blood For The Blood
God’ flexidisc for the iconic D&D
and role-playing magazine White
Dwarf with Kev Bower from Hell
(its title coming from the battle cry
of the chaos warriors of the god
Khorne, fact fans) both cementing
a link with the fantasy world that
no other bands bar Bolt Thrower
ventured anywhere near, and
adding considerably to their own
momentum in the process.
Record labels had been summarily
courted in the meantime. “Andy
used to carry the rejection letters
around with him” notes Fraser,
and following mirth and rebuffs
from both Neat and Music For
Nations, the band attracted the
attention of Noise Records. “We
were so excited! Same label as
Kreator and Celtic Frost, what
more could you want?” The band
were still barely out of their teens
at this point, with their youngest
Andy Sneap - a man who even at
the heights of Sabbat’s success
had a photo of Annie Jones,
better known as ‘Plain’ Jane
from then ubiquitous Australian
soap Neighbours, affixed to his
Fernandes Flying V - having to
wait until his eighteenth birthday
to sign the contract, yet before
they knew it they were travelling
in September of 1987 to Hannover
on trains and ferries to record
‘History Of A Time To Come’ with
producer Roy M. Rowland.
“Everything was really exciting -
we were all in Germany, on our
own, and you basically lived in
a flat upstairs. We wouldn’t start
recording til ten at night, then
we’d finish at about four in the
morning, and then we’d walk to
the main road and go and have
our dinner, ‘cos the pubs were
open 24 hours, it was just insane. It
was two solid weeks of that when
we were recording - and it was all
the darkened lights and candles
and all of that - we were young
and daft and you do these things.
You want to sit there with all the
moody atmosphere, it was great
fun. Roy got really into it, it’s his
voice on the intro - that was the
invocation, the main prayer from
the Satanic bible, we were heavily
influenced by that book.”
What resulted still stands as
arguably the most singular
and scintillating of all British
thrash records, and certainly an
eccentric masterpiece by any
standards one cares to employ.
The sharp barbarism of Andy’s
riffage was more than matched
by the metaphysical malevolence
of Martin’s delivery, delivering
tales of religious mania, faustian
pacts and inquisition drama with
slavering relish.
Moreover, the speed with which
Sabbat found favour with the
thrash crowd was about more
than mere music, as the world
they built around themselves
resonated on a very potent
and otherworldly level. Every
element of their package, from
their fantasy-themed sleeves and
Games Workshop links to even
seemingly superficial details like
Andy and Frazer’s Rapunzel-length
and impressively unfashionable
centre-parted ‘70s hairdos
seemed custom-built to ensnare
the teenage hordes.
Moreover, little of this was by
accident. “We had this whole
mythos of ‘let’s appear bigger
than we actually are’,” confirms
Fraser. We’d support bands round
Derbyshire and that and we had
painted backdrops with Aleister
Crowley on and we built a drum
riser and we bought as many
cabs as we could just to create
the illusion. It was always a bit of
a split, because when it was the
four of us, because you’ve got
Nego [Simon Negus] the drummer,
and Andy - those two didn’t like
dressing up. Me and Martin didn’t
like going onstage unless we were
dressed up!
Touring with U.D.O was booked in
the wake of the album’s release,
which was manna to the Accept-
worshipping Andy, although
disappointment was also to
follow as they were kicked off the
tour after two days in mysterious
circumstances. A cross-Europe
jaunt with Rage and Risk went more
smoothly despite considerably argy-
bargy at the London show between
the rabid thrashers and the heavy-
handed security. The addition of
ace axeman Simon ‘Jack’ Jones
(who legendarily besmirched the
band’s image on their second
record with a pair of white Hi-Tec
hi-tops amidst the medieval fantasy
garb) was also a further injection
of adrenaline to Sabbat, as they
embarked on their equally dazzling
if more complex and concept-
themed second opus (a story in
itself for another time than here)
‘Dreamweaver - A Reflection Of Our
Yesteryears’.
Yet things were to draw to a close
in a depressingly familiar blur of
personality clashes and signing-
on poverty by 1990, partly down
to conflicts between Martin and
Andy - a partnership of fire and
ice which Frazer - who has barely
played bass since besides two
briefly successful but ultimately
ill-starred reformations - invariably
found himself forced to be the
Derek Smalls-esque lukewarm
water. “Oh for crying out loud,
those two,” he sighs. “I was the
classic bass player - I’ve done it
all, I’ve stopped Andy trying to
climb on top of a tour bus going
down the M1, I’ve put Martin into
the coma position on frequent
journeys. it was mad because I
was straight-edge for most of it.
Because I didn’t drink, I didn’t
smoke anything, didn’t get off with
anybody on tour. I couldn’t be
doing with all this falling over drunk
nonsense. But it’s that classic, two
opposites, who can’t be in the
same room, but when it comes to
creating stuff, it’s genius. They just
cannot understand each other’s
points of view”
Nonetheless, ‘History Of A Time To
Come’ and this five-year period of
magical serendipity stands alone
as a uniquely British chapter in
extreme metal lore, one which
has influenced scores of wide-
eyed ingenues, the most obvious
and notable being Dani Filth, who
persuaded the ‘Dreamweaver’-
era line-up to reform in 2006 to
support Cradle Of Filth on tour.
Little in fact could sum up the
intrinsically homegrown nature
of Sabbat more than a tour they
went on later in their career with
metal warriors of a
different supernatural universe
- Manowar, in which hardcore
fan Frazer found himself amidst a
cataclysmic culture clash. “Jesus
wept!” he exhales. “Never meet
your idols. I remember sitting in
a bar with Eric Adams and he
couldn’t understand us at all - he
didn’t understand that we didn’t
hunt, he didn’t understand that
we didn’t shag everything that
moved. I mean he asked me if I
was gay. I was like ‘well, I’ve got
a girlfriend at home’ and he was
like ’So? I’m married!’ He had a
ridiculously strong handshake, I
remember that. He was a very
very powerful man. On these
Spanish shows, we’d come out of
our dressing room and we’d bump
into this queue of ladies - there’d
seriously be about 40 women
queued up outside their dressing
room, and they’d be let in one or
two at a time, To be fair, given I
know people who’ve toured with
Manowar since, we got off very
luckily. I know of bands that have
been turfed out of their dressing
room, just so that Joey De Maio
can put his exercise bike in there.”
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 117
 U K T H R AS H
A 700-page book investigating the UK’s thrash scene has been
written by esteemed writer/ musician IAN GLASPER, featuring new
interviews with 100 UK thrash bands and hundreds of previously
unseen photos. A five-CD, six hour, box-set compiled by Ian has
also been released. IRON FIST asked Ian to look back at the era and
talk to its key players

W hen most people think of

‘thrash metal’, they think
of the Big Four: Metallica,
Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax...
and why wouldn’t they? All great
bands (once upon a time) and
they probably sold more records
between them than all the other
thrash bands in the world put
together. Then after the Big Four,
people will start name-checking
bands from Germany (like Kreator,
Destruction and Sodom) or Brazil
(Sepultura, Korzus and Vulcano,
anyone?) – or maybe even
Canada (we’re talking Razor,
Exciter and VoiVod)... yet how often
does someone nominate a UK band
when pushed for their favourite
thrash metal act? Probably next
to never, which is maddeningly
frustrating when you consider that
all the bands that inspired Metallica
in the first place were English:
Venom, Motörhead, Discharge,
Iron Maiden, Budgie and Diamond
Head, to name but a few.
But English thrash was a very
different animal to the more
popular US beast, taking its cues
from the grimy DIY ethos of the UK
punk scene, many of the bands
like Onslaught, English Dogs and
Annihilated actually evolving from
the punk underground.
“Definitely,” agrees Tony ‘Abbadon’
Bray of Venom, who themselves
certainly had an anarchic, chaotic
edge that punks could latch onto,
“And there was a whole generation
growing up who were looking for
a fresh take on punk - because
punk was getting a bit soft by then
“There was a
whole generation
growing up who
were looking for a
fresh take on punk
- because punk was
getting a bit soft”
[in the late ‘70s], a bit TV-friendly,
and the bigger punk bands didn’t
want to be playing the dirty clubs
anymore. And at the same time
heavy metal was going in that glam
direction with your Van Halens and
Twisted Sisters and what not, so
there was a big divide growing, and
a massive crowd of people looking
for something fresh and exciting, to
take over after the huge explosion
of punk.
“Bands like Discharge and The
Exploited were very much on our
radar; they were on our gig list as
bands we would go and see. We
got called ‘punks with long hair’ all
the time, but we never particularly
felt a part of the punk scene; I know
I never really did anyway. But we
were more than happy to have
punks and skinheads come to the
gigs.
“There wasn’t any animosity
either, which was good. When I
was growing up in the ‘70s, I was
constantly in fights with punks and
skinheads for having long hair, but
then when the band came out,
the same people who would have
been giving me shit for being into
AC/DC were coming to the gigs
and saying, ‘I didn’t realise your
band was this good!’ That was
pretty fucking cool, y’know?”
“There was a definite shift going on
in that era,” agrees Gizz Butt, lead
guitarist of the aforementioned
English Dogs, who were certainly
one of the first UK thrash bands, and
whose frenzied high speed leads
cemented their crossover from
punk to thrash metal. “It started with
Motörhead’s ‘Bomber’, Thin Lizzy’s
‘Waiting For An Alibi’, and Maiden’s
‘Trooper’... there was a shift that
went on, with guitars being at the
forefront. And believe me, if Michael
Jackson was using Eddie Van Halen
and getting endless air play on
Radio One, it was at the forefront.

118 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

When I heard Van Halen for the first time, I was so
excited, I thought it was nearly inhuman... and
bands like Iron Maiden really hooked me in. And
I always thought we could bring that into punk,
because punk was a great community, and the
energy of the music was never going to die.
I was really pulling in that direction, wanting
to bring something new and different to the
sound.”

And it was an exciting sound that was

evolving, no doubt about it. The UK bands
could hold their own sonically against the
rest of the world, and they had the backing
of some huge labels too, with Xentrix signing
to Roadrunner, Slammer to Warner Bros,
Toranaga to Chrysalis, Acid Reign to Music For
Nations... for a moment there, UK thrash looked
certain to be the next big thing.

“It was blatantly obvious to me what I had

to do,” recalls Acid Reign vocalist, H, of their
signing to the same metal giant that was home
to Metallica. “I was in a thrash metal band and
wanted a deal with a thrash metal label, so
you got all your records out and put them on
the floor and copied down the addresses
of all the labels those albums were on
and sent them a tape. How hard can this
fucking be? I’ve had all these people say,
‘Oh wow, how did you get signed to MFN
when you were only 17?’ But to me it was
the simplest thing in the world...”

“And then we did what all young bands

do when they get an offer from a
label,” laughs Chris Astley, who was
the vocalist/guitarist with Xentrix. “We
showed it our dads, who showed it to
their legal people, who all said, ‘If you sign
that, you’re off your heads, you’ll never
make a living off it...’ And we just signed it
anyway, because it was a record deal! That’s
the way the record companies get you, innit?
‘But it’s a record deal...!’ ‘Yeah, but you need
to change this and this...’ ‘But it’s a record deal!
Do you want to sign or not?’ We didn’t even
negotiate; we just asked where we had to sign.”

And in the wake of such a label and media

frenzy, a whole slew of weird and wonderful
bands appeared, some of them, like
Nottingham’s Sabbat (who themselves
signed to hugely respected German label,
Noise), distinctly English sounding and with
an eccentric style that elevated them
above their more generic peers. Anyone
who saw Sabbat band live – and indeed
anyone who has heard their incredible
debut album, ‘A History Of A Time To
Come’ – will agree they should have been
huge.
“Oh, we loved the show side of it, we
wanted to be different,” confirms Sabbat
bassist, Frazer Craske, “So we rehearsed

All images supplied courtesy of Ian Glasper

 UK Thrash
four times a week, and lived and
breathed Sabbat. There were so
many bands that were all the same;
we really wanted to do something
different... especially because of
the lyrics and that. It didn’t really suit
what we were singing about, going
out there in jeans and T-shirts, and
people got quite into it.
“And having the gear on really
helped when we played live.
Sound-checking in your jeans
and T-shirt was fine, but dressed
up for the show was something
completely different. I remember
we did a gig at Dingwalls, August
’87, with [Brighton thrashers] Virus
[who were signed to Metalworks in
the ‘80s, but are back at it today,
and newly signed to US label,
Combat], and we were terrified;
when we got down there it was just
punks everywhere, and everyone
had bandanas and had come on
a skateboard. Virus were this punk
band who had became a thrash
band, and it was totally their crowd.
We got into a heated argument
backstage; Andy [Sneap, guitars]
and [Simon] Negus [drums] never
really liked dressing up, but me and
[vocalist] Martin [Walkyier] were all
over it... ‘We’re characters, we’re
performing!’ and all that, ‘We are
Sabbat, and they have come
to see a Sabbat show... if they
don’t like what they see, they’ll go
home...’ And we went out there,
and did it in full kit, and it was just
fantastic, people flying everywhere.
I remember saying afterwards, ‘I
told ya!’ If we hadn’t dressed up,
we wouldn’t have felt right; that
120 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
was part of the whole Sabbat
experience.
“Who else could have done a
photo session at Stonehenge and
got away with it?” he laughs. “A
few people said, ‘It’s a bit Spinal
Tap, isn’t it?’ But no, it wasn’t, it was
pure Sabbat. They wanted a crazy
amount of money to let us do that
though, like ten grand, but Noise
got them down to £1000 – which
was worth it, because you couldn’t
get in there in those days. And it
was marvellous for us, because we
got in there, on our own, at sunset
“If we hadn’t
dressed up, we
wouldn’t have felt
right; that was part
of the whole Sabbat
experience”
– how cool is that? I remember
Andy was livid with me and Martin,
because when he was having his
individual pictures taken, we were
peeping around one of the stones
trying to put him off...”
And for a moment there, UK thrash
seemed poised on the brink of the
mainstream, with even the likes
of Metallica sitting up and taking
notice.
“When we were going over to
America on tour,” recalls Adie
Bailey, then vocalist of the English
Dogs, “We were flying into Chicago,
and we were sat opposite this
Onslaught cover art: Steve Grice; Sabbat cover art: John Blanche; Toranaga cover art: Kevin Walker
‘metal chick’... that’s the only way
to describe her. And I was trying
to choose which tape to put on
next, and said to [Dogs drummer]
Pinch, ‘Here, give me that Metallica
tape...’ She overheard this and
said, ‘Are you into Metallica? My
boyfriend’s the bassist!’ It was Cliff
Burton’s girlfriend, and she was
showing us all these photos, and
telling us how much Metallica loved
the English Dogs. It was hard to
believe, and we thought she was
winding us up really, but then when
we met him, he said his girlfriend
had told him she’d met us on the
plane.”
“We were there for three or four
weeks, and probably played a
dozen gigs,” continues guitarist Gizz.
“We were very young and we were
in America for the first time, and it
was all very exciting. I don’t think
I was even old enough to legally
drink, and I was thin and scrawny
with a strong Northern accent,
probably a bit awkward - but they
loved our music out there, and that
was what counted. We even had
Nuclear Assault support us at a
few gigs, and they gave us a bit of
a shock, because they were very
tight. The only gig we played where
we didn’t headline was supporting
Wendy O. Williams.”
So what went wrong? Why
didn’t UK thrash make the same
global impact as thrash from the
Americas and mainland Europe?
Unfortunately some of the Python-
esque humour seemed to get lost in
translation, and only appeal to fans
from the UK itself, and then factor in
some misguided cover versions, and
major labels dropping bands like hot
potatoes when they realised they
weren’t going to sell a million copies
by the weekend, and a fickle music
press who were easily seduced
by the more exotic thrash from
overseas, and you had a perfect
storm that conspired to bury the UK
bands.
On top of that, grunge exploded,
and thrash seemed unable to
respond, some bands desperately
experimenting with funk and hip
hop to try and reinvent themselves.
“There is nothing wrong with having
a sense of humour,” says H, from
Acid Reign, a band well renowned
for being a bit, er, daft, “But that
doesn’t make us a comedy band.
I’ve always said that no one comes
to an Acid Reign show saying, ‘I
hope they’re going to be funny
tonight, I hope they get their cocks
out onstage tonight, I hope they
throw a bucket of spaghetti over
somebody...’ No, they come to
see us because they want to hear
‘Motherly Love’ and ‘Goddess’...
“Some people say, ‘Thrash never
died...’ Maybe not, but it went
to fucking sleep. It went into a
fucking coma. I mean, everyone’s
airbrushed the fact that Kreator did
an industrial metal album [1992’s
‘Renewal’] out of history, but that
was them desperately trying to
keep the band going.
“We, however, couldn’t continue.
We were only big in the UK. Kreator
were from Germany, and could shift
enough albums in Germany alone
to earn a living. That was never
going to happen for us.
When people consider why there
was no UK Big Four, and why none
of the bands broke it big... let’s
have a think, shall we? Onslaught’s
biggest single...? ‘Let There Be
Rock’. Xentrix’s biggest single?
‘Ghostbusters’. Our biggest single?
‘Hangin’ On The Telephone’! Are
we seeing a pattern here? All
cover versions; UK thrash failed to
innovate... it impaled itself upon its
own cock.”
“We were quite into our music,”
explains Chris of Xentrix, of that
‘Ghostbusters’ cover. “It was all
about the songs, and being into
playing, and doing something
interesting; it wasn’t about what
we looked like or anything. There
were a lot of joke bands around, like
Metal Duck and Lawnmower Deth,
who were all friends of ours, but we
used to say, ‘There’s nothing funny
about heavy metal...!’ Whilst we did
have a laugh, what we were doing
was very, very serious.
“And that whole ‘Ghostbusters’
thing was never meant to be a joke.
We used to rehearse for so long; we
had an industrial unit in the middle
of nowhere, and we’d rehearse
four or five nights a week. We’d go
there at 7 or 8 clock in the evening,
and we’d rehearse until 4 or 5 the
“UK thrash failed
to innovate... it
impaled itself upon
its own cock”
next morning, and that was four or
five nights a week. I pushed that
hard, and the rest of them went with
it – it was just what we did... you get
good by trying really hard, and by
trying harder than everybody else...
and that was why we were such a
good band. There’s no excuse for
being shit; there is none. People pay
hard earned money to see you,
and you owe it to them to be as
good as you can be.
“So we rehearsed an insane
number of hours a week, and
you can only play the same nine
songs so many times, so we used
to do stupid stuff to keep ourselves
amused. We had a jokey death
metal band, where we’d all swap
instruments and play death metal
for five minutes. And one day,
[guitarist] Stan started playing
‘Ghostbusters’, and we all had a
look at how he was playing it and
just joined in. And we worked out
the harmony guitar parts, and just
had a laugh, killing time, probably
3 in the morning or whatever... and
one of us said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny
to do that...’”
One UK thrash band that has
most definitely stood the test of
time is Bristol’s Onslaught, who
back in the 80s signed to major
label London and watched their
careers nose-dive as a result of
their daringly melodic ‘In Search
Of Sanity’ LP; however in more
recent years they’ve reformed,
sounding even better than before,
to release ever faster albums and
tour the world with great success.
“I think we had one blip in
our career, but apart from
that one record we’ve been
pretty consistent and haven’t
compromised,” reasons guitarist
Nige Rockett, when pondering the
band’s longevity. “That one album
aside, we’ve always delivered
quality thrash metal and that’s not
going to change. In fact, we’re
getting thrashier! Basically we’re
true to our cause; we’re focused
on remaining 100 per cent
relevant and going head to head
with the competition.
“We’ve been back together
now far longer than we were the
first time around, and it’s getting
better and better; you wouldn’t
believe the amount of young
kids coming out to the shows,
it’s incredible. When we came
back, it took us five or six years
to shake off the ‘nostalgia’ thing,
and we’ve now thankfully lost the
tag of ‘reformed thrashers’ and
‘80s legends’ etc.; we just want to
make credible, relevant, heavy,
hard-hitting music. If we ever write
an album that’s not better than
its predecessor, it’ll never come
out; I’m of the mentality now that
we’ll never soil our reputation
again by releasing a mistake... it’ll
either be up there with [their last
studio album] ‘VI’ or we just won’t
release it.”
‘Contract In Blood: The History Of
UK Thrash Metal’ by Ian Glasper is
out now via Cherry Red Books.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 121
 S
L I V E DA R K N E S
AUGUST 10

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 Since unleashing their comeback classic ‘Life Sentence’ in 2013, these heavy-
hitting NWOBHM pioneers have shown deadly serious commitment to becoming
a best-practice exemplar of how to get the old band back together. The Ross/
Tippins/Ramsey/English/Taylor line-up that recorded 1983’s classic debut ’Court In
The Act’ remains steadfastly intact, still putting out killer new records, storming
festivals worldwide and winning a new generation of impassioned acolytes. No
longer simply honouring their ‘80s legacy, on ‘Cruel Magic’ Satan continue nailing
the dynamics harder than ever. So we got singer BRIAN ROSS and guitarist RUSS
TIPPINS to ruminate to CHRIS CHANTLER on regicide, chemistry and the Geordie
metal Cold War…

W
hen Satan played their rampaging headline set at
Newcastle upon Tyne’s Brofest in February 2016,
it was their first hometown show for over 30 years.
Original members were invited back onstage to play songs from
their 1981 demo, and the whole set was a potent celebration
of the North East’s incalculable contribution to metal history
(so vast there was once a parallel sub-movement dubbed the
NENWOBHM - North East New Wave Of British Heavy
Metal). “The buzz you get from playing your own hometown is
quite amazing,” Brian told the Brofest crowd, but both he and
Russ sound ambivalent when Iron Fist ask about ‘the Toon’ that
spawned them.
“It was nice to be able to do that, the time was right,” says
Brian, “but Newcastle is a very strange place when it comes to
supporting home-grown talent. Back in the day when the New
Wave was emerging, bands in Newcastle were very wary of each
other. It kind of got interesting when I moved to Leicester to join
a band called Split Image, which became Blitzkrieg. We came up
to Newcastle to play and we were always really well-attended,
we played the Mayfair many times and it was always full. So
although I was from the North East, I got a feel of what it was
like to be from somewhere else, and if you were a local band, the
mentality was ‘Yeah yeah, they’re from up here, we can catch
‘em anytime.’ We [Satan] never did play Newcastle because of
that, so thirty years on we announced we were going to play
Newcastle and we were overwhelmed by the response. I’m not
suggesting it’ll be another thirty years before we play there
again!” chuckles the singer, “but it is an odd beast, Newcastle.”
The city was, circa 1980-83, the blazing crucible of metal’s
intensification. Satan, Venom, Raven, Atomkraft, Mythra,
Fist, Avenger, Hollow Ground, Tysondog; the Geordies were
exporting the heaviest metal in the world at a time when
their traditional heavy industry was waning. “The mines and
shipyards were closing, people were out of work and looking for
something to do,” reasons Brian. “I think a lot of bands came
from that, helped along by the punk explosion of the late ‘70s.
In some ways heavy metal was born out of the punk movement,
it was a bunch of kids saying ‘we can have a go at this’. And
most of them were bloody awful! But that wasn’t the point. They
felt like they were a part of something, they felt they could do
something that they previously only dreamed of doing.”
With so many competitive young working-class men channelling
their frustrations into playing metal as aggressively as possible,
the Newcastle scene was never likely to be all group-hugs and
high-fives.
“It was mostly rivalry and backbiting,” confirms Russ. “In 1982
a typical Newcastle show would be sparsely attended, and then
only by guys in other bands and their girlfriends. Checking out
the competition of course. They would stand at the back, arms
folded, as if saying ‘impress me’, and occasionally you could
see them turn towards each other and shake their heads. And
they would mock us because they knew we’d approached Neat
Records for a deal but got turned down. We had no time for
them because from what we could see and hear, they spent most
of their time and energy on how they looked rather than learning
to play.”
With this sort of attitude the order of the day locally, Satan

124 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

shrewdly took their metal to the continent,
where Dutch headbangers gave them
the reaction they deserved (powerfully
attested on smoking concert memento
‘Live In The Act’). “The difference was
shocking,” Russ emphasises. “We’d never
imagined a crowd could be so wild but so
supportive. And Germany and Belgium
seemed to be the same. The following
year we relocated to London just to be
closer to Europe. We couldn’t wait to get
out of Newcastle.”
Right from Satan’s first demo in 1981
- one of the earliest artefacts souping
up heavy metal for its journey towards
thrash - it was clear that this band
were pushing the envelope of ripping
heaviness and dark themes. What was
inspiring Satan in that direction?
“The Angel Witch and Iron Maiden debut
LPs definitely had their hooks into me
by that time,” recalls Russ. “Also I was
obsessed by Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on Bare
Mountain’ which I really tried, and failed,
to replicate on ‘The Executioner’. Steve
[Ramsey, guitar] was also beginning to
write songs and his own hero was Tony
Iommi of course, but he was also into
punky bands like The Damned. When it
got around to ‘Court in the Act’ I think
we were starting to find our own voice
musically, although we were still totally
green about how to make a record. In
retrospect that was probably a good
thing.” Did Satan own many other bands’
demo tapes prior to releasing their first
demo?
“The Angel
Witch and Iron
Maiden debut
LPs definitely
had their hooks
into me”
“No,” declares Russ. “The only official
thing I had on cassette was Neat Records’
‘Lead Weight’ compilation of demos, which
I bought in 1981. What an absolute eye
opener that was! My first introduction to
happening new bands like Blitzkrieg, White
Spirit and Fist. It was because of this that
we tried to get a recording deal with Neat.
We phoned them up and when we said
the band was called Satan, you could hear
people laughing over the receiver. Then they
told us to go away and hung up.”
There seems to be one theme
connecting Satan’s rough-and-ready
debut demo to the mature elegance
of ‘Cruel Magic’. The chorus of 1981
rip-snorter ‘Heads Will Roll’ sang of
“waging war on the monarchy”, while
the new LP features the brooding
highlight ‘Death Knell For A King’. Is
republicanism an evergreen concern
for Satan, and how have the band
found their viewpoints have changed
since those early days?
“I wasn’t in the band when they did
‘Heads Will Roll’, but I knew the guys,
they were good friends of mine,” Brian
affirms. “At the time they were interested
in the French Revolution - they were just
out of school, so they had probably been
doing it for a history project! And ‘Death
Knell For A King’ isn’t necessarily about
a king per se, and it’s certainly not anti-
royal. I’m the last one you should speak
to about that, I’m a royalist through and
through. If it was up to me I’d get rid of
the government and put the royals back
in power - they couldn’t do any worse, I
think! It’s more representative of people
in a position of power, how they make
mistakes and how easily they can be
removed and replaced.”
Russ picks up this point: “Figuratively
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 125
 Satan
a ‘king’ could also be an emperor or
even a president, so there is no anti-
monarchy/pro-republican standpoint as
such,” asserts the guitarist. “Without
naming names I can think of four current
world leaders whose behaviour befits
the central character in this song. Their
track records in office are so appalling
that it’s only a matter of time before they
get the red-hot-poker up the arse. As to
how we’ve changed since the early days?
Well, we are rather better informed now
than we were in 1982 - as is the world
in general. These days I’m not sure we
would get away with some of the lyrics
on those early songs like ‘Heads Will
Roll’ - we were so naive! I think it’s
too easy to protest against anything and
everything when you are eighteen. It’s not
simply a case of the government versus
the people anymore. Every situation has
its own complexities and I think we’ve
become better at making more concise
observations within the lyric. So songs
such as ‘Who Among Us’ and ‘Mortality’,
we couldn’t have written anything with
that amount of detail in 1982. It’s just
down to life experience I think.”
That life experience almost seems to be
the new x-factor for bands of Satan’s
vintage, bringing to bear the wisdom
of four decades in the service of metal
artistry with increased confidence,
intelligence and fluidity. With no label
pressure for product and an impulse to
hone everything into optimum shape,
‘Cruel Magic’ has been crafted with
care. “We spent two and a half years
on these songs, from the first germ of
an idea to the final mix and mastering,”
reveals Russ. “That’s way longer than
it’s taken previously but what can you
do? Composition is always the hardest
thing. You can’t force it to happen - it’s
something that happens to you.”
“It’s been a long process,” concedes
Brian, “but sitting at home with a CD of
mixes, writing a lyric and thinking up a
melody, is very different from actually
belting it out in the studio. You start
getting new ideas and changing things, so
the writing process continued as we were
recording, until we said to the engineer
‘Right, it’s done!’”
“As a writer you need to give yourself
enough time to try out ideas that come
to you, record them, develop them - then
leave it alone for a few weeks and hear
126 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
it again with fresh ears,” adds Russ.
“Sometimes, you know, it just isn’t as
good as you‘d first thought. It happens.
Once we knew we had the arrangements
nailed, the recording itself was done
pretty quickly. We wanted to try to
recapture some of the wild abandon we
had displayed on ‘Court In The Act’.
We felt that the only thing missing
from our later output was some of that
roughness, the nervous energy. The
feeling that something could go wrong at
any moment. Just five blokes playing in
a band together. I think we certainly got
that and yes, there are audible mistakes.”
“We phoned
Neat up and
when we said
the band was
called Satan,
you could hear
people laughing
over the
receiver. Then
they told us to
go away and
hung up”
Some of the guitar work seems to have
a black metal feel to it, but is that
because Russ and Steve listen to and
assimilate influences from that genre,
or because Satan’s guitar work was a
big influence on what became the black
metal sound in the first place?
“That is a cute question!” laughs Russ.
“I’m not so sure our guitar work was
much of an influence on black metal.
I guess the speed of what we do is
bordering on thrash but the note content
is coming from somewhere else. We’ve
always played in multiple keys and used
the high strings for main riffs. I’m curious
about your first point though, that some
of the guitar parts have a black metal feel.
If they do, it wasn’t intentional, but I’ve
certainly had more exposure to that genre
in these last few years and seen a side
to it that I hadn’t previously understood.
Tormentor in particular has been an
interesting retrospective find, and having
recently played several shows with
Venom, and Venom Inc, I found it hugely
enjoyable watching their sets. They used
to sound so extreme to me - but now I
find myself singing along and getting off
on it.”
Although Satan’s classic 1983 LP
‘Court In The Act’ has remained
a cornerstone of the band’s sound,
style and attitude, there has been
an oddly contemporary vibrancy to
the three albums produced since the
reunion of the debut’s line-up. Without
compromising, diluting or assimilating
modern trends, ‘Life Sentence’, ‘Atom
By Atom’ and ‘Cruel Magic’ all have
a hunger, an energy and a concerted
push for quality that belies the band’s
veteran status and 28-year hiatus.
Accordingly, the long-term prospects
for Satan’s return were guaranteed
by the excitement and interest of a
whole new generation of youthful
headbangers. Did the success of their
comeback take the band by surprise?
“I guess so,” admits Russ. “I mean, we
always believed in our ability, but we’d
become accustomed to being overlooked
so didn’t expect much. The marketplace
for music is ridiculously overcrowded and
you know, if anything I feel fortunate to
be in this position, that when we reformed
we already had a head start because of
‘Court In The Act’.”
“We really had no idea what was going
to happen,” Brian insists. “When we got
together in the rehearsal room for the first
time in 28 years, it felt like yesterday.
I’ve always said, if you put the five of
us together some magic happens. It just
works, I don’t know how or why and I’m
not gonna question it! It wasn’t like ‘Let’s
do more gigs and put an album together’,
it was really ‘Let’s do this one show and
see if people still remember us,’ and we
were totally taken by surprise, it has to be
said. We kind of stumbled into it. It was
one of those happy accidents, and we’re
all so grateful that it actually happened.”
“I can’t imagine how difficult it must
be for a new band just starting out,”
ruminates Russ, “to make themselves
heard over the clamour of competing
voices, no matter how good they might
be. I almost feel guilty about it, that
we should step aside to make way for a
younger band. But here’s the thing - Satan
2018 has something to say. If I didn’t
believe that I wouldn’t be here.”
‘Cruel Magic’ is out now on Metal Blade
www.satanmusic.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 127
 PRESENTS

128 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E AT M Y T I C K E T. C O . U K
 MYTICKET.CO.UK
saxon747.com f/saxon T/saxonofficial New album ‘Thunderbolt’ out NOW
A Kilimanjaro, Triple G, The Gig Cartel, DHP Family & Eastside Events presentation
by arrangement with X-Ray and Siren Artist Management in association with

I
’ve always considered myself a loner. Growing
up as a metalhead and feeling like an outcast
is without a doubt a collective theme here
amongst the readers of this mag, so I’m sure many
of you can relate. Heavy Metal gives us plenty of
unmatched satisfaction that the normies of the world
will never comprehend and music has always been
my number one companion. I’m lucky enough to
stay on the road most of the year playing speed
metal, and while it brings plenty of joy to others, it
has definitely affected my past relationships to say
the least. I remained single for a while to focus on
myself and not deal with the hassle or guilt involved
in maintaining a relationship as a touring musician.
That may sound harsh, but that was my mentality for
years, although at the same time, I wasn’t content.
I yearned for the same affection I found in my
passion for music, but within a person. After years
of searching for that balance, I have finally met my
match with an exquisite young lady named Kelsey,
who happens to be a passionate metaller as well.
Upon our first meeting, we discovered that we had
the same ‘Hero, Hero’ Priest tattoo on the same spot
on our arms. It was a sign, even though she has more
Judas Priest tatts than anyone I’d ever met. What
130 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Photo: Karen Wilson
can I say, I’m a sucker for a hot babe with good
taste in heavy metal. That was only the beginning
on the surface level, the real connection came in
our conversation. It was as if we could effortlessly
block out all our surroundings when we engaged
in discussion. When it feels like you’re the only two
people in the room at a noisy and crowded bar, you
know there’s something special happening. I quickly
detected her dedication to her heavy metal band
Blade Killer and it was refreshing being able to relate
on so many levels. I won’t go into all the details, but
we remained friends for a while and I only recently
confessed my love to her. The torch I carried for her
was well received and we’re both happier than we
ever could have imagined. She’s even easy to shop
for, I just get her records and old band t-shirts. So in
the end, there’s hope out there for all of us lonely
headbangers, you just gotta go for it. In honour of
this love story, here’s five of my favourite heavy metal
tear jerkers… WARHEAD (SC) ‘So Strong, So Fragile’,
SARACEN ‘No More Lonely Nights’, TYGERS OF PAN
TANG ‘Love Don’t Stay’, SCORPIONS ‘Hey You’,
BLACK ANGELS (CHE) ‘Stand By Me’.
www.living-fast.com
All the others OUT NOW