UK distribution: CODE
www.svartrecords.com
OPIUM WARLORDS:
WE MEDITATE UNDER
THE PUSSY IN THE SKY LP/CD/digital
New material from S.A.Hynninen
(Armanenschaft, Azrael Rising, Orne,
The Puritan, Reverend Bizarre, Spiritus Mortis).
FILE UNDER: Outsider music
CANDLEMASS:
ANCIENT DREAMS 2LP
Expanded, revamped and limited
edition! The original album spread
over three LP sides + bonus tracks,
wrapped in a heavy vintage jacket.
SHINING:
LOTS OF GIRLS GONNA GET HURT mlp
ARKTAU EOS:
UnWORELDES LP
Alchemistic, elemental ritual music with a strong archaic sense of the sacred.
Dream Death:
Back From The Dead 2LP
All three demo recordings - Dream Death,
More Graveyard Delving and Ode To
Sorrow - on vinyl at last. With liner notes
by Brian Lawrence and a thoroughly cleaned
audio master, the double vinyl gatefold
set comes housed in a slipcase and is
limited to 1000 copies worldwide.
FALCON:
DIE WONTCHA LP
Raw acid heavy proto doom metal
trio with members from Cirith Ungol,
Pale Divine and Isen Torr.
First time on vinyl!
SHINING:
TILLSAMMANS ÄR VI ALLT 7”
ARKTAU EOS:
Ioh-Maera digipak-CD
KUOLEMANLAAKSO:
UUSI ULJAS MAAILMA CD/LP/DIGITAL
Eight dirges of Eino Leino inspired downer
metal. Recommended for fans of Celtic Frost
and Ajattara. With members and ex-members
from Chaosweaver, Verjnuarmu, Swallow
the Sun and Elenium. Production, engineer-
ing, mixing, mastering and guest guitars by
V.Santura (Triptykon and Dark Fortress)
FELLWOODS:
WULFRAM LP
Never previously available on vinyl,
the Fellwoods debut album takes you
back to the golden age of heavy music.
SHINING:
FÖRTVIVLAN MIN ARVEDEL 7”
Iron Fist #2
FOREWARD TO HELL
S
Iron Fist Magazine

Photo: Ester Segarra

Unit 7, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL
Tel: 020 7607 0303
Email: Louise@IronFistMag.com
www.ironfistmag.com
www.facebook.com/ironfistzine
(We Are) The Crew
Publisher: Eugene ‘Final Warning’ Butcher
Publisher: Will ‘Trouble’ Palmer
Editor: Louise ‘Bitch’ Brown
Sub-Editor: James ‘Future Tense’ Sharples
Sub-Editor: Kim ‘Savage Grace’ Kelly
Reviews Editor: Jeremy ‘The Obsessed’ Miller
Designer: Adam ‘Black Widow’ Zaars
Cover Photos: Paul Slattery
Powerslaves
Alan Averill, Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin, Garry Bushell,
Jerry Detest, Annick Giroux, Melissa Gray, John
Mincemoyer, Niklas Göransson, Dave Sherwood,
Marek Steven, Jeff Wagner
Critical Madness
Yoni Ben-Haim, Callum Brownson-Smith, Damien,
Miles Hackett, Jim Martin, Máirtín Mac Cormaic,
Sam McKavanagh, Chris Naughton, Tom O’Boyle,
Darragh O’Leary, Lily Randall, Paul Schwarz, Paul
Strauss, Jack Welch, Josh West, Adam Wilkinson,
Pete Woods, Henry Yuan, Jim Young
o here it is. Issue fucking #2 of Iron also thank Alan Averill, not only for inviting me
Fist. When we came up with this idea along to Orgone Studios to listen to his latest
we joked that we would make one Twilight Of The Gods album (out next Spring on
issue, no one would care and we’d Season Of Mist), which is more Manowar than
go back to our lives. But you did Manowar, but for getting to grips with the early
care and thank you so much. I’ve had some beginnings of Metal Blade, who like ‘Iron Fist’ are
incredible feedback from those of you claiming celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. Oh
that this is the magazine you’ve been waiting and lastly I should thank Enforcer. The bastards
for. We’re all a bit bowled over to be honest made me sick on their recent UK tour. Not sure it
and it was exactly the impetus we needed to was them, or the copious amounts of Jack they
forge ahead and get issue two out as soon as made me drink, or the 3am dodgy pizza I ate,
possible. With most of the Iron Fist staff walking but I’m blaming them nonetheless. Good lads!
around insisting that “No, this isn’t for Movember
and yes, we always wear an ironic ‘80s hipster Louise
tash” it made sense for us to celebrate the most
famous facial hair in metal and put utter God
Lemmy on our cover. Not only did Motörhead
give us our name but their music has fuelled the
heavy metal sound for over 30 years. So for this
issue’s cover story we looked back at the tour
that Motörhead did just before the making of
the ‘Fist’ with the infamous metal scribe Garry
Bushell recalling his time on the road with
Lemmy, Philthy and Fast Eddie. My mum will be
proud. Even she’s heard of Garry and Lemmy!
She hasn’t heard of Sarcofagus though ‘cos
she’s a false. No entry! But she did help me
transcribe my massive interview with Kimmo and
also metal darling Doro. Thanks mum. I should
TEACHER’S PET – The contributors getting a gold star this month...

With thanks to OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN JOHN MINCEMOYER DAVE SHERWOOD

Ester Segarra, Steve Beatty, Erik Danielsson, Sven
The Teacher’s
Dinninghof, Alan French, Becky Laverty, The
Pet column
Marksman, Helen Moss, Antony Roberts, Oran this month is
Tarjan, Natasa Tronkolovic and Andy Turner dedicated
to the three
horsemen of
To advertise in Iron Fist please contact Louise on
the Iron Fist
Louise@IronFistMag.com or phone 020 7607 0303
apocalypse,
the three wise
Subscriptions are £29.99 for one year (six issues) go men for whom
this magazine
to www.ironfistmag.com or send a cheque or postal
would have been a disaster.
order payable to 2000 BC Publishing Ltd.
First up Zoltar, an utter geek of
All content (c) 2000 BC Publishing Ltd 2012 metal lore. There is nothing this
man does not known about
Distribution: Comag Specialist old school Swedish death
Comagspecialist.co.uk/01895433800 metal. He is by far our most
sophisticated team member.
While we’d rather spend our
weekends drinking meth at a
DEATH, BLACK, HEAVY, THRASH, DOOM Goatfago weekender, he’ll
happily spend them drinking
fine wine and eating fine
food in his Paris home and
discussing the finer merits of
HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE Sacramentum’s early output.
And because of that he’s my
constant go-to consultant for
what we should be covering
ADD US ON FACEBOOK in the Fist. If I call him one
www.facebook.com/ironfistzine more time to ask his advice
I’m sure his lovely new wife is
going to block my number.
One of the first
to volunteer
for Iron Fist
duty, this ex-
forces hero is
my Captain.
He spent
most of his
twenties deep
underwater in
a submarine
protecting his country from
the watery infidels but
now spends his days deep
underground protecting true
heavy metal from apathy
and triggered drums. He also
works on a landfill site, which
is a pretty metal job, and
believe us, sometimes putting
the reviews together in Iron
Fist needs someone like John,
who’s used to dealing with
utter rubbish. He’s written a
book about his experiences
and we’ve had a sneak
peek. It’s eye-opening and
hilarious, like his reviews and
features. Read his interview
with Weapon this issue and
while you’re at it support his
Cancercrusher campaign
at www.facebook.com/
cancercrusherfundraiser.
DSOD - or
Dave
Sherwood On
Drums if you
wanna give
the full name
his mother
gave him - is
our resident
Muppet Baby
Animal. He’s
young, keen and doesn’t
eat his greens. In fact he
doesn’t eat anything. Except
toast. Honestly, I’ve tried to
get him to try some hearty
soup, or a cauliflower cheese,
but he’s having none of it.
Luckily we’re keeping him
busy before he dies young
due to scurvy, by forcing him
to listen to trad doom and
heavy metal and write about
it. Which funnily enough he
doesn’t mind since it’s his most
favourite thing ever. When not
shirking away from anything
with vitamins or writing about
Thor he plays in last month’s
Into Battle inductees Amulet.
They just played London with
Enforcer and Age Of Taurus
while I was throwing my guts
up. Literally gutted.
 CO
V
CONTENTS
PA ER ST
GE OR
24 Y REGULARS
6. BLACK HORIZONS
News and views from the abyss!

22. WORLD DOWNFALL

Annick Giroux gets a lesson in brutality and dental hygiene in
Bolivia.

38. THE PAST IS ALIVE

From Treblinka to Tiamat, Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin heeds the call of
the ‘Sumerian Cry’.

42. UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Zoltar looks back at the diabolical conquest that was, and still
is, the career of Incantation.

86. REVIEWS. PRAISE. MUTILATION

Destruction, Indesinence, Doro, Enslaved, Pagan Altar, Vektor
and more are brought before the Iron Fist jury for judgement.

100. HEAVY METAL HUNTER

This month former <code> man, Hexvessel summoner and
cage rattling vinyl obsessive Mat McNerney opens up his vaults
for us.
EXCESS ALL AREAS
102. HIT THE LIGHTS
BACKSTAGE WITH MOTÖRHEAD IN 1981 Nuclear War Now, Damnation, Angel Witch, Pentagram + more
came to town. We saw, we drank, we conquered!

FEATURES
24. COVER STORY! MOTORHEAD
and most metalheads fancying the shit out of Agent Scully, but now there’s Vektor
Legendary metal writer Garry Bushell remembers going on tour with legendary
and they’re way, way out there, as Jeff Wagner finds out
metal band Motorhead in 1981. That he can remember it at all deserves
celebration!
70. SADISTIC INTENT
Hey touring bands, if you wanna play the UK get a fucking visa. Or you’ll be stuck
32. SARCOFAGUS
in Belgium with cancelled shows and having to talk to Jerry Detest for Iron Fist.
Louise Brown heads down to the British seaside to discover a Finnish metal maestro
Actually, for us, that’s not a bad deal!
hidden there. Kimmo Kuusniemi talks past, present and future for his band of
proto-metal groundbreakers.
72. DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT
There was nothing pretty about this mysterious British blackened doom cult before
46. METAL MASSACRE!
their latest album ‘Widowmaker’, but when you add in a concept about serial
With Metal Blade Records celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2012 we wanted to
killers it takes an even darker path for the worse, as Kim Kelly discovers to her
shine a light on the compilation series that made it all possible. Alan Averill grabs
peril.
an axe and opens the Metal Massacre coffin.
74. FUNERAL THRONE
50. DORO
Two mystery tracks arrived like a bolt of the blue and when we tracked them
From eating insects to spending all her life savings on a giant Warlock you can’t say
down and discovered they were by the Satanic blackened Black Country band we
metal goddess Doro isn’t dedicated to her fans, as uber-fan Louise discovers.
had to find out more. Louise and frontman M go head to head over art, music
and the occult.
54. NECROS CHRISTOS
Are the German occult metallers hanging up their robes and snuffing out the
76. RUINS
incense? Kim Kelly holds communion with the group in what they’re dubbing their
How can you play icy, Norse black metal when you’re from Down Under? Paul
last ever interview.
Strauss investigates the Tasmanian devils known as Ruins.
58. NECROCURSE
78. SONNE ADAM
Featuring members of Nifelheim and Runemagick how could Necrocurse not get
Hitting London earlier this year with Grave gave Lily Randall perfect opportunity
our studded knickers in a twist? Zoltar joins the Swedish death cult in their studio.
to grill Israeli death metal merchants on growing up in a warzone and feeling
“European”.
62. JAGUAR
Reignited NWOBHM mob are back and ending their year on a high with an
80. PROCESSION
exclusive show in London. Marek Steven tracked them down to find out if they’re
Trad doom metal from Chile, the land of bestial blackened death racket? Believe
still ‘Axe Crazy’.
it, when you hear it. Zoltar talks orthodoxy with Felipe Plaza Kutzbach.
66. THOR
82. WEAPON
He had a festival dedicated to him long before Fenriz’s Live Evil, and to honour
Prepare for mass destruction. John Mincemoyer is on the hunt for the Canadian
the patron of one of our favourite parties, Muskelrock in Sweden, Dave Sherwood
creators of blasphemous brutality.
rocked up at the gym to match the man’s bench presses.
84. BLACK MAGICIAN
68. VEKTOR
Cathedral may have hung up their capes, but luckily for us there is a new doom
Metal and sci-fi have made awesome bedfellows thanks to Voivod, Agent Steele
cult arising from the UK. John is initiated into the circle of the Black Magician.
 Destroying Your Life Since 1996…

SHINING
REDEFINING DARKNESS
New studio album. Out Now
“I just hope I can contribute to making the world
a bit worse” – Niklas Kvarforth

Features ‘For The God Below’ & ‘Hail Darkness Hail’

 
Guest guitarists: Rob Caggiano + Andy La Rocque

www.shiningasylum.com 

the
New studio album byockers
legendary Gerstman r
Out January 21  2013 ataea’,
Features the singthle ‘Nab
out December 17
:
Headline London showth 013
 2
HMV Forum, April 16
www.helloween.org

www.spinefarmrecords.com
 BLACK HORIZONS News And Views
from the Abyss
EXTREME SCREEN
Liked ‘Headbanger’s Journey’ and the ‘Metal
Evolution’ series? Film-maker Sam Dunn has another
idea up his sleeve, but he needs our help to make
it happen.
F
ilm maker Sam Dunn has achieved an awful lot for a regular
heavy metal fan who started out doing his college dissertation on
anthropology to have it spawn his debut feature length ‘Metal,
A Headbanger’s Journey’, then its sequel ‘Global Metal’ and
the subsequent TV series ‘Metal Evolution’. Currently running a
campaign to raise money for the ‘lost’ episode from the aforementioned
series, Iron Fist caught up with him for the low down.
Sam begins with an explanation of what the lost episode is about
and why it didn’t come to fruition within the initial series. “When we
approached VH1 about ‘Metal Evolution’, extreme metal was part of our
INTERVIEW: MILES HACKETT
initial pitch because we felt that it was very important to the development
of metal and for a lot of younger fans especially, this is the most important
form of metal to them. The unfortunate thing was that they didn’t see it
fitting with their viewership. Their audience is a little bit older so it’s really
bands like Kiss, Ted Nugent and Aerosmith that are in their sweet spot.
They were willing to go as heavy as thrash, which was great, so we did
that episode but extreme metal was little bit too far out on the edge for
6 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
them. “
So Sam’s production company Banger Films have started
an Indiegogo campaign to raise the money needed to
make this episode themselves. He offered his ideas on how it
may turn out. “At minimum it will be an online digital release,
we may release it in five separate parts. We’ve talked about
doing it one act at a time to build the momentum and the
buzz around it. You never know, some networks globally
might pick it up if they recognise there’s an audience for it.
If we raise a little bit more money than the target we’d like
to release a standalone DVD, where it’s not just the extreme
metal episode but you’d get a bunch of extras from the
main series that weren’t initially included. There’s lots of
possibilities.”
Conversation turns to the black metal special that was
an extra on the ‘Headbanger’s DVD, isn’t he concerned
about repeating himself? “The key difference between
‘Metal Evolution’ and the ‘Headbanger’s Journey’ is that it
is actually about the evolution of the music, not so much
about the culture and the controversy. It’s more breaking
down what heavy metal is about, where did certain styles
come from and how did they evolve? So when we come to
doing the extreme episode it’s going to be actually grounded in the music,
how the sounds change, how the images change, how the lyrics change.
I’m not particularly worried about the overlap as we only really scratched
the surface with bands like Cannibal Corpse and the Norwegian black
metal bands. There really is a lot more to tell,” he enthuses.
He is also keen to outline where he sees this special episode going in
terms of timeline. “The path I believe starts in the Bay Area with Possessed;
the interesting thing is they shared a city with the thrash metal scene
but Possessed were ratcheting up the darkness and doing something
more occult. Then it flows through Florida with bands like Morbid Angel,
Death and Obituary before hopping over to the UK and examining the
grindcore movement. Bands like Napalm Death and Carcass, what they
did musically and also lyrically, is important here; particularly with Napalm
Death, who’ve got more socially conscious lyrics, leaning away from the
usual dismemberment and decapitation. Then we’ll move over to the
Norwegian black metal scene and I think the story there will focus upon
how it started as a really stripped down, DIY attitude, which was kind of
contrary to where metal was going at the time. Early Emperor, DarkThrone
and Mayhem stuff was created with the philosophy of making something
primitive but then it changed dramatically over time with bands like
Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon and Cradle Of Filth who have made it all about
spectacle. I think it’ll be interesting to trace the lineage there and how
it throws up the question of what black metal was supposed to be; is it
about being more of underground thing or is it about creating
something larger than life?”
NINE COVENS
THE SECRET’S STILL SAFE…
Finishing up, we mull over his iconic heavy metal family
tree and if he ever plans to market it in any way? Sam is eager
to share a secret. “We’re actually, finally going to be retailing
the heavy metal family tree. In fact, and here’s a little tidbit
for you, we’re going introduce it as one of the perk levels for
committing to the Indiegogo campaign. So for a certain
contribution you’ll get signed poster of it. The poster is going to
be huge! We’re passionate about the extreme metal episode
and we’re encouraging people to check out our Indiegogo
page and make a donation, be it $5, $10, $50 whatever, please
chip in whatever you can!”
Let’s all help Sam finish his dream of this extreme metal
project! Head to www.Indiegogo.com/ExtremeMetal and give

Interview: Kim Kelly

generously. You have until Dec 12th!

STOP PRESS! …Or as safe as it can be in the hands of such clandestine

As one of the perks of donating to this project, Banger Films
are now offering fans an extended cut of director Sam Dunn’s nihilists. The hooded menaces of NINE COVENS are
infamous interview with Gaahl, which has been cited as one of back with a second dose of undercover devastation

G
the most compelling and entertaining interviews Sam has ever
done. The video will be delivered digitally when the campaign
wraps up in mid-December.
In 2004 Sam travelled to Bergen, Norway to interview Gaahl
for their documentary ‘Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey’.
According to Sam, “Gaahl insisted that everyone move to the
wine cellar where the room is lit only by candlelight.” What
resulted is one of the most memorable interviews in the history
of metal documentaries. There are other campaign perks
available as well, such as the opportunity to have Vince Locke
design an exclusive custom tattoo and have Banger Films
cover the tattoo costs.
Gaahl is currently back with his post-Gorgoroth band God
Seed, alongside longtime collaborator King Ov Hell, with a new
Wardruna album due next year on Indie Recordings and a slew
of Trelldom reissues due through Hammerheart. After telling us
that he wanted to step away from the black metal shadows it’s
good to see him back where he belongs. You can catch God
Seed on tour with Rotting Christ throughout Europe this month
and an interview with the man himself in the next issue of the
Fist.
More details about the tour are at www.Facebook.com/GodSeedOfficial
ood news, you grim, tea-drinking bastards! The state of
British black metal has never been healthier, at least,
according to Nine Covens, one of Blighty’s newest but
most intriguing exports. “For too long we have been the
poorer cousin of the rest of the worlds’ BM, despite the
genre originating in England,” their unnamed vocalist opines. “But now,
there are lots of bands coming through and making an impact on the global
metal scene, getting recognition for their albums and genuinely bringing
UKBM to a wider audience. I think this is pretty much for the first time ever,
as a cohesive scene. Bands like Wodensthrone, Winterfylleth, Fen, Cnoc
An Tursa, Falloch, Haar, Askival, Burial, Fyrdsman and many others have all
raised their heads above water and caused a stir in the international scene.
The time has come for change and the output we are seeing from many
bands is helping to do that!”
The band’s second album, ‘On The Dawning Of Light’, was recently
released by Candlelight Records and follows through on the promise they
showed on last year’s debut LP ‘...On The Coming Of Darkness’. Biting,
anthemic black metal of the highest order, informed just as much by the
sprawling, atmospheric odes of Drudkh as they are by Darkthrone’s early
years, this anonymous collective have outdone themselves, and are such
gentlemen that they don’t even want the credit due.
“I don’t think we view Nine Covens so self importantly as to delude
ourselves into thinking we are saying something that others don’t or can’t.
I just feel like what we are saying is worth more to people than many
others who are happy with singing about drinking, losing their girlfriend or
something equally as inconsequential,” the vocalist ventures. As far as their
decision to hide their identities goes, it’s less of a perverse, reverse ego trip
than an honest bid for understanding.
“The distortion of ourselves is more as a means to an end rather than a
statement in itself. The tendency to judge a release on the strength of our
previous works is removed and our pasts alienated from the conscience of
the listener when addressing the albums. As such the message and musical
ideas can land in isolation as a whole rather than a preconception based
on our other works. If our identities come out then I don’t think it harms what
we do, it is just not important to the image of the band at this point in time.”

www.NineCovens.com

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 7

 BLACK HORIZONS

MY DYING BRIDE “There are stories on this album,

but there’s some obscure stuff
as well. Sometimes it’s nice to
have a narrative that people
can follow and understand,
with a start, a middle and an
end, but it’s also nice to have
slightly more obscure tracks,
wherein people, if they want
to, can really analyse what’s
going on,” he explains, giving
the example of ‘A Tapestry
Scorned’.
“I wrote the lyrics to that
about a year and a half ago;
they weren’t lyrics originally, it
was a poem, they just popped
into my head one night and I
wrote it down, and sometimes
you think, shall I keep this as a
poem, or shall I introduce it into
MDB? With this one, it worked. I
heard a piece of music that the
guys had written, and I thought,
maybe we could shoehorn
this in! ‘Tapestry...’ is about a
medieval man and woman
living out in the countryside,
who have a big tapestry hung
in their house that depicts a
simple scene from where they
live. One day, she disappears, and the man has no clue where she is.
English gloominess and epic poetry have long been
Over time, a small figure appears in the tapestry. He didn’t notice in the
bedfellows, but gothic doomsters My Dying Bride
beginning, but it moves a little each day. It’s only a small stick figure in the
have brought the partnership right up to the modern distance between trees and shadows, but then he gets up one day and
age with their new album ‘A Map Of All Our Failures’. the character is closer. He realises that the figure it his wife, realises it’s her
Kim Kelly talks to Aaron Stainthorpe about murder spirit and feels as ease, as though she’s back with him. So life continues,
and romance. until he takes a fancy to a young village maid and brings her back to their

M
y Dying Bride have made elegance look effortless
since 1990, and unlike so many of their death-
rooted, doom-borne peers, they’ve aged as
gracefully and robustly as strong red wine.
Granted, that’s a bit of a flowery way to put things, but Aaron
Stainthorpe and his gloomy mates are nothing if not romantics,
especially when it comes to their much-noted taste for poetry. When
asked who inspired him now, though, his answer may surprise you.
house, but the fury in this tapestry is enough for him to bump off his bride
to be. When he dies of old age, there are two people in the tapestry. So
see, it’s a nice little tale.”
Who said romance was dead?
‘A Map Of All Our Failures’ is out now on Peaceville
www.MyDyingBride.net

RAPID CITY
“Nobody, anymore,” he admits, before elaborating. “In the early
days, I liked the classic English stuff; Byron, Shakespeare, Milton, but
found that because I was reading a lot of that, it was influencing me
too much. My style was emulating theirs to a point where I’d read
my lyrics and I’d think, ‘That’s not really me. It’s nicely written, but
Canadian metal crew Cauldron hit the European trail
that’s not really myself’. So I binned all that years ago and haven’t
over the holidays

read much since, in order to find my own style. Some people might
think there’s not much difference between what you read now and
what’s on ‘Turn Loose The Swans’, but I think there’s a big difference.
The early stuff was influenced by old dead poets, and the new stuff
isn’t influenced by anything, unless it’s real life or books and films to
some extent, but then they’re only small ideas. If you see a good
idea in a film, you can’t rip it off because it’s someone else’s idea!
But, it can be the seed that grows into something much more special,
something that becomes your own, a product of your imagination.”
Interview: Guy Strachan
“I
’m pretty pumped right now,” says an excited Jason
Decay, of Canadian trad metallers Cauldron. “It’s a lot
of work to put together a tour this length, and in another
continent, so I was a little stressed for a while but now that
most of the work is taken care of and the last couple of rehearsals were
really good I’m getting pretty excited.”
He’s talking about the mammoth tour him and his cohorts, Ian
Chains (guitars) and Myles Deck (drums) are about to embark on, taking

Aaron’s imagination got one hell of a workout on MDB’s
latest release, ‘A Map Of All Our Failures’. His lyrical prowess
nonwithstanding, the heart of the album itself rests beneath layers of
stories and legend, all wrapped within the band’s velvety, grandiose
gothic death/doom flow. Read between the lines, and you never
know what you’ll find.
in the UK, mainland Europe and Scandinavia from November to January
2013. “We have something like 18 songs ready to go, the covers, the
harmony parts... give us an arena!”
The wyld boys from Toronto are ready to rock the road, but this is the
first time they’ve been back in Blighty for over a year. “We are ready to
come back and should hopefully be able to make up for lost time,” he

8 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

offers, explaining that, “We couldn’t afford to go there last
INDESINENCE
BRITAIN JUST GOT GLOOMIER
time, as much as we wanted to. The UK is expensive and the
offers weren’t good enough and there was no tour support
from the label for [2011 album] ‘Burning Fortune’, so all of
those things kept us out of the UK. But we are bursting to come
back. I can’t wait, I’m gonna explode!”
The band land in London just as this second issue of Iron Fist
hits the shelves and head off around the UK, taking in a slot at
the prestigious Hard Rock Hell festival, where they’ll be playing
alongside Testament, Graveyard, Gaskin, Spiders, Tytan and
more on December 1.
Hard Rock Hell Festival is now in its fifth year and this year
is taking over the Hafan Y Môr Holiday Park in North Wales. For
those confused by Philthy’s complaint about spending time
with his family in a place called Butlins in our cover story this

Interview: Chris Naughton Words: Kim Kelly

issue, it’s probably because you weren’t raised in the UK and
have no concept of the hell of the package holiday on the
grim British seaside. These kind of holiday camps were set up in
the 1930s to provide family fun, including greasy fish ‘n’ chips,
cheesy entertainment and saucy seaside humour. There’s
nothing punk rock about Butlins at all, so no wonder Philthy
was glum, but since 2008, Hard Rock Hell has worked to bring
the heavy metal magic to the holiday season.
“I’ve not been there, but I am pretty excited to go,” Jason
tells us. “I like going to places I have never been before,
especially when there’s metal involved. Grim and holiday are

“D
both appealing to me. I never really went on holidays as a
child but if you’re referring to christmas then I always hated it oomed to death, damned in hell.” Few have summed it
when I got clothes instead of toys.” all up quite as succinctly as Japanese burial advocates
Coffins, but our own Indesinence have surely taken
Talking of Christmas the Cauldron boys are playing in
that tenet to heart on their latest album and Profound
Germany on December 23 and Netherlands on December
Lore debut, ‘Vessels Of Light And Decay’. The album is a desolate affair,
27. So does that mean Jason, Ian and Myles are forgoing the
downtuned towards the serpent’s lair, littered with pummelling riffs and
holidays in the name of metal? sepulchral howls, and masterfully executed by homegrown talent. Are
“Fuck Christmas,” Jason says. “I like my family and friends Indesinence England’s Great Doomed Hope? You’d be hard-pressed to
and good food, but I can’t stand corporate christmas, and convince us otherwise.
that’s exactly what it seems to have become. Maybe its “Each of us are here to shine, for some length of time, as bright as we are
‘cause I live in the big smoke now [He means Toronto] and able or as circumstances allow; then we must reach an end to make way
have worked in retail. It’s something we have to do as a metal for new beginnings, yet still struggle to secure some tiny shot at immortality
band on our level. We have to go out and tour when no one through our work and deeds. And so do these songs. Much like our previous
work, we view the album as an individual take on what are admittedly
else is willing. We are going to spend christmas with [ex-
typically “doom”-centric themes: the passage of time and the sometimes
drummer] Chris Rites in Berlin, he lives there now.”
overwhelming inevitability of the certainties this entails. It could be broadly
Now we know Cauldron have their Christmas plans all described as the rude awakening following [2006 debut] ‘Noctambulism’s
wrapped up, have they also arranged a key part of their tour: hazier, dreamlike horrors, to face something more ‘real’ but no less intense,”
days off to go record shopping? After all, Jason was featured muses their guitarist and vocalist, Ilia Rodriguez, who also spent plenty of
in our debut issue’s Heavy Metal Hunter feature. time doing the Devil’s work in Binah, Pantheist and Esoteric. Joined by
“Belgium,” he insists when we ask him where the best drummer Dani Ben-Haim (Adorior, Grave Miasma, Cruciamentum), Andy
place to score wax is in Europe. “We make time in every city, McIvor (Binah, Blutvial, Code) and guitarist John Wright, Ilia has crafted one
it’s included in our itinerary.” of the most stunning debuts of 2012.
“We were lucky to work with two engineers that also happen to be
Of course it is!
old friends of the band, who understand our sound and ideas really well.
Catch Cauldron on tour in the UK from November 28 Drums were tracked at Orgone with Jaime Gomez [Blutvial, Hexvessel]
and through Europe in December and January. and everything else at The Priory with Greg Chandler [Esoteric], with a few
More details are over at www.Facebook.com/CauldronMetal overdubs done by ourselves at home and at John’s own Seraph Studios
facility, and commissioned the mastering to James Plotkin. We asked Greg
Chandler to lay down some vocals on the track ‘Vanished Is The Haze’; his
screams pummelled our eardrums with metal and turned our testicles into
baking flour, and we hope the same result will be achieved on the listener.”
‘Vessels Of Light And Decay’ recently saw an official release via Canadian
powerhouse Profound Lore and comes packaged as a thick and beautifully-
designed hardcover digibook complete with 28-page booklet. Label
honcho Chris Bruni calls the album “one of the label’s proudest moments,”
and Ilia returns the love.
“We do feel this is a perfect match and are immensely proud of the
support shown by Chris so far. In an industry ruled by mediocrity and politics,
Profound Lore embodies the triumph of quality, true enthusiasm, walking the
talk, and a singular vision.”
Triumph of quality, triumph of death. Sounds like a perfect match made
in Hell.

www.ReverbNation.com/Indesinence

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 9

 BLACK HORIZONS
HELLOWEEN
GOING ‘STRAIGHT TO HELL’
WITH NEW ALBUM OUT IN 2013
W
e found out back in September that German power
metal progenitors were ready to unleash album
number 14, ‘Straight To Hell’, but were surprised that
after 2005’s ‘The Legacy’, 2007’s ‘Gambling With
The Devil’ and 2010’s ‘7 Sinners’ that we wouldn’t
be hearing it anytime soon. “This year we decided not to release
on Halloween because the labels finally agreed that it’s not such
a super, intelligent idea to release Helloween on Halloween, so we
were able to postpone the whole release to the end of January,”
singer Andi Deris laughs, nestling a beer in a West London boozer,
where we’ve settled in for a chat about the new LP. “It’s so much
better for us as we are only a metal band and when you release an
album with such short time before Christmas you’re swimming with
all the big shots.”
But we’re prepared to wait for what will surely be another
example of early metal brilliance from the German powerhouse
who formed in 1983 and gave us three of the genre’s most
important albums in the original ‘Keepers...’ duo and their debut
CONVULSE
RESUSCITATION OF EVILNESS
F
ollowing their reunion last year, cult Finnish death metallers
Convulse will release their first dose of original music in
19 years in the form of a two track EP called ‘Inner Evil’,
released on January 25 through Svart Records. And
according to founding member Rami Jämsä, this is just the
beginning: “I understand that the fans want to hear the old classics but
we have the necessary skills nowadays to write even better tunes and
that’s what we’re focusing on. We’ve rehearsed like hell and already
Interview: Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin
played a few new songs live. We are as proud of them as we are of the
ones we wrote 20 years ago. Also, we’re proud of the fact that this EP
was recorded in a full analogue studio, so they are guaranteed trigger
and copy-paste free. Just Convulse and brutal music.”
Even if its follow-up, the death ‘n’ roll tinged ‘Reflections’ was
regarded as a letdown by many, Convulse’s debut ‘World Without
God’, initially released in July 1991 by cult French imprint Thrash
10 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
‘Walls Of Jericho’. So what can we expect from ‘Straight To Hell’?
“Everyone brings their own thing to their music, that’s the most
important thing,” Andi reveals of the new songs, equally composed
by himself and original dream team Michael Weikath (guitars) and
Markus Grosskopf (bass) along with relative newcomers Sacha (ex-
Freedom Call) Gerstner and Dani Lober. “What we are looking to
do is to add something, because in my eyes rock and metal is far
away from being finished, there is still evolution going on. There are
still spices to mix in. That makes me keep going because it makes
me feel like the boy who started playing guitar again.”
But when you’re a part of one of the bands that laid down the
template for what metal means today, is there such thing as too
much spice?
“People will start to bitch no matter what and honestly, I just
think you should do what you think you should do in that moment,”
Andi says with a smile. “So if I like to put in more spices it means I like
those spices. You make mistakes, you learn and yes, maybe you
sell less than the last album so you reconsider for the next album, or
maybe not. You have to be happy now, not next year.”
Recorded again at Andi’s own studio in Tenerife however there
is one song on the early promo Iron Fist heard that stands out, a
festival classic that is definitely less epic and serious as the band’s
early output. To be honest it made us worry. But Andi is quick to
quell our fears. The song in the dock is called ‘Asshole’. Who is that
about, Andi?
“There is no particular person but everyone knows these energy
stealers, these modern vampires, these asseholes. Sacha said, ‘The
next song I write will be called ‘Assehole’. We all said, ‘No, come
on, that’s too much of a cliché’, but he already had that rhythm,
the one you can’t really take seriously and that was such a perfect
combination in my mind because you have the serious ‘asshole,
energy sucker, motherfucker’ thing going and then the stupid
rhythm. People will love it to sing along, whether they like it on the
album is another story, but live...”
There is also a song dedicated to someone who certainly
wasn’t an asshole, the late, great John Lord. Andi explains that he
sees it as a necessity to make sure their younger listeners understand
the legacy of bands like Deep Purple and wanted to include that
tribute on the new album, but do Helloween class themselves now
as an older, classic rock band, that only has older fans?
“To the contrary,” the singer is quick to disagree. “I see my son’s
generation at the show standing next to the old man like me, with
their sons. And fortunately we are not so old that we can’t do that
job, I’m not Mick Jagger but I think if we stay healthy we could do
this when we are 50 or 60. As long as there are Maidens and Saxons
and Priests we are still the youngsters.”
There will be more about Helloween and their new album in Iron
Fist Issue 3, which is out at the end of January.
www.Helloween.org
Records, remains to this day one of the early ‘90s Finnish death
metal scene’s finest. Long out of print, it was finally officially reissued
by Relapse in 2010 and renewed the interest in the band. Although
lead guitarist Jani Kuhanen sadly passed and original drummer Janne
Miikkulainen, “hasn’t played since we split up and now runs his own
company in Thailand”, Rami and bass player Juha Telenius seized the
opportunity to get back together and start gigging in their homeland,
with the addition of Rolle Markos and Kristian Auerkallio. “During all
those years I kept myself busy in When The Empire Falls, Pornorphans
and various hardcore or punk bands. Juha hadn’t touched a bass
since 1994 but did occasionally play guitar for his own pleasure from
time to time. As for the new guys, they aren’t exactly newcomers: I’ve
been performing with Rolle in various projects since 1998 and Kristian
has already recorded three full-lengths with a band called Katra on
Napalm Records.” They’re now planning to “complete what has
been left undone since in 1994” and Rami reveals that they’re already
working on their third full-length, hopefully to be released in late 2013,
and that it will sound “like the stuff we should have put out after ‘World
Without God’!”.
www.Facebook.com/Convulse
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 BLACK HORIZONS
TRIBULATION
rather than sitting down forcing it out.” the first album was released we somehow managed to
Good things come to those who wait, and it do it in the right time, I guess we just have to wait and

IN THE STUDIO
already seems like we’ll be in for a treat come 2013, see if we do that again. The album really is something
thanks to Ireland’s mighty Invictus Productions. else, and for us that’s a really positive thing.”
“We actually had a lot of labels hover over our
heads trying to pull us into their nets,” Adam shares. www.Tribulation.se
“No bigger label really felt good

B
y now, it’s been three years since Tribulation’s
breakout LP, ‘The Horror,’ was unleashed, and
fans of their sinister death metal odes have been
clamouring for more. The album dropped just on the
cusp of what would become the recent old school
death metal explosion, and immediately stood out
from the pack with its sheer power and diabolical
intent. Turns out this Swedish mob were just as impatient
to record its successor, but, like any good band, were
unwilling to sacrifice quality for speed.
“It’s actually been over five years since we
Words: Kim Kelly
enough, or right enough. Everything
concerning this album comes down
to us feeling comfortable with the
people we’re working with and
about us remaining in control over
every single thing that’s going on.
That’s exactly what Darragh [Invictus
boss] offered us. A label should
really help the bands get their whole
vision out instead of trying to limit the
possibilities, whatever they may be.”

recorded the album,” their guitarist reveals from their The album will be given a North
studio in Arvika. “I wouldn’t say that anything kept American release via The Ajna
us from doing it, it just took that long because of the Offensive, adding another stamp
way we worked on it. When you write songs in an of heretical approval to the band’s
unconventional way, as we did this time, things might already impressive resume. A final
take time. We waited for the album to come to us thought from our axe-man: “When

NEVER TURN YOUR

BACK ON A FRIEND So Far... From Good
In a regular column Jeff Wagner goes through his We were warned. This ain’t metal, we were told. This is
record collection to lament some of the lost classics hard rock. But it’s Steve Harris. He’s like a God over at
and gems that have been buried by time and dust Iron Fist HQ. So we pressed play…

SACRED RITE Harry,

this work. The rough edges need to be a hell
of a lot rougher but the main problem with
‘British Lion’ is the excruciatingly lame vocals
We love you we really do and we’ve all of Richard Taylor. I understand he’s obviously

‘Sacred Rite’
felt the same tingles down our spine when
Maiden use ‘Doctor Doctor’ as an intro you
no doubt do while standing in the wings. I
understand the reasons for making ‘British
Lion’, Maiden are reaching the last few
Self-released, 1984 chapters of their journey and you have the
going for some kind of Glenn Hughes-esque
smoothness but a cursory listen to Hughes in
his pomp would easily reveal he knows when
to wail and when Taylor sings the refrain of ‘Us
Against The world’ it’s about as convincing as

D
a politician claiming no new tax hikes. It gets
iscussing this column with Queen Louise a while back, I space, time and the ‘I have nothing to prove worse as things progress, I can presume he
said of Sacred Rite’s debut, “It’s one of the best, most well- to anyone’ mentality that could have made is to blame for the mawkish pseudo spiritual
written and performed traditional heavy metal albums of all this, with a little recklessness and danger, an deeply un-rock lyrics, ‘This Is My god’ and ‘A
time.” I hoped she’d understand this was not unwarranted exercise in flexing some different muscles, World Without Heaven’ particularly grating.
or irresponsible hyperbole. ‘Sacred Rite’ is an album I’ve
kicking out the jams and having some fun. I get why we have a ‘British Lion’ but I
lived with and loved for over 25 years. I’ll take it and every bit of praise
I’ve ever heaped upon it to the grave. Instead the message is muddled and think you’ve chosen the wrong team, Harry.
Opening with a burst of speedy double-bass pounding and Billy never gets to the white hot pitch of real They bring nothing to table; once upon a
Sheehan-like finger-tapping bass is a great way to grab attention, rock. The influences are there, I can hear time a side project band like this would have
Words: Alan Averill

and it only gets better from there. Creating a dark atmosphere while UFO, The Who, Scorps and Priest in places had a Hughes, Powell, Airey, Appice, Singer,
reeling off tons of classy riffs, played with wild but controlled energy
along with the odd Maiden swoop, which is Norum, Roy Z or Baltes as supporting cast,
and performed by musicians with incredible chops, these guys must
have missed many years of their youth, drilling hard on their instruments unavoidable, but it lacks any authority. The something Iommi implicitly understood. I
while life flew by. Bassist Peter Crane must have obsessively studied mix is lacklustre and sits uncomfortably on can’t help feeling this is a missed opportunity
Sheehan, Steve Harris and Bob Daisley to come up with his signature the wrong side of lo-fi cool, not allowing the to see you rock out like you’ve always
style. Grand comparisons, maybe, but the whole band could hang tracks the carefree power they need to make wanted to.
with the best of ‘em. Indeed, Hawaii’s best-ever metal band should
have been huge, but this album didn’t even garner acclaim on the
level of something like Warlord’s early material (a band Sacred Rite
resembles in a number of ways). For those that know the album,
however, it is legend.
Starting life as Sabre when the guys had barely entered their
teens, Sacred Rite were remarkably tight and focused by the time
they offered the seven songs that comprise their self-released
1984 debut (licensed later that year by French label Axe Killer). An
important stamp of individuality comes from the voice of guitarist Mark
Kaleiwahea. His natural, mid-range tone is charismatic and confident,
never delving into the soprano hysteria of his higher pitched peers.
There’s earnestness in his warm and understated voice as he delivers
tales of beheading, Armageddon and winged horses. The guitar
team of Kaleiwahea and Jimmy “Dee” Caterine could compete with
Murray/Smith or Shermann/Denner on their best day, and their best
day was ‘Executioner’, featuring a pile of authoritative lead trade-
offs as memorable as they are mind-blowing. And that’s just one of
many highlights throughout the album: from the vibrant speed metal
of ‘Wings Of Pegasus’ to ‘The Blade’ – an epic along the lines of early
Iron Maiden – as well as the brooding ‘R.I.P.’ and curious rocker ‘White
Boy’. Everything is part of a greater sum, a debut with the depth and
time-tested relevancy of Angel Witch or Metal Church’s first albums.
‘White Boy’ is interesting: it’s since been disowned by the band, and
was left off the two-part ‘Rites Of Passage’ volumes (released in 2002
on the Sentinel Steel label). But it’s a great song, if a bit rock-oriented –
more Y&T than Iron Maiden. Its killer riff break in the middle more than
carries its weight in solid steel.
Soaring above hundreds of scrappy no-hope traditional
metal albums released by various independent labels in the 1980s,
‘Sacred Rite’ is a precious jewel. The band released two more
albums that decade, the third, ‘Is Nothing Sacred,’ being especially
recommendable, but it’s ‘Sacred Rite’ that burns brightest in the
hearts of those who know it.

12 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 BLACK HORIZONS
ARES
IRON BLOOD CHUCK KINGDOM
GOES ROCKING TO DOKKEN
by Melissa Gray
Loyalty, truth, courage and pride backstage
with the Adorior vocalist at the Nuclear War
Now! Festival in Berlin. When so many fires
meet, there’s gonna be a lot of heat…
Photos: Ester Segarra
IACTA ALEA EST
here aren’t many shows these days where the
T
average age of the main acts is 35-40 years
old.
The internet birthed a breed of coward that
believes they have the right to criticise or
plagiarise artists that've been fighting in the
trenches for decades. I get this really perverse kick watching
my scared up, battle worn brothers bitch slap men half their
age aside like flies to show these cocky 'lil fuckers how real
men do it!
After painting the 'Fallen Angel Of Doom' on the back
of my vest a lifetime ago I never dared to dream one day
Adorior would have the honour to play with the mighty
Blasphemy.
 [Blume] and I have been in previously, Nepenthe and Vulpecula, and in these
The world grows smaller everyday and our pack
becomes fewer, but it's nights like this that reminds me why I
dedicated my life to this path.
Louise asked me to review NWN but be warned it is not
objective, it is not written by a journalist, this is a biased rant
by a militant, a sister, a metalhead!
Hailing from the last jaded generation, whose die was cast
aeons ago, I’ve never pretended to understand why so many
bands felt the need to be Blasphemy; when my boys are still
live ‘n’ kicking, but Berlin woke me up, I think get it now. 

This weekend was the real deal: young and old: there was
no rivalry, no bullshit: we all knew why we were here! Our
unity and support created a blaze fierce enough to prepare
the gates to the underworld for what was to come.
There is no greater honour in the world than sharing a
stage with the brothers that have continued to inspire you
long after the age of innocence.
So for the sake of some impartiality Callum and I
combined forces to review Nuclear War Now! Festival III [To
read their report turn to page 104].
BLASPHEMY
14 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
When we found out Ares Kingdom were doing a covers
album, that included of all things a Dokken song, we had to
find out the deal stat. We sent John Mincemoyer to get the
details
“T
he majority of these songs either were a formative
influence or inspiration for one or more of us,” says Ares
Kingdom guitarist Chuck Keller about Ares Kingdom’s
upcoming covers album, ‘Veneration’ (on Nuclear War
Now!).
“We’re doing Slaughter Lord ‘Die By Power’, Sacrilege ‘The Captive’,
R.U. Dead? ‘When Your Heart Turns Black’, Mefisto ‘Act Dead’, Vulpecula
‘Celestial’, Nepenthe ‘Oblivion’ and Dokken’s ‘Tooth And Nail’ including the
‘Without Warning’ intro.
“‘Die By Power’ is the monster of the bunch, being the one track we
all have regarded as a holy grail cover for over two decades. Of course,
the only other Slaughter Lord cover I’ve heard was by At The Gates, with
a disturbingly clinical revision of ‘Legion’. Gone was the feral nature of the
original masterwork. I still can’t comprehend that sanitised cover to this day.
We decided to set the record straight and are doing ‘Die By Power’, warts
and all. Obviously, two of the songs on ‘Veneration’ belonged to bands Alex
cases the covers serve as a sort of reconciliation with a past we think deserved
more attention.”
Full-blown covers albums by bands (Metallica’s ‘Garage Inc.’ and Slayer’s
‘Undisputed Attitude’ are the most well-known examples) are nothing new,
but it is truly rare for a smaller-profile, staunchly underground band to make
such a decision; the major exception being Napalm Death’s ‘Leaders Not
Followers Pt. 2’ (1999) release. Generally, covers compilations are label-driven
collections consisting of assorted bands showing their devotion to one band.
“The idea has been coming together since 2009,” says Chuck. “It may
seem audacious on the surface, but we felt the best way to pay tribute
to these important bands was to release them in our own style – from
performance to media format. Considering the obscure nature of some of
this material, it’s clear we couldn’t release our covers piecemeal. There’s not
too many Slaughter Lord, Mefisto, or Sacrilege tribute albums in the works. I’m
not familiar with the Napalm Death album, so the closest thing I can think of to
‘Veneration’ is Metallica’s ‘Garage Inc.’, though they don’t exactly qualify as
an underground band.”
So how much “liberty” was taken with regards to the various interpretations?
“The biggest liberties we took were in execution, and in the end I don’t
regard them as significant. The original recordings of some of these tracks
were notoriously uneven and messy, especially ‘Die By Power’ and ‘Act
Dead’. Much of this may be down to the fact they were only ever recorded
as demo tracks. It’s like the band went with the best take they could capture
after limited rehearsal and that’s part of what gave those recordings such
charm, power and authenticity. Our interpretations are quite faithful to the
originals while at the same time applying an Ares Kingdom amount of order to
the chaos – in ways that wouldn’t sacrifice the spontaneity of the originals.”
More details on ‘Veneration’ are available at
www.Ares-Kingdom.com
 BLACK HORIZONS
HEAVY METAL WARRIOR
D
edicating his life to heavy metal, fantasy artist Paul Gregory
has gone beyond all expectations, even from his supportive
art teacher, to become one of the foremost painters in the
heavy metal pantheon. His Tolkien-inspired work has helped
define bands such as Saxon, Dio, Blind Guardian, Freedom Call, Uriah
Heep and our coverstars Motörhead and led him to create the UK’s
only open air heavy metal festival in Bloodstock, which he runs with his
two daughters, Vicky and Rachael and son, Adam. His art is ingrained in
the collective heavy metal conscious, both as a cover artist and as the
creative vision behind Bloodstock and he has recently released a book
of his paintings called ‘Beyond Time And Place’. Without Paul perhaps
myth and legend would not be so entwined with the music we love,
and without Paul we certainly wouldn’t have the one weekend of the
year we look forward to so much here in the UK. Paul, we salute you.
When did you first discover you enjoyed illustration and painting and
how did it manifest itself?
“The idea of painting for me never started at a set point. I believe this
has been with me from year one and that we all have a direction, it’s
whether you choose that path. I owned a gallery many years ago
exhibiting some great artists and on occasion you’d get someone
who had retired deciding to pick up what they considered their
hobby. I was often surprised by the obvious talent and saddened
by the possibilities they missed. As for encouragement, I had a great
tutor in my art teacher, who was also a musician who played in local
pubs. His enthusiasm for the idea that all things are possible must
have set the seed for me.”
Your art is very inspired by folk tales and fantasy (in particular the Derby
Ram of the Bloodstock logo and of course Tolkien), what did you grow
up reading or watching?
“I lived on a council estate, a scruffy little urchin from the back
streets of Derby according to a friend and artist that lived two streets
away. I was a child of the ‘60s, an incredibly creative period for
artists, writers and musicians. So much stuff went on that was new
and innovative. As to my inspirations, it’s all fantasy and horror. I’m
a great fan of Edgar Allen Poe, fantasy, Tolkien. Once I read ‘The
Hobbit’ I was hooked. As for the Ram, this is part of Derby folklore. I
didn’t visit this image until Bloodstock required a mascot.”
When did you discover heavy metal?
“Again, the ‘60s was an inspirational time for musicians. Most bands
of that era were inspired by the blues; Rolling Stones, Clapton,
Hendrix, etc and some are still today thankfully with the likes of
Joe Bonamassa. I was and still am a huge blues fan, the genre
responsible for both rock and metal. My introduction into the world
of metal was a natural progression.”
How did it come that you started to illustrate for heavy metal bands?
“This was not by design. One of my Tolkien inspired works caught the
attention of Saxon’s management in the early ‘80s and I was asked
16 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
PAUL GREGORY
ARTIST
if I’d like to do Saxon’s next studio album sleeve. ‘Crusader’ was the
album and the rest, as they say, is history.”
What bands have you worked with?
“[I’ve worked with] Saxon, Molly Hatchet, Dio, Freedom Call, Uriah
Heep, Blind Guardian, Beholder, Battalion, Company Of Snakes.
Working with all the bands has been great, but sadly there are no
anecdotes to tell. In my experience most bands, believe it or not are
quite normal people, doing what they were born to do. Working on
their covers and being part of their journey for me has always been
great fun.”
How did the art side of your life pave the way for Bloodstock Festival?
“Being a great believer that one thing can lead to another, and
we’ve established my fantasy art led to my album art, it was through
my album art that I made the acquaintance of Vince Brotheridge.
Vince had this crazy idea of putting on a festival and asked me
if I’d like to be part of it, I remember saying yes before I’d even
considered how.”
Bloodstock is a family affair, but did you ever encourage Rachael,
Vicky or Adam to be painters?
“Painting, like any artistic endeavour, is part of your make up. My
children have different talents. Bringing them on board as directors
was a given as they helped out from the first indoor event and have
since been instrumental in the festival’s development and success.”
What have been some of the proudest pieces of art you’ve done?
“For me as a painter, my first attempt at creating a piece of work
on a 72 x 120 inch canvas. However, I do like the reply to a similar
question I once posed to the late, great Terrance Cuneo,
who held an exhibition at my gallery. My question was which is your
favourite painting? His reply: the next one.”
Are there any musical artists you would love to work with?
“Album covers were always like buses for me, they’d arrive three
at a time or not at all, just how I like it. It doesn’t matter who the
band is, it’s the project that always interests me as this sends me in
a direction I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen. So in answer to your
question, no.”
What are you working on at the moment?
“I’ve just finished Saxon’s new album cover. It was great to work with
Biff again, and I’m looking to finish a large triptych inspired by the
Silmarillion.”
Details of Paul’s new book are over at
www.PaulRaymondGregory.com
King Diamond is among artists confirmed for Bloodstock 2013
more details over at www.Bloodstock.uk.com
BLACK HORIZONS
A T T L E
INTO B ANDS
NEW IB
E FOR
TO D
GOUGE
Let’s let Oslo’s grind youngsters Gouge
have the first words. “We are Gouge,
we play music. We listened to Repulsion
a lot and formed Gouge because we
felt we had to. So Repulsion is a big
influence and Dr Shrinker, Autopsy,
Nihilist and the Funeral demo.”
Gouge arrived on the scene
recently with a cast-iron demo that is
arguably one of the best ‘grind’ debuts
released since the old days. Herman
plays drums and Christoffer plays guitars
and sings. Their first gig was actually on
the mid-September day in 2012 that
Iron Fist and Gouge had a chat. The
two core members employed Jonas
Bye of Mabuse for bass duties for the live
show and they don’t plan to play many
gigs but a full-length album is halfway
finished and likely to see the light of day
in 2013. Until then they, “will just keep
on working, drinking beer and playing
music.” They’re a great example of the
new generation bringing unshakable
energy into the extreme music scene.
They naturally employ a fresh approach,
which is entirely unprejudiced by
modern versions of our music. They only
know the greats and use a similar sound
to the classics to play new material as
if their life depended on it. Get hold
of the demo and try and catch these
kids live if you can. We’ll leave the last
words with Gouge too. “We’ve got our
rock ‘n’ roll haircut. We’ve got our rock
‘n’ roll jeans. Just to make us feel like
someone we’d rather not be. We don’t
care if you laugh at us, it’s better than
being ignored. Anyway, we’re used to
it, that’s what fools are for.”
MAREK STEVEN
www.Facebook.com/Gouge.Nekro
18 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
VAMPIRE
Sweden’s latest offering of death comes
from the mysterious Vampire, a three-
piece that recently released its debut self-
titled demo tape via Ljudkassett (which
sold out in a matter of days). For a band
that had no presence prior to the month
of September, vocalist/drummer Hand Of
Doom sheds some light.
“[Guitarist] Black String and I started
making music around 2009 with no idea
of what we wanted to achieve. After a
year or two downing beers and switching
instruments, [bassist] Command came
along.
“We pre-loaded for the Slayer/
Metallica gig at my place and listened
to Necrophagia’s impossibly ugly ‘Young
Burial’ off New Renaissance’s sampler,
‘Thrash Metal Attack’, which made us
agree: this is it. We soon wrote the songs
on the demo, which were recorded in
April, and hooked up with Ljudkassett
during the beginning of summer.”
On their first assault, you will find
Possessed-like riffing and Celtic Frost-y
ARKHAM WITCH
When it comes to heavy metal, teaming
witchcraft with Lovecraft (Arkham is
a place in his books in case you were
wondering) is a winning combination,
but having a good name is only a small
piece of the puzzle – you’ve still got to
put together some killer tunes. However,
vocalist Simon Iff? knows that his troupe
have a lot of heritage to contest with.
“This music has a history, a heart and a
substance that has, and will, stand the test
of time. It may fade in and out of fashion
in the mainstream, but it will always be
the backbone of innovation and integrity
grooves, but don’t discredit this three-
track tape as a mere tribute.
“Death metal is another form of
metal that must be aware of its origin
and not strive too far away in order to
keep its appeal,” explains the frontman.
“However, there’s a difference between
influence and inspiration.”
“During the sessions, I was heavily into
this bizarre Japanese black metal band
called Arkha Sva. There isn’t the slightest
audible trace of them in our music but the
geist of their music helped me shape our
demo.”
But where does Vampire stand in this
oversaturated scene? As Mr Doom states;
“Many bands today try a little too hard
to convince others about the profound
significance of their music and lyrics. We,
however, are very humble as we know
how serious we are with our music. That’s
what matters to Vampire: the music.”
HENRY YUAN
www.Ljudkassett.Bandcamp.com
in any guitar-based musical form.”
A legacy like that is hard to live up
to, no matter how awesome your band
name. Hailing from Yorkshire, a county of
doom and gloom so naturally a hotbed for
doom bands (there must be something in
the water, or is it mead?), Arkham Witch
are influenced by a mix of the greats;
Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Cirith Ungol and
of course the mighty Witchfinder General,
a splattering of Hammer horror films and
HP Lovecraft novels and through it all runs
a thick undercurrent of sardonic humour.
With a new album, ‘Legions Of The
Deep’, out this month on Metal On Metal
Records, what can we expect? “Ten slabs
of traditional metal with hints of doom,
punk and thrash, lyrical weirdness and
sepulchral woes,” says Simon. It all sounds
like a juicy combination and they’re
coming out with a bang when they take
the album out on the road, starting with
their album release show at The Gaswork
in Bradford with Alunah and Gods Of
Hellfire.
SAM MCKAVANAGH
www.Facebook.com/ArkhamWitch
CHAOS ECHŒS
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how hard
you try, it’s just not enough. Kalevi Uibo
doesn’t exactly articulate it that way
but ultimately, that’s how it feels like with
Bloody Sign, a fantastic yet overlooked
band that spent their 15 year lifespan
facing obstacles they would eventually
pass beyond. But at what cost? “I’m very
proud of everything we’ve done with
Bloody Sign, especially our last album,
‘Chaos Echoes’, and the fact that we
always stuck to our DIY ethic that led us as
far as South America. But when our singer
quit, it was just the straw that broke the
camel’s back as I had grown tired after
15 years of having to convince labels,
promoters or fans that we were worth
listening to. And besides, I was also fed up
with extreme metal’s sometimes narrow-
mindedness.”
VERMINOUS
Back in the early 2000s, while it seemed
that ‘real’ death metal was rotting six
feet underground in Sweden and only
few scattered bands like Repugnant
or Kaamos were struggling to keep its
spirit alive, based in the south of the
country, in the small town of Åhus, almost
anonymously was Verminous, born out
of the ashes of the short-lived Delve. “It
was a completely different band in my
opinion,” stresses their drummer Agge.
“When we started Delve, we were 13
and 14 year old kids with lots of different
musical influences and every demo
sounded different from the other. With
time, we began to sound more and more
extreme. After we found new guitarist
Pelle Piss we decided to start something
new and called it Verminous.”
Blame it on this latest addition if you
will (as Pelle is the brother of one Chris
Piss, drummer for both Repugnant and
A very versatile professional musician
himself that plays in a myriad of projects,
whose style ranges from medieval music
ASCALON
to jazz or psychedelic rock, Kalevi said
he never intended to give up playing
extreme and dark music but that he simply
wanted to “expand his sound without any
limits,” along with, as usual, his brother
Ilmar. After the pair spent most of last
year’s winter working on their own, they
added two extra members (including a
former Children Of Doom guitarist) and
entered a small studio in Colmar in the
Eastern part of France last April where
they semi-improvised the ‘Tone Of Things
To Come’ for three days. A six-track, self-
released debut (“I don’t even know if we
should call it an EP or an album as it falls
kind of in between those two”) where
cavernous death metal meets musique
abstraite and ambient and where guitars,
furious drums and (sometimes) gargling
vocals meet, well, the sound of crystal
glass or tet’harp, homemade bagpipes
filled with water and made of metal. Now
faithful to his original ‘everything goes’
motto, Kalevi sees Chaos Echoes as “an
ever-evolving entity”. So after five gigs at Previously famous for being home to
this year’s Killtown Deathfest performed the first spinning frame, which we can
by him, Ilmar and Marcello Aguirre from
tenuously link to the mass production of
Evil Spirit on vocals, and while planning to
hit the studio again sometime next year, heavy metal t-shirts (okay, so not really)
he’s also contemplating playing live with and a thrash cover of the ‘Ghostbusters’
“either a fully expanded line-up, either Preston has hardly given us much of
with just the two of us or even with just me worth. So no wonder that Alex Varley,
on guitar. The rule with Chaos Echoes is
bassist of steel warriors Ascalon told us
that there’s no rules!”
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN that, “We started as an answer to the
www.ChaosEchoes.org lack of proper metal in our area. It really
is worrying how neglected the glory era
of metal has become outside of the
capital.”
Kaamos) but unleashed in 2003, their
debut LP ‘Impious Sacrilege’ was a furious
blend of early Morbid Angel blasphemy
Since forming the band with Vince
Scott (drums), Chris Marsh (guitars) and
and Grotesque vitriolic madness, which
Matt Gerrard (vocals, guitars) Preston,
sounded unlike anything else that was
being released back then. Alas, after however, has acquired a record label,
only a handful of shows, the trio quickly Flash Of The Blade, whose first release
vanished into oblivion. Some of their was the recent four-way split between
members moved on to the more polished
Evildoer, their only sign of life so to speak in Ascalon, Asomvel, Eliminator and fellow
the years that followed being the reissue Prestonians Wytch Hazel.
on CD of their debut EP, ‘Smell The Birth Of A metallic triumph for the North
Death’. Until this year when a rejuvenated
Verminous annihilated all competition then? All four bands on that limited 12”
at Killtown Deathfest in Copenhagen, are mighty indeed. “I find it difficult to
right after announcing, out of the blue, describe our sound beyond classic
the soonish release of their sophomore
metal,” Alex continues. “I’d like to think
album, ‘The Unholy Communion’. “The
one and only reason we took such an we’re quite a ballsy band that have a
extensive break was because our vocalist sound not too different from the best
and guitarist Germaniac almost lost his British bands like Saxon and Diamond
hearing,” confesses their drummer Agge.
“His hearing started to sound weird and Head. The band is an important tool
he couldn’t be in noisy situations for many to preach our elitism. On a serious
years. Otherwise this album would’ve note, the band means a lot to us and
been released in 2004 as most of its songs
were ready by then. But about three has proved a great way to get rid of
years ago, he started to get better and everyday life frustrations and create
we resumed playing.” Said to include music people can connect with.”
nine songs (“plus one bonus cover for the
LP version”) and recorded in Jönköping, With only the split to their name so
‘The Unholy Communion’ is said to be far, let’s hope Ascalon hurry up with
“purposely not very different from our that debut album and to help bring
debut. The only difference is that it’s a
on the new wave of British metal that
better, more aggressive and intense
album!” It’s payback time for Verminous… we’re all hoping for.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN LOUISE BROWN
www.Facebook.com/HordesOfVermin www.Facebook.com/AscalonMetal
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 19
BLACK HORIZONS
L E
A T T
INTO B ANDS
NEW IB
E FOR
TO D
GENOCIDE SHRINES
As hinted in our World Downfall feature
from last issue, Sri Lanka may be far
from being the first country to spring to
mind when it comes to extreme metal,
but they’re not running short on bands
to say the least. Although they’re not
the first band to actually release an
EP through a foreign label (Funeral
In Heaven beat them with their first
EP released back in 2010 by France’s
Legion Of Death Records) Colombo’s
Genocide Shrines have vomited such
a loud yet fascinating debut EP called
‘Devanation Monumentemples’, backed
by strong imagery interlocking religious
iconography with nuclear warfare, that
it is hard not take notice. “As a matter
of fact, Genocide Shrines was initiated
by two members of Funeral In Heaven,”
reveals their vocalist Tridenterrorcult,
who then proceeds to explain the
difference between the two, alas in
a quite cryptic way to say the least.
“Whilst FIH draws cold, grim breath
from black metal and fuses it with
garlands of cultural experimentation,
and although it would be considered
as short-sightedness on my part if I
say that it will be turning a blind eye
toward experimentation, one could say
Genocide Shrines focuses on heralding
the ancient banner of Puraana Death
worship.” In short, while they deny
having any particular links with the
‘war metal’ scene in general and the
chaotic sound of, say, Proclamation in
particular (“We are apathetic to such
labels. Whilst we hail the atrocities of
the above mentioned radicals, the only
fitting label we could find which suited
our tantric vomit was, Puraana Metal
of Death”), they take full responsibility
for letting their cultural and spiritual
heritage permeate their music:
“Indeed. Other than the fact that the
individuals involved with this profane
negation are 666 percent Sri Lankan,
most of the subject matter, interludes
and certain aspects of auditory
offerings are derived from indigenous
Sri Lankan texts and culture.”
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
20 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
LORD FIST
Based on their moniker alone, this lot, who
formed in 2011 in Mekkali, Finland, were
bound to appear in these pages, right?
But our main source of motivation to shine
the light on them remains their extremely
promising old school, NWOBHM-inspired
four-track demo ‘Spark For The Night’,
released both on CDr and tape and
whose logo alone (designed by Possessor
who already worked with Armour and
Axegressor) will take you back to 1982!
“Lord Fist got started with a friendly jam
session,” reveals drummer, Eetu Orbinski.
“We were just jamming some riffs and
suddenly we had this ‘Chains Of Steel’
tune put together. After all those years
of playing extreme metal styles, it just
sounded and felt heavier than anything
we had done before. When playing this
kind of music we enter a whole other level
of existence and we’re seriously addicted
DEAD LORD
“Twin guitar harmonies,” is what Hakim,
lead vocalist and guitarist replies when
asked what prompted the foundation of
Dead Lord, a new revelation in hard rock
from Stockholm only founded in January
of this year and currently entrenched
in Sun Studios in Dublin recording their
debut album, slated for an early 2013
release through Germany’s High Roller
Records. Stylistically Dead Lord have it
down, completely, bringing into the 21st
Century all that made classic rock so
interesting, vital and vibrant with a slick
amalgamation of Thin Lizzy, Scorpions
and Kiss as well as The Hellacopters, who
upon further prodding certainly come
out as being somewhat of a standard
bearer and ‘go to’ reference point for
a whole younger generation of Swedish
to it. People have different ways to reach
these kinds of feelings and for us it’s heavy
metal. We actually think that this very
song still holds the very finest essence of
what Lord Fist is about.”
Like fellow retro-obsessed bands
Speedtrap or Evil-Lÿn, Eetu doesn’t deny
their eyes are set on the golden era of the
genre but according to him there’s more
than meets the eye: “Our music is greatly
inspired by 1980s heavy metal but we’re
definitely not trying to sound like bands
from that era. We will not aim intentionally
for shitty or old-sounding production,
we just want to sound organic. Apart
from vocals and some guitar solos, our
debut demo was executed live in the
studio. That’s how we got the authentic
sound!” Eetu says that around the time
of the recording, the band had already
written ten songs but “put on tape the
older ones first, apart from the title track
that we threw in because we wanted
to demonstrate the band’s sound more
precisely and our ability to not only be
fast-rocking and face-melting but also
slower, epic and even a bit doomy.”
They should hit the studio again later this
year as they’ve received “few [label]
offers already” and hope to appear on
selected European underground festivals
next year.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
www.Facebook.com/LordFistLegions
hard rockers. “Yeah, Nicke Anderson
would certainly be a big influence on
us when it comes to exploring deeper
into music and he has generally been a
measure for good music,” is Dead Lord
drummer Adam’s view on the matter,
which is reinforced by a collective of
nodding heads.
So what then of the emergence of
a whole new wave of bands rooting
deeper into the recesses of rock’s
turbulent history, particularly in Sweden?
“There’s a much better situation now in
terms of a scene revival and as we go
further into music, learning more, you
want to do more,” says Adam. “We just
don’t want to listen to only death metal
or whatever. There is so much to explore
and enjoy.” Walls have certainly come
down and the continuity or perhaps re-
emergence of an interest in everything
from Uriah Heep to the Rolling Stones
over the past decade has seen people
become more creative and proactive in
terms of the music they engage with and
subsequently want to play.
With a calibre of musicians from
underground stalwarts Morbus Chron
and Enforcer in their ranks, Dead Lord are
opening new doors for a new generation
to embrace a classic sound and style
albeit played perfectly by rockers in their
mid-20s.
DARRAGH O’LEARY
www.Facebook.com/DeadLordSwe
INTO DARKNESS
Italian death merchants Into Darkness
are a very young band, teetering on the
cusp of releasing their very first demo
tape via Unholy Domain Records (which
Iron Bonehead will then commit to 12”
vinyl) but their sound is rooted firmly in
the darkest, dankest corners of the past.
Vocalist and axe-slinger Giulia Doomed
Warrior asserts, “Into Darkness is for fans
of death/doom in the late ‘80s/early
‘90s vein, like Asphyx, my favourite band
Bolt Thrower, Cianide, Coffins, Thorr’s
Hammer, Disembowelment, Paradise
Lost, Goatlord, Crypt of Kerberos…”
and the list continues, as her passion for
the most pestilential of death metal’s
doomed offerings is made all too
apparent. She’s got the chops to back it
up, as well, as Into Darkness’ eponymous
demo shows with its merciless onslaught
of dirty, sewer-dwelling riffs, ragged howls
and searing solos.
“To be honest my first idea was to
have a 100 percent female band in the
BIIPIIGWAN
When a band decides to avoid the
Heavy Metal Mad Libs school of thought
(i.e. Black, Dark or Death + any other
word = instant band name!) and instead
throws a curveball like Biipiigwan, it’s safe
to assume that there’s a story behind it.
“A biipiigwan is a type of flute that
Anishinaabe people used as signalling
devices in battles a long time ago.
The etymology of the word relates
to a general term for songbirds and
though I didn’t know that at the time.
I’m glad I learned that because I got
tired of the name a few months after
vein of Derketa, Mythic and November
Grief, but to find a skilled female drummer
was impossible, and we are absolutely
satisfied with Anguicious, both as musician
and as person,” she explains. “We started
to rehearse some riffs in late 2011, but
it wasn’t until Anguicious [Mefitic’s
drummer] joined us a couple of months
later, that we started as a real band.
These days we are rehearsing with a new
girl on bass, in order to have a complete
line up for the upcoming live assaults,
and we’re already writing new songs for
our future releases, that will most likely
be a 7” EP and a split 7” EP with the US
death/doom dealers Ghoulgotha, that
is supposed to be out for Unholy Domain
later in 2013. The new stuff is in the same
style of the demo songs, but slower, faster,
heavier and darker! We tuned our guitars
a bit more “low” now, so expect your skull
to be hammered!”
KIM KELLY (with thanks to Jerry Detest)
www.IntoDarkness.Bandcamp.com
starting,” chuckles Musqwaunquot Rice,
who handles guitars and vocals for the
Canadian quartet. Rice’s First Nations
heritage may have informed Biipiigwan’s
christening, but their sound is a furious
geographical mélange of Unsane, Black
Cobra, Buzzoven and Neurosis, laced
with enough acerbic grindcore to land
them on stages with Canuck pals Fuck
The Facts. Rice’s approximation of their
sound keeps it simple.
“Loud, sludgy, a bit
abrasive and kind of dark. People tend
to hear different styles and influences in
our music and most of the time it’s bands
and even genres I’ve never heard of. I’m
really not that metal, man.”
Their most recent offering is the self-
released ‘Nibaak’ EP, which came roaring
after ‘God’s Hooks’ (Handshake Inc) and
serves as an ominous harbinger of things
to come. “I’ve got unrealistic plans for
next year but at the very least we’ll have
a new record out and do some touring,”
Rice promises.
KIM KELLY
www.Facebook.com/Biipiigwan
ENTRAPMENT
When ‘Infernal Blasphemies’, the three
track demo (on tape format, obviously),
was released in early 2010 on the now-
defunct Detest Records imprint, it
seemed like an elusive project for Michel
Jonker, former drummer with Absorbed
and Massive Assault, the d-beat war
machine from Groningen, Holland. Still,
even if he had left his previous band
because he was “too busy with other
things”, this veteran musician kept on
playing music at home “just for fun”.
He eventually ended up writing and
performing this first raw recording by
himself telling Iron Fist; “this was the
music I wanted to play. It’s raw, furious,
has simple songs structures and an old
school vibe. As simple as that!”
But two years later, Entrapment has
grown into something much bigger than
a simple hobby. So besides gathering
a line-up, including members from
Massive Assault and God Dethroned, for
live duties, Michel has put out ‘Irreligious
Abominations’, a compilation of all
three demos plus a bunch of live tracks
through Godeater Records. He also
found time to record Entrapment’s
first proper full-length, ‘The Obscurity
Within’, on Soulseller, assisted by live
member Jeroen Vrielink who played
bass and lead guitar on the album.
After denying trying to jump on the old
school Swedish revival bandwagon
(“Both Absorbed and Massive Assault
started off as tributes in disguise to the
Swedish scene alright and it’s here too.
But I believe that Entrapment has also
a lot more American influences. Plus,
we aren’t as downtuned nor do we use
that famous Boss HM2 effect pedal!”),
he says he’d rather label his style as
“zombifying soultearing death metal”.
And with a bunch of splits on their way
and more and more concerts being
announced, this one-time spontaneous
project has now turned into something
that is here “for the long run”.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
www.Entrapment2.Bandcamp.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 21
 R EESS
TTUU R
EENN
A DDVV
A
A
NI I C
C K
K ’’SS
L
L I
I V
V I
I A
AANNN
IINN… …
B
B O
O
Our roving reporter ANNICK GIROUX took off
from her home in Canada last year with just her
passport and a hunger to discover extreme metal
in the most extreme places. Each month in Iron Fist
she’ll unearth some of her tales from the road
I
always end up talking about Bolivia to my friends, because
it’s one of the roughest countries I’ve ever been to – but
at the same time, so interesting, different and BEAUTIFUL!
Honestly, you have to go there to understand what I mean!
Bolivia is a landlocked country, squeezed between Ecuador,
Peru and Argentina – where I spent a month and a half; living
most of my time in 3800 metres of altitude and more. That
alone was fucking hard; I had headaches, difficulty breathing
and when I drank beer, I had insane hangovers. I felt like a
90 year old grandma or something. But it was also very hard
to travel from city to city without getting killed by one of
their notorious drunken bus drivers (they tend to drink to stay
“awake” apparently)! Everything was dirt cheap though, the
prices were equivalent to those of the 1940s or something...
we could drink freshly squeezed orange juice for 25 cents
every day! And the food was out of this world! One thing I
found really cool was that people there often dressed in a
traditional way and many didn’t even speak Spanish (they’d
speak Aymara or Quechua – pre-Colombian languages).
Also, many Bolivians are Catholic, but still worship mother
earth (Pachamama) and most believe in ancient customs,
like burying a llama fetus in the ground under your house to
bring good luck to the household! There is even a ritual fistfight
festival held every year, which gives Pachamama plenty of
fresh human blood in order to have a bountiful harvest! Now,
“I lived in poverty. It
wasn’t possible for
me to think about
buying any vinyl or
original cassettes”
let’s talk about the metal scene. There are around 140 metal
bands in Bolivia, most are absolutely obscure, but they do
have a small and fascinating metal history. Bolivia, like most
colonised countries, started with rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s and
went on to play surf rock, hard rock and even progressive rock
in the 1970s (check out the excellent Wara ‘El Inca’ album!).
The early to mid-’80s scene spawned two really interesting
bands; Metalmorfosis and Trueno Azul – a really killer band
that almost sounds like obscure Italian metal! Unfortunately,
the Trueno Azul vocalist died shortly after their first single was
22 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
released, and now it’s pretty
much impossible to find.
The metal scene there
is quite strange now.
Record shops are filled with
bootlegs and metalheads don’t
support their local scene too
much (although there are some
promoters that are starting to bring
bigger bands like Accept!) and
most headbangers don’t dare dig too
deep to find underground bands. But
they do have a few black, thrash and
death bands and the very best of them
all is Bestial Holocaust; a female-fronted band mixing black
and thrash in the old South American tradition, who released
their truly excellent third album ‘Into The Goat Vulva’, this year.
Coincidently, Cesar (Satanael), their guitarist, is the only one
I know that has the Trueno Azul 7”. Not only do I have a lot of
respect for that man, he even hosted me for two weeks at his
home in Cochabamba! Unfortunately, the shitty situation Cesar
and his band mates live in brought an end to their band, which
leads to this interview being their very last. Read on to get an
inside on the Bolivian metal way...
Cesar, tell me about you? How old are you, and what do you
do in your everyday life?
“Hi Annick, well what I can say about me? I’m the one
responsible for creating Bestial Holocaust. I’m 34 old years
and I do what most regular people do in the world to live; I
have a regular job, which is related to dental health.”
Yeah, I remember you cleaned my teeth listening to Manilla
Road and Grim Reaper. Heavy metal dentist! That was great.
So, how did you get into metal, did you start with softer Bolivian
bands (Wara, Climax, 50 de Marzo)? Which album did you
listen to a lot as a kid?
“My first encounter with metal was some original cassettes
that my older brothers left by accident; there was Angeles
del Infierno, Rata Blanca, Iron Maiden, Queen, Scorpions.
Hearing those songs was like my first step into metal and
thanks to a local metal radio show called ‘El Expreso del
Rock’, I had the opportunity to discover more bands like
Black Sabbath, Pestilence, Anthrax, Trueno Azul, Slayer and
others! The cassette I played until it was almost boring was
Iron Maiden’s ‘Killers’.”
How was growing up in Bolivia? Did you see a big evolution in
metal since you were a child?
“Back in time, I lived in poverty. It wasn’t possible for me to think
about buying any vinyl or original cassettes. Only rich guys could
think of buying that shit. Having original cassettes was the best! And
if you had vinyl, you were someone that was very respected. The
metallers here in those years were so stupid. They were very
close-minded and didn’t even accept women at metal
shows. Most metallers I knew back then (I’m not
saying ALL metallers), had only collections
of re-recorded cassettes with xeroxed
covers from the original cassettes
or resized covers of vinyl. Very few
metalheads had vinyl records, they
were really hard to find and very,
very expensive, so the essential thing
making the scene move was feeling
and imagination. The ‘90s were the
greatest years for metal in Bolivia.
The scene and
the movement
was very strong, still looking for the Stratus 7” EP, which is very rare and hard to find. They
honest and a bit played a hybrid mix of heavy metal and rock ‘n’ roll.”
ignorant. No
cellphones, no
How is the health of the scene in general nowadays? I’ve seen many metal
internet, no
bars and a few metalheads, but I don’t think it has a huge underground
blogs, no
spirit, am I right?
YouTube, no
“The scene nowadays is dead. Internet, technology and TV cable has
information, no
new records, destroyed everything. I really don’t care if metallers in Bolivia exist or not,
and no nothing, and even if there’s an underground scene at all. I don’t belong to the
we were late in Bolivian Underground spirit.”
every sense!”
What about Bestial Holocaust? Can you introduce the band briefly and
I’ve been in a maybe talk about your killer new album?
bar in the town of Sucre, where they told me that chewing “Well, the underground metal spirit died for me long ago, so our third
on coca leaves would make you less hungover. I ended up album, ‘Into The Goat Vulva’ is closing what was planned since the very
getting sick as hell, does it actually work? beginning. This album is very special because it talks about the planetary
“[Laughs] Well, yes and no. It depends on your emotional transition, and what will happen to all souls in the process of clarification
mood, but for someone is not used to chew coca, you will only through the third law of Newton. There’s no learning if there’s no pain and
get only sickness and discomfort!” suffering – such is the law!”

Let’s go back to metal. How long have you been in the scene in Bolivia?
Wow, no more BH! Anything else to add?
What are some of the best old and new bands you can recommend us?
“This is the last interview you’ll ever read for Bestial Holocaust. You know
“I’ve been listening to metal since the early ‘90s and I’ve been in the
now what I think about the nowadays’ Bolivian scene. I just want to
scene since 1995. Back then, I edited a fanzine called ‘Dark Passages’,
announce the band is officially dead. Don’t ask why, or for what reasons.
and I got in contact with most Bolivian bands, bangers and zines in the
‘90s. After that, I started a band, Reh, which recorded a demo in ‘99 As I said years ago when somebody asked me the future for Bestial
called ‘Opus Tem Ohp Ab’ and then, in the same year, I started Bestial Holocaust, the answer was that there is no future. There won’t be any
Holocaust under another moniker. Nowadays, I can’t recommend you return. Only Death is Real! And only real things die! To the Death!”
any band coming from Bolivia.”

Did you have trouble trading records

with other people? I’m not sure how
reliable was the mail service back
then...
“In those years, I used to write a lot.
I even sent money for interviews
and I never received answers!
For example, I never got reply or
cash return from Demonic Christ,
Profanity, The Chasm and others
that I don’t remember too much.
You know, in my personal view,
making a fanzine is not about
passion or devotion, it’s how much
ego and cash you had to send
letters. To tell you the truth, ‘90s
Bolivian postage was slow but
reliable!”

What is the biggest jewel in your

record collection now? I still wish I
could find that Trueno Azul 7”.
“All the ‘90s Bolivian original demos
and you said: Trueno Azul’s ‘Mario’
7” EP, Metalmorfosis’ ‘Somos De
Metal’ 7” EP and 50 De Marzo’s
‘Chapare’ 7” EP. By the way, I’m

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 23

 EXCESS
ALL
AREAS
In 1981 LEMMY, PHILTHY PHIL TAYLOR and FAST EDDIE CLARK were celebrating
a #1 album, running from the police and taking over America – so business as usual for ultimate
rock ‘n’ roll icons MOTÖRHEAD. 30 years on the band are still touring and still running riot
IRON FIST looks back at the past and the present of this legendary band

MAIN TEXT: GARRY BUSHELL ADDITIONAL TEXT: LOUISE BROWN, EUGENE BUTCHER & JIM SHARPLES MAIN PHOTOS: PAUL SLATTERY

24 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 t t h e g o d f a t h e r
“I’m no t r i c h
of anyth i n g . I’ m n o
u gh . L e g e n d s a r e
eno e r e ”
finished , I ’ m s t i l l h
Y 2012
t’s one the most surreal nights of my
I life. Iron Fist regularly gets to take over
nights at The Alibi, an uncontrollably cool
punk rock dive bar in East London, and
tonight is one such night where I’m DJing
between hard rock karaoke (it’s more fun than
it sounds – promise). But earlier that day we had
a phone call from Motörhead’s UK PR asking if
we’d like to speak to the man, the legend, the
one who gave us our magazine’s name, that
night at 10pm. You don’t say no to an opportunity
like that. So before I’m set to DJ, while they’re
playing the film ‘Robocop’ REALLY LOUD in the
bar, I camp down in the Alibi office to have a
conversation with God, between Murphy’s cries
of “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me”. It’s
kinda fitting; in the same way Murphy refused to
die and came back armoured with some serious
heavy metal, so did Lemmy. He shouldn’t be
here, he’s lived his life to the heights of rock ‘n’
roll excess but the fact that he’s survived it all and
is still going strong is testament to his legendary
status – the Peter Pan of speedrock.
“That sounds familiar,” Lemmy croaks down
the line from his LA home when we tell him what
magazine we’re calling from. We ask nervously if
he minds, and he says that of course he doesn’t
and that he’s honoured. He’s so effortlessly
chilled, compared to my nerves, his words
peppered with his Staffs accent, cut with a bit of
Welsh, and not a touch of Californian, surprising
for someone who’s lived in LA since 1990.
As we talk he’s preparing to go on tour
around the UK with Anthrax, who he toured with
this summer throughout America. “We had a ball.
They’re good lads. You gotta fight to the keep
the crowd a bit more, like,” he drawls, in reply
to questions about touring now compared to
touring back when the band started out. “But I’m
doing alright. I’m still around to show these young
upstarts.”
emmy is also so incredibly modest.
L“Ifofyou I’ve interviewed countless bands,
want to leave the mark
and they’re all so eager to put
themselves across in earnest fashion,
but with Lemmy this is just another
the enemy on my temple,
conversation, not even an interview where he’s
B
concerned. I’m sure he’s even a bit bewildered
that some lass from London is calling him on
you’re going to get punished”
his mobile on a Monday night. But he’s happy
to chat, not be interviewed, just chat. I explain
that Iron Fist is a magazine dedicated to old
- LEMM
style heavy metal and he’s quick to explain that
“I wasn’t a fan of heavy metal to be honest.”
But, Lems, you’re THE heavy metal god? “Yeah,
people tell me that, but I’m not the godfather
of anything. I’m not rich enough. Legends are
finished, I’m still here. Plus I always considered us
as a rock ‘n’ roll band, you know? And we were
going before heavy metal anyway.”
He’s also not a fan of dredging up the past,
much to my disappointment. I would love to grill
him about the making of ‘Iron Fist’ or what it was
like to hang out with Wendy O Williams, but he’s
got a point; “It’s done to death. You can find it
all on the internet just by typing my name in.” It’s
true, Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister is the subject of many
biographies and one of rock’s most sought after
interviewees so what could Iron Fist possibly say
about him that isn’t said already? When we’re
focussing on bands, in this issue especially, like
Sarcofagus, Thor and Jaguar, who have not (at
least not since the ‘80s) been grilled in music
magazines is a feature on Motörhead redundant?
Of course not. As long as Motörhead are still
touring, and still, as Lemmy tells us “writing a new
album, first thing next year,” then we will always
want to celebrate the band and the man who,
back in 1975, laid down the gauntlet for every
band we’ve covered, and will cover, since.
ne month later, after our
O conversation, Motörhead have
arrived back in the UK and they’re
playing the Apollo Theatre in
Manchester. Dressed head to toe in
black, all the way south to the stack heels of his
cowboy boots, each single string on his weapon
of choice summoning forth an end-of-times
miasma of famine, pestilence, war, death.
Ministering to his similarly attired
congregation, the Church Of Kilmister prostrates
itself upon the altar of its four-string messiah, as
the overwhelming odour of lager, sweat and
testosterone swirls together, a brutal aroma that
sears the senses and tattoos the memory, the
black-clad mass bellowing their approval with a
one-word chant that does its best to compete
with the shock-and-awe aural assault of ‘Overkill’,
which roars through the auditorium with all of
the grace and subtlety of a breezeblock to
the side of the head, rumbling and menacing
with intestine molesting intent. For Lemmy, this
is what passes for a Tuesday night. Indeed, this
is what passes for every night for a man more
comforted by the lurching sway and the faint
whiff of diesel of the tour bus bunk than a quiet
life and a plethora of laurels to rest on, a restless
heart pulsing in time with the cities left in its wake
and a mileage saturated in wanderlust spirit
that can only be measured by the needle of
the speedometer. “On the road is where I live,”
Lemmy told our sister magazine Vive Le Rock.
“That’s where I’m supposed to be.”
But Lemmy has certainly paid his dues. What’s
the worst job the rock legend has ever had?
“Making parts for washing machines in a factory,”
he recalls. “It was unbearable. I just screamed my
head off until they fired me.”
Since the ‘60s he’s been living his rock ‘n’ roll
dream but his early bands such as Opal Butterfly,
Sam Gopal’s Dream and The Rockin’ Vicars were
a very different, less aggressive style than what
he is famed for. A stint as roadie for Hendrix in
‘67 must have been quite an experience too. He
then went on to join and enjoy success with the
seminal space rockers Hawkwind in 1971.
After being kicked out of Hawkwind in 1975
for “taking the wrong drugs”, he formed Bastard,
who would quickly be renamed Motörhead after
the last Hawkwind song Lemmy wrote. Taking
on vocal and bass duties this was his band and
would see a list of musicians come and go. The
classic early ‘80s line-up, that saw Motörhead at
the peak of their success, was Lemmy, Fast Eddie
Clarke (guitar) and Philthy Animal Taylor (drums).
Numerous members, including Brian ‘Robbo’
Robertson and Philthy were kicked out at various
times because they couldn’t play or didn’t
learn their parts. “That’s unforgivable,” Lemmy
states bluntly. “Robbo got the sack because he
couldn’t fucking play. He was drinking too much.
You can do what the fuck you like, you can snort
fucking Harpic for all I care as long as you can
deliver on the stage.”
Lemmy settled on the current Motörhead line-
up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell (guitar) and Michael
‘Mikkey Dee’ Delaouglou (drums) in 1995. His
unstoppable musical juggernaut would define the
spirit of rock ‘n’ roll with fast, heavy and raw tales
of debauchery and carnage.
ack in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, Thin
punks.
Lizzy, AC/DC and the mighty
Motörhead were among the
small handful of bands that were
accepted by both metal fans and
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 25

“It was because we sounded like a punk
band but looked like a heavy metal band,”
laughs Lemmy. “That’s why we were called heavy
metal, because we had long hair.
“The kids seem to
Otherwise we’d have been put in the
punk bracket. The Ramones managed
it. Some people call them heavy
metal.”
But by 1982, 30 years ago this year,
Motörhead were on a roll, to use a
gambling term that fits so well with
relate to us as a
one of Lemmy’s favourite pastimes.
They’d just had a #1 album with ‘No
Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’ and were
people’s band”
touring the US and preparing to record
the album that inspired us to start this
very magazine. “It’s not my favourite
album,” Lemmy admits. “A couple of the songs
we didn’t finish properly, we were under the kosh
as per usual with the label trying to get us to finish
26 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
the album quickly. A lot of it was rushed because
it’s impossible to follow a number one live album.
Whatever we did in the studio was never going to
be as good.”
- EDDIE CLARKE, 1981
Does Lemmy prefer then the buzz of the live
shows, than the pressure of the studio then? It
is after all where the band really come alive,
never off the road, never letting up on their
furious trademark shows. “I used to,” he admits.
“I understand the studio now. Before it was like
people talking gibberish but you
learn a few tricks of the trade and it
becomes more fun.”
But back in 1981, on the back of
their ‘...Hammersmith’ success and
ready to break America, with ‘Iron
Fist’ not even written, live was where
Motörhead ruled and they crossed
the pond with music journalist Garry
Bushell in tow to capture the carnage.
The infamous writer and punk rock’s
best-dressed man, according to Adam
Ant, remembers his tour for Iron Fist
exclusively...
emmy Kilmister is standing on stage in
L
his Damned t-shirt, leering manically
at the young American audience.
“Has anybody got the ‘Ace Of
Spades’ album?” he growls. “No?
Well, why don’t you steal it!”
The Yanks go nuts, hooting and hollering their
approval. Not the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen,
but they’re noisier than a Saturday night out in
New Orleans.
It’s the summer of 1981 and Motörhead are
defying scores of music biz ‘experts’ who reckon
the band will bomb like a squadron of B52s here.
US audiences will never buy it, they say; they like
their music more subtle, more April Wine...
One US record company said that Lemmy
and co would be a “disgrace to the label”.
Others seem genuinely terrified of them. Mercury
finally took the plunge, releasing ‘Ace Of Spades’
here last Autumn, before comprehensively failing
to promote it.
And yet the word is out...
The kids down the front at last night’s gig in
the makeshift pit of some godforsaken sold-out
2,500 seater hall in Poughkeepsie, New York, were
so into it that they were literally pogoing, yeah
POGOING – there was no space left to go but up
– and their heads and arms were thrashing about
wildly; punching along to the beat, pounding
on the wood of the temporary barrier and, uh,
inadvertently me.
Two luvly black eyes, OWWW! What a
surprise? I was rolling on the floor seeing more
stars than Brian Cox, but it was worth it.
Motörhead aren’t so much a band as
a phenomenon, a force of nature only ever
experienced at 126 decibels or louder.
“Brained out, total amnesia/Get some, mental
anaesthesia...”
toured Europe and the USA with Lemmy
I and co back in the early ‘80s. Neither my
ears nor my liver have ever recovered.
I was in West Berlin with them in 1980
when Lemmy informed the bemused
audience: “This is something you haven’t heard
for 35 years – ‘Bomber’.”
Classic. You won’t be too surprised that he
originally wanted to call this band Bastard.
 On their first US tour they won over a new
army of bastard fans. “I think a lot of the
audiences are still wondering what to make of
us,” bestial beat-keeper Philthy Phil ‘The Animal’
Taylor told me after the show. “But we seem
to have a street level following. It seems to be
a close parallel to what happened with us in
England. We’ve had no airplay, no promotion –
the biz is not prepared to accept us yet – but all
these kids seem to know about us through word
of mouth. We’ve only ever had ‘Ace Of Spades’
released over here, but they all know the words to
‘Motörhead’. In every town we play there seems
to be this cult following.”
The next night’s crowd were no exception.
The band were bottom of Ozzy Osbourne’s bill at
the Springfield Civic Centre and a rabid 500 filth-
hounds were crammed round the stage letting off
fire-crackers all around me. I felt like I was stuck in
the middle of the Spanish Civil War, though Christ
knows what George Orwell would have made of
Motörhead. The sound of a boot stamping on a
human face forever maybe? Or is that more the
Last Resort?

he band don’t see themselves as

T metal, just pure, mental rock ‘n’ roll.

Even stripped of their light show they
convince totally, coming on like the
Gods Of Roar raging total war on the
senses, with Phil’s drumming more solid than the
walls of Fort Knox, Fast Eddie Clarke whipping
up a storm that Thor himself would have trouble
topping and Lemmy’s bass pummelling pelvises
black and blue like Joe Louis working out on
Archie Bunker’s torso.
It’s bullet belts and Marshall stacks against the
world and the world doesn’t have a chance.
Motörhead are cracking America the hard
way, spending months on the road, playing
shitholes, paying dues. They did more than 80
dates in this current three month assault, softening
the blow with heroic quantities of hard drugs –
speed, of course – easy women and neat liquor.
Which, as Lem rightly observed is “better than
sitting at home with your thumb up your arse”.
“I was first here in ‘75,” he tells me in that
familiar phlegmy rasp after the show. “But this is
much better. We were headlining with Hawkwind
but I don’t think the reception we got was as
good as this. It’s amazing, kids are shouting for
numbers off ‘Overkill’, which is unreleased here. power. extra of getting beaten up inside.
There are diehards in every town. And there’s In Britain, Motörhead attract spikeys as well as “It’s stupid, the lawyer told him I was pleading
not been a single beer can thrown, yet I’ve seen the headbangers. No-one in the US does that – guilty and that we’d pay the fine but the Judge
opening bands die such horrible deaths over yet. said, ‘No, he’s gotta be here himself’. He must
here. Phil Taylor seems particularly pleased to be here, have got out the wrong side of bed. The Old Bill
“I’ve always liked America. The great thing is but then there is a warrant out for his arrest back have been after Lemmy for a long time, it’s like
you can play here for three years and never play home at the mo – for not turning up in court a vendetta, but they’ve never been able to pin
the same place twice.” on a dope possession charge. “I’m not worried anything on him. This is the nearest they’ll ever
Of course the whole Motörhead myth is about it, as long as they don’t nick me in Canada get. I ain’t too worried about getting thirty days.
steeped in US outlaw mythology. Even their next week,” he says over our vodka and orange If it happens, it happens. It’ll be a holiday. But I’d
moniker is taken from US biker slang for a speed- hotel breakfast (they didn’t). “The police are just rather be outside playing.”
freak. But what baffles the Yank promoters I speak being stupid about it all. Our lawyers explained This is the man who once played an entire
to is Motörhead’s cross-over appeal to punks as about the US tour and asked if they could either tour with one hand in plaster and a drumstick
well as rockers. bring the hearing forward or put it back, but they strapped to it after he broke it “punching a
They can’t compute the band’s close wouldn’t have it. So I just agreed to appear and geezer too hard, but he deserved it.”
relationship with the Damned, or Lemmy’s came on tour.
“The Judge thought it was very unconvincing. ounds Magazine recently ran a

S
friendship with Paul Cook and Steve Jones.
Being on tour thousands of miles away wasn’t a picture of Phil as a skinhead youth.
Strewth, he once played a gig with Sid Vicious at
good excuse for not being in court, he reckoned. He looked particularly disgruntled.
the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town. They’re
So that’s 30 days or a fine when I get back, plus a “Yeah. That was 11 years ago
like the Ramones in their simplicity, speed and
drugs fine. I’ll probably get both with the optional and the reason I looked so pissed off

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 27


HAMMERED
Lemmy in numbers...
1945 – Born in Stoke.
1967 – Worked as a roadie for Hendrix for six months.
1971 – Joined London space rockers Hawkwind.
1972 – Hawkwind reach No. 3 in the UK charts with the ‘Silver Machine’ single.
1975 – Lemmy is thrown out of Hawkwind for copious amphetamine use.
Forms Motörhead.
1980 – Motörhead’s ‘Ace Of Spades’ reaches No. 15 in the UK singles chart.
1981 – Live album ‘No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’ hits No. 1 in the UK charts.
1982 – Motörhead release a cover of the Tammy Wynette classic ‘Stand
By Your Man’, with Wendy O. Williams and The Plasmatics. This lead to the
departure of Fast Eddie Clarke who felt it was a compromise of the band’s
principles, but not before recording the album that gave us our name.
1984 – Motörhead perform ‘Ace Of Spades’ on an episode of the sitcom
‘The Young Ones’. Drummer Philthy leaves and is replaced by former Saxon
sticksman Pete Gill.
1995 – Guitarist Würzel leaves and Motörhead revert to a trio rather than a
quartet for the first time in over a decade. Lemmy celebrates his 50th birthday.
2004 – Lemmy guests on Dave Grohl’s Probot side-project.
2005 – Motörhead pick up their first Grammy Award for their cover of
Metallica’s ‘Whiplash’.
2008 – Judas Priest, Motörhead, Heaven & Hell and Testament united under
the banner of the Metal Masters tour.
2009 – The band play in the Middle East for the first time as part of the Dubai
Desert Rock Festival.
2012 – Motörhead collaborate the headphone company to bring out the first
ever headphones designed especially for rock music. The Motörheadphones
are ready for the Christmas market and coincide with the band hitting the road
with Anthrax.
28 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
was it was Saturday and I wanted to be at Leeds
United kicking the fuck out of the other fans but
I’d got dragged out to Butlins instead with the
family. A fucking prison camp with amusements!
“I was really young when I first shaved all me
hair off. I was like a 13 year old Mod with striped
shoes and Sta Press but I developed into a skin.
I was into all the Tighten-Ups and we all used to
go to the local Leeds gig in Lulu’s Coffee Bar. It
was all reggae and bluebeat. But when I started
playing drums I listened to other stuff and started
growing me hair cos all the great musicians had
long hair. Like Ian Paice. I still think he’s the best.”
Chesterfield-born Phil met Lemmy via the
drug scene – he used to score speed and Tuinal
from him after moving to London. He joined
Motörhead in late ‘75; Fast Eddie was recruited as
second guitarist a few months later, before they
became a trio.
“It’s a lot of hard work,” Phil acknowledges.
“But you can’t get anywhere without it. And
the harder you work the better you get. We’ll
never lose our energy, I’ll guarantee that. You’ll
never see Fast Eddie with an acoustic guitar.
Motörhead will keep on as they are until one of us
drops dead.”
He waits a beat. “Obviously Lemmy’s the
prime candidate being 35.”
speak to Eddie Clarke after the next gig.
I He isn’t quite so enthusiastic. “I’m not
yet convinced about our success over
here. It’s a big country, a lotta people.
Mercury are happy, but we’re obviously
not in the same league as Ozzy. Nowhere near.
I’d rather come back with all the gear, the lights
and the bomber. But the audiences have been
surprisingly good.
“The kids seem to relate to us as a people’s
band. When you chat to ‘em after a gig they only
seem to mention local bands, they never mention
Rainbow or anyone like that. There are a lot of
good grassroots scenes going.” (Step forward
Twisted Sister). “The Plasmatics came to see us at
New York, they were really nice people.”
You can’t be making money on this tour?
“I’d say we were probably losing all we’ve ever
made, but it’s a laugh. I’m like wide-eyed and
legless all the time. For me and Phil it’s the first
time here and I just feel I wanna write some
music. It kinda inspires me. I s’pose it’s different
for Lemmy this time too ‘cos when he was with
Hawkwind it wasn’t his band.”
Lemmy (overhearing while staggering
towards the vodka): “And now it’s my band I’m
as happy as a pig in shit.”
The dressing room is filling up with tall, cute
leather and denim clad groupies keen to party,
but the Lemster agrees to a chat on condition
that I mention that he doesn’t like my trousers
(they’re pukka Tonic strides too, the philistine).
He is a funny fucker; eminently quotable.
When I ask him why he sings with his microphone
tilted down from above his head, he replies with a
grin: “It’s to hit those high notes.”
Lemmy enthuses about the band’s new live
album, ‘No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’, and then
gets round to the cops.
“We’ve had the police after us for years,” he
 e a d w i l l k e e p o n
“Motörh n e o f
as they a r e u n t i l o
us drops dead” 81
- PHIL TAYLOR, 19

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 29


says in that gruff Staffs accent. “I dunno why they
bother. They seem to have this idea that we’re all
huge dealers, which is stupid. Even if I wanted to
be, which I don’t, I’d be an idiot to get involved
with drug dealing now with the band just getting
our international prestige.
“But I’ll tell you what gets me down more and
that’s people like the NME and the way they’re
always running down metal and saying it’s not
going anywhere. They must be fucking stupid.
What they should be writing about is what the kids
are doing. Thousands of kids love heavy metal
and popular music is what it’s supposed to be
about.”
T
heir next album, ‘Iron Fist’ will be
“more of the same,” he says.
“Hopefully getting better all the time.
People only change ‘cos they think
they should. We’re happy as we are.
We wanna be like Status Quo and go on forever.
Chuck Berry never changed. Little Richard never
30 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
of Tammy Wynette’s ‘Stand By Your Man’ with
Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics (he formed
Fastway with UFO legend Pete Way and drummer
Jerry Shirley from Humble Pie.) Legends came
and went – Brian Robertson, Würzel, Phil ‘Wizzö’
Campbell, Pete Gill, Mikkey Dee – and despite a
couple of brave departures (like Lemmy’s moving
First World War ballad ‘1916’), the Motörhead
sound remains unique, uncompromising and
unforgiving. As immutable as the laws of gravity.
www.imotorhead.com
MOTÖRHEADPHÖNES
DESIGNED FOR ROCK!
Lemmy and co recently put their name
to a range of headphönes, designed to
deliver the range and clarity for true rock,
and guitar-based music.
Fed up of the slew of bass-focused
headphones designed for the rap
audience, which sacrifice mid-range clarity,
a company called Krusell discovered
that more listeners opt for rock on sites
like Spotify than urban or pop music and
were dismayed to find that headphones
available on the high street don’t
represent the rock market. So Motörhead
set out to make headphones that did
their music justice. The result is a range
of Motörheadphönes that are also tough
enough to survive being on the road with
Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey.
The first generation of headphönes
will consist of nine products in total, three
headphones, six in-ear models and various
cases, pouches and covers. Prices range
between £39.99 and £129.99 for the
headphones.
As Motörhead say...
“No weak-kneed, lily-livered, tin-
pot and skinny sounding little pieces of
garbage, no, that ain’t Motörhead’s style.
These are headphönes designed to deliver
everything louder than everything else but
with the sort of range, clarity and true rock
reproduction you’d expect from a band of
changed. I’d rather be like that and stick to a road warriors who have been at the top of
the tree year after year. Because, like üs,
formula we’re happy with.
these don’t fuck around. Remember, if it’s
“Put this in though, this is important. We’re
too loud, you’re too old!”
not gonna be like Slade or Def Leppard. This They will be available mid November
from www.Motorheadphones.com
American tour is strictly temporary. There’s no way
we’ll forget the kids in England. We’ll be trying our
hardest to be back touring in October. And that’s
a promise.”
otörhead never did conquer
M the States as such, but they
built a loyal cult following, and
their harder-faster sound did
contribute to the birth of thrash
and speed metal. Both Metallica and Guns ‘N’
Roses cited them as an influence.
Fast Eddie Clarke quit in 1982, horrified by
Lemmy’s decision to record a cover version
 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
So, just where are the classic ‘Iron Fist’ Motorhead line-up today?
FAST EDDIE CLARKE
Fast Eddie has released his first studio album with Fastway since 1990, ‘Dog Eat
Dog’ in 2011. Having found major success in America with a line-up that included
Flogging Molly’s Dave King on vocals, Fastway now feature former Little Angel Toby
Jepson at the mic.

PHILTHY ANIMAL TAYLOR

Despite being rumoured to have died of Aids in 2001, Phil Taylor is very much alive
and has recently played with Mick Farren of the Deviants fame and from 2005-2008
had a band called the Web Of The Spider. Despite having broken his neck in a freak
accident in 1980 Phil continued drumming for Motörhead until his final departure
in 1992. He has a large lump on his neck as a result of the accident, affectionately
known as ‘The Knob’.
LEMMY KILMISTER
Lemmy ain’t going anywhere. Currently touring Europe with Anthrax, tonight Lemmy
will either be on a tour bus, slaying a stage or fleecing a fruit machine somewhere in
the world. And that’s the way he likes it baby...

n n a b e l i k e
“We wa d g o
Sta t us Q u o a n
on forever”
- LEMMY, 1981

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 31

 Sarcofagus

INSANE REBEL
INSANE REBEL
“We’re the ancient ones. We have to come back
to show the youngsters how it’s done”

32 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

Indisputably one of the first ever heavy metal bands in Finland, if not the world,
SARCOFAGUS and their leader KIMMO KUUSNIEMI were always pushing the
limits of rock ‘n’ roll, even becoming one of the first metal bands to make a full-length
music video. But after 30 years they’re back with a new album and tell LOUISE
BROWN how it pays respect to a legacy they thought was dead and buried

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 33

 Sarcofagus
Sarcofagus was laid to rest in 1982, when did
you realise that there was an interest in the band
again?
Kimmo [Kuusniemi, guitars]: “I think it was around
2000, because [legendary Finnish rock radio DJ]
Klaus Flaming wanted to find the ‘Motorbirds’ film.
That’s when I realised on the internet there was
so many stories about Sarcofagus and that these
albums had become cornerstones of Finnish
metal. Of course back in the day, when I started
to make films I never showed the ‘Motorbirds’
video to any places that I was looking for a job
because I was embarrassed by it. And I was
embarrassed by Sarcofagus for probably the
whole of the ‘80s. Metal was like a bastard, all the
progressive bands thought it would die and it’s
a joke, so in the end I tried to believe that it was
the case. And then it took until 2000 to realise that
actually now it’s seen in a different way. I know
that there have been many bands listening to
Sarcofagus but it’s maybe not something they
would put on their list of influences. Because they
are Finns. It’s a Finnish thing.”
Is that when you put the band back together?
Kimmo: “We started in 2004, because that is when
we did the Sarcofagus website and then we
did ‘Core Values’, which was released in 2007.
Back then we started talking about whether we
should do a gig and then of course the ‘Promised
Land Of Heavy Metal’ film project started when
34 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
I realised what was happening in Finland. Even
when we were doing the film I didn’t know much
about the new metal scene.”
You finally got together to play live at the 2010
Metal Warning Festival in Helsinki. How did that
come about?
Kimmo: “Ilmari, the guy behind Metal Warning,
had been bugging us for quite a long time
about it, but it’s quite complicated because
we are here in the UK and the rest of the band
is in Finland. None of us are wealthy enough
to just take time off but even so that was the
moment where we thought we should just do it.
We suffered for half a year after that with money
troubles, but in a way that was good because it
opened our eyes to the reality of a touring band
and that’s what lead to now, with us starting to
film the ‘Promised Land Of Heavy Metal Part Two’
that will be more about the actual business side.”
Tanja [Katinka, vocals]: “But wasn’t it when the
invitations to do a few gigs in Finland came about
we felt it’s now or never? If we are not going to
do it now then we are never going to do it. We
are not spring chickens anymore.”
What was the reaction from the crowd?
Kimmo: “First it was quite strange, and also I had
the problem that so many people were telling
me that ‘Motorbirds’ changed their life. That was
very hard to understand and I was always making
jokes about it and then I realised that was wrong
because I was dissing their feelings. I don’t see
myself as any kind of important figure, I’m just
making music and even in the Sarcofagus days
we had some people following us and I thought
they were mental.”
How did it feel to be back on stage?
Kimmo: “I think the weirdest thing is that I was
really worried about fucking up and playing badly
and the first gig was a little bit like a practice so it
was the worst of them and we were occasionally
playing different parts of the songs. But I think
the strangest thing was that it has always been
me and the band in the past, so I always had to
be guiding things with the iron fist. I had to be in
control. I had to push people. I had to constantly
monitor what was going on and keep people in
check but now I could feel that we were together
and that took all the pressure away. It was no
longer about me, it was about Sarcofagus. And
that was great, and I always loved to be on
stage. I always hated the travelling but I always
loved performing in the early days and we only
stopped gigging because we tried to put on a
‘show’ back in the day, but back then you had to
have your own PA system, you had to have lights,
you had to bring everything. And of course now
it’s so easy, you just take your guitar and they
have a backline all ready for you.”
How often did you tour back in the ‘80s?
Kimmo: “Quite a lot, because the Helsinki city
council had all these youth clubs so we did a lot
of those and all sorts of open air things. It was a
struggle for me to get my music out as before
we started I was playing in all sorts of rock ‘n’ roll
groups and I wasn’t the band leader, so I had to
do what the band wanted. The first bands were
like school gigs and they all had a venue so we
never, which I find strange, did what I call the
‘pub culture’, where the pub is having a back
room for bands to play in. For me that’s quite
sad, we have a lot of friends who do that and
it’s fine but we have always been playing on a
stage, even when we were just a young teenage
band. What people don’t get is that is what it
was like in the ‘80s. Everything was complicated
and you had to have everything with you and
it was very expensive. Sarcofagus, at the time,
were very highly paid, because we drew a lot of
people, because we played in a more Western
style. We were getting, probably in present day
money, two or three thousand pounds per gig,
but that was because the places we played were
big, where you have the Saturday night dance,
which is kind of Humppa. But in some places you
had the rock stage and there was a story about
us in a Finnish men’s magazine about how Satan
was controlling the band, like a typical men’s
magazine crazy story, but that was something
that everyone read because it was a popular
magazine and people got to thinking we were
like Ozzy Osbourne and were eating bats, so we
had all these non-metal people coming to see
us because we were the weirdos and had the
flame-throwing guitar. All the money went into
the pyros, so that’s why we stopped gigging
because it didn’t make any sense. The distances
are humongous in Finland, you have to travel a
whole day somewhere and then the next gig is
another day in the other direction so that’s when
I got fed up with it and that’s when ‘Motorbirds’
started, which isn’t really a band. I just gathered
together the best people I could find because
with Sarcofagus’ original line up there was some
skill issues that the drummer wasn’t the best
drummer in the world, he could drum fast but
he wasn’t always accurate, but the guy who
was playing on ‘Motorbirds’ was a very highly-
regarded session musician who could do metal.
And the Babatzin [Muska and Kirka] sisters who
had nothing to do with metal, they just fit into my
“There was a
story about us in
a Finnish men’s
magazine about
always trying to say that we were nice guys.”
So it must be nice to have played live in 2010 with
other bands who understood where you were
coming from?
Kimmo: “It was really nice and quite weird,
because like I said, Tanja and I know about the
fanbase and the respect of Sarcofagus, but the
rest of the band didn’t expect that there would
be kids about 20 years old singing along.”
Tanja: “Like I said to Jukka [Ritari, vocals]
beforehand, we don’t have to sing this one, like
for ‘Truth Of A Thousand Megawatts’, because
the audience will know the lyrics and he was like
‘no, that’s rubbish’, so he was really impressed
afterwards, saying ‘that was fantastic’. We have
been in touch with the fans but the rest haven’t
ever had that experience. They were really
impressed, they loved it.”
Kimmo: “It’s still like nothing would happen with
Sarcofagus if I didn’t do it, but the other guys
are happy to be part of it. For them it’s just a
gig though and they don’t even want it but are
happy if I arrange everything and then let them
do their part. But the drummer, Anssi [Nykänen],
So he didn’t know what happened.
Tanja: “But he was happy to be singing the songs
again and he’s a professional musician, he got
the grasp very quickly.”
How did you find Hannu again?
Kimmo: “That happened quite early on around
the time of the ‘Promised Land Of Heavy Metal’
film.”
Tanja: “Kimmo and Hannu had quite an ugly
break up in the first place because they were
both headstrong.”
Kimmo: “We spent the ‘80s hating each other.
Back then it was quite complicated to kick
anyone out of the band, I could never be the
person to could fire someone. So when he went
to do military service that was the chance to find
someone new. We had a real rocky relationship
when we were doing ‘Cycle Of Life’ and then we
started to do a new album and he wasn’t part of
it and that’s what probably made him quite mad
at me.”
Tanja: “He became quite successful with Havana
Black, they were one of the first Finnish bands to
get an American contract and he’s a producer

how Satan was who is a really accurate drummer normally, when

I got the flame thrower out he didn’t know about
now. And then we were filming ‘Promised Land
Of Heavy Metal’ and this girl, as we were walking

controlling the it so when I started going around the stage with

band”
idea. I could never make a band as good as that,
so I thought, ‘well, I don’t need a band, I can do
a studio album’. And of course a metal album
with session musicians wasn’t done anywhere at
that time because metal needed to be real and
true so we went into something that I think a lot of
people didn’t get. Sarcofagus was a band that
people didn’t get at that time. What we were
doing was too weird, especially with our Monty
Python style video so people didn’t understand
what we were.”
You are undisputedly the first Finnish heavy metal
band, so when you were touring the country
playing these polka dance gigs, what other rock
bands were you gigging with?
Kimmo: “At that time, if we did a gig we were the
only rock band. There was Zero Nine, but they
were more like hard rock and there was a big
difference because our music was kind of dark,
more like Black Sabbath, not because of the riffs,
but just dark music. Most of the bands we were
gigging with were more like progressive bands but
they were always afraid of us because they didn’t
know who we were. There was one gig where
I was drinking too hard and I fell into a ditch
and my face got all swollen up and the other
guys were curing their hangover on a beach
so they were all badly burnt. The bass player
couldn’t put on his trousers so he was playing in
his underpants. My trousers were ruined and I only
had one other pair that was too tight so I could
only hold them together with some rope and we
were so hungover. I remember that the band we
were playing with were so scared of us and I was
it he started missing the beat because he was
through the Finnish Metal Expo, said, ‘oh that’s
Hannu Leiden’. I went up to him and I asked him
looking at the flame thrower and forgetting to
play.”
if he wanted to meet Kimmo and Hannu went
‘NO WAY’ and they just shook hands forever. He
Tanja: “And then he came off stage and said asked if we were going to stay and could we
‘wow, that was awesome, we have to go to have some beers. And the guys just sat there for
Japan!’” the whole evening.”
Kimmo: “It was like the godfathers sitting there.”
You’ve had so many members come and go
throughout Sarcofagus’ career,
so how did you decide who
would form the current band?
Kimmo: “Every album had
different members. Esa
[Kotilainen], the keyboard
player has always been there,
Juha [Kiminki] the bass player
has also been constant. Hannu
[Leiden] came and did ‘Astral
Flyer’, he was the original singer
on that. And then Anssi is the
new drummer because all our
old drummers are dead, like
Spinal Tap.
Tanja: “So it’s as original as
possible.”
Kimmo: Yes, we didn’t have a
drummer, that was the only thing,
and then there’s Jukka, who was
the ‘Motorbirds’ singer. I haven’t
been in touch with him since
then. He’s some sort of Tango
king. It was hard [to find him]
because weirdly enough if you
google him you cannot find him.
But I found him through a mutual
friend. Jukka is a funny guy and in
a way we didn’t get to be friends
in the ‘80s. He was describing
how I treated him and it was like
‘get in the studio, sing, goodbye’,
no rehearsal, that’s it done, ‘bye’.

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 35

 Sarcofagus

that is different.” go and having new ideas and I realised in Finland

Tanja: “There’s always a dilemma between the when we had the gigs that we could get more
THE FACTS!!! artist’s voice and the audience’s voice. The artist but the problem is that they cannot pay. But then
should have the freedom to do what takes his or you realise that there are too many gig venues
her fancy.” in Helsinki that on a Friday or Saturday night are
NAME: SARCOFAGUS
Kimmo: “Some hardcore Sarcofagus fans are the holding different metal events and Helsinki is a
FROM: HELSINKI, FINLAND real underground people who see that metal small city, so of course they don’t have enough
should be deep underground, if it goes above people coming to see them. So I saw that the
FORMED: 1977 it’s not metal anymore. But some of these guys whole system is broken. I was talking to some
actually really like ‘Core Values’ and see that it is people and trying to tell them that we should
SIX ESSENTIAL RELEASES: a natural progression.” do something radical and there was some talk
Tanja: “For example Portrait’s Richard that maybe in March we would do some gigs.
‘Go To Hell/All Those Lies’ 1979
[Lagergren], who we have been in touch with, I realised that the gigging worked better in the
‘Cycle Of Life’ 1980 came to me himself and said that he really likes ‘80s, even with the technology that you don’t
‘Core Values’. He sees that it’s a continuous have to carry everything with you and I realised
‘Envoy Of Death’ 1980 process from ‘Motorbirds’ into ‘Core Values’ but that we had put quite a lot of money into those
he knows there are loads of people who diss it three comeback gigs and we needed to come
‘Moottorilinnut’ 1982 (As Kimmo completely and think it’s wrong to do something out of this with something. Then I had the idea
Kuusniemi Band) different, which is fair enough but we needed to that we should go to the studio, because in the
get it out of our system.” back of my mind Marco [Hietala from Tarot] was
‘Core Values’ 2007 Kimmo: “I think that when we started to do [the saying no one can do an album in a day so when
new album], one thing I was trying to keep in I realised how well the band works, considering
Tanja: “And I was sitting right by them, but of mind was that I wasn’t going to let this be any we only played five times together, I was thinking
course no one knew who I was, so I heard all the pressure. I was saying to Tanja that if this gets that since we already invested so much into this
gossip. There was this circle of people going, ‘oh I too heavy duty then I quit, like I did before we have to come out with something. Then I
can’t believe it, they are like two Santa Clauses’, ‘Motorbirds’. I made the decision back then that thought that we could do the album and do the
and I could never believe I would see this this was too much and I did something else. I’ve video. And in a way I was already gathering the
happening. A lot of 20 years olds around were been trying to make sure I don’t get put under footage for it without having a plan.”
saying this is a historic moment.” any pressure because we don’t see this as any
commercial enterprise, we’re not going to make, Ah yes, you told me you were challenged by
What you’re doing now, with the re-recording of for example, a tour where we end up paying Marco on the back of Tarot’s redub of ‘The Spell
Sarcofagus classics, is pretty brave as your die- for it. Even if you’re an underground band, you Of Iron’ from last year. Were you in part inspired
hard fans love the early records just the way they have to understand that you need to do things by that?
are. But you’ve always tried to evolve and do that make sense. So in that way there is a certain Kimmo: “No, because even in the ‘90s I was
something ahead of the curve, right? amount of commercial thinking and that is a thinking that I would like to do the ‘Cycle Of Life’
Kimmo: “A lot of bands are suffering, like Judas lot of pressure, but I guess if you’re not able to songs again. And I remember that I was trying
Priest and Iron Maiden because they are just organise a tour then don’t do it. We can make to find the original multitrack tapes so I could
repeating what they did in the ‘80s. If they try albums but I can’t tour.” replace the guitars and do some tweaking from
to do something new no one is interested. They the originals. But of course they are lost. I’ve
have to do ‘Breaking The Law’ but the beauty of So why did you decide to go back never been following what other people do. It’s
us is that it was stopped to the studio just random that I’m in time for once, because
and it was buried, so and make a I’ve always been out of time or ahead of time or
in a way we are stuck new album? somewhere sideways, even with film-making. So
in the past and that’s Kimmo: “I’m in that respect it’s just something that happened,
fine and now I’m doing quite good it’s not something I calculated. I haven’t heard
what I really wanted to at inventing the Tarot album either, but I didn’t like the idea
do, but in a way that things as we that they changed a lot of stuff. That sounds a
if you have 30 years in little weird as it was a good album as it
between you cannot
go back and carry on
in the same way. You
cannot wear the same
stuff as you did back
then, it would be silly.
Judas Priest and Iron
Maiden can because
they’ve been doing it all
the time. The fans have
an expectation, but it is
based on the old material
and now you have what
we’ve just done, which is
fine, because it’s trying to
stay as true as possible. But
we needed to do ‘Core
Values’ [Sarcofagus’ 2007
progressive comeback
album] because I needed
to show that I still do stuff

36 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

was.”
So with these re-made songs, you’ve kept them
close to the originals?
Kimmo: “Yes, this is as close as we can. We’d
probably have to play more badly if we want to
be completely accurate [laughs].”
Gloria gig; from USA, from Italy, Sweden, you
know that especially came for the gig.”
Kimmo: “We were walking through the city
centre before the gig with Esa to get some ice
cream and these Italians came in and were like
‘wow, you’re Kimmo Kussiniemi’ and we were
eating these ice creams and they told us they’d
come all the way for this gig. It was one of those
moments that felt so bizarre.”
So the appreciation from a younger generation
spawned the live gigs, which spawned the new
Kimmo: “Yes, maybe we should release it again
on video cassette.”
Tanja: “Cassettes are back now and vinyl is back,
so video is next. Who knew? We got rid of all our
old vinyl because we thought it was dead.”
Talking of vinyl, Svart Records did an amazing job
in re-pressing all your old records onto wax. How
did that partnership come about?
Kimmo: “They contacted us in 2010, before the
gigs. There have always been labels approaching
us. There was an American label who wanted

“All our old album. Do you feel like the Sarcofagus has been
dusted off and crowbarred open for good now?
to release all the albums but it was not a good
indication that he wouldn’t call me from the US

drummers
Kimmo: “We’re the ancient ones. We have to
come back to show the youngsters how it’s
done.”
are dead, like Tanja: “And it’s cool about the name because
we can be wheeled out in a coffin and be de-
because he couldn’t afford it.”
Tanja: “And they’ve been re-released so many
times illegally. There’s all sorts of cheap copies
available. And then Svart contacted us and said
they wanted to do it properly. They were upfront.

Spinal Tap” mummified.”

Where did you record it?
Kimmo: “In Esa’s studio. If you have a really crazy
idea, he’s the one you go and talk to because
he’s excited about weird stuff. And there’s been
weird things happening lately. There was the
‘Promised Land’ project where we got pulled
back into the metal world but in the ‘80s we did
a lot of other stuff, like the traffic safety films [see
sidebar], and now the Finnish Traffic Safety have
been paying us to restore them, because now
when you look at them you realise they were
quite wacky and cool and fun so we’ve had a
lot of things lately that have taken us back into
the ‘80s.”
Tanja: “It’s the magic 30 years, that’s a
generation and you go back, for good or bad.”
Most important question, is the infamous flaming
guitar out of retirement too?
Kimmo: “It’s the thing that people know
Sarcofagus for, so it is kinda essential. So yes, I
really wanted to use it, but of course you’re not
allowed to use a flame-throwing guitar on stage
anymore because the safety regulations are so
strict, but Gloria is a big venue so it was quite safe.
I’ve never burned anything with it. It might look
vicious but it’s not.”
Tanja: “But it’s bloody health and safety, they say
no fireworks.”
Kimmo: “And we had some other types of pyros.
There’s a Swedish cult band, what are they
called?”
Tanja: “Nifelheim? They are big Sarcofagus fans
and they came to see us and brought with them
some fireworks.”
Kimmo: “They were meant to be for another
band but they didn’t work so they thought ‘oh
well, let’s give them to Sarcofagus’, which was
really nice.
Tanja: “Oh man, they had Sarcofagus t-shirts on.
Unofficial because we didn’t know about them.”
Kimmo: “Because there hasn’t really been a lot of
Sarcofagus merchandise.”
Tanja: “But there were fans from all over for the
Kimmo: “Now the idea is that we will try to do a
They were honest. And Kimmo delivered them
some extra material, with photos and so they
really weird and strange Sarcofagus film, which could have a band bio in all of them, so although
will be the backdrop for the tour that we are they are very faithful to the original releases they
trying to do. So the idea is to combine theatre, have lots of extras as well.”
circus, whatever comes to mind, we want to go
back more to the theatre style like Alice Cooper, So what does the future hold now the album is
who was a big influence to me.” done and the tour is being planned?
Kimmo: “This is not the end of Sarcofagus, but the
You’ve always been a very visual band, with end of an era. This is a new beginning. We don’t
one of the first ever heavy metal music videos in know which way it will go, that’s how I see the
‘Motorbirds’ and then the film-making. video and the album, that this is the final chapter
Kimmo: “Yes. When the ‘Motorbirds’ video came of Sarcofagus. Musicwise, if people enjoy this
out music videos had just been invented so it was thing we are doing now and want to hear more
something that people didn’t get and when I then I have already been composing songs that
was trying to get the video to the reviewers they are similar, but if this doesn’t seem sensible then
said, ‘I don’t have a VCR, why would I watch a we have written another album, which is totally
video’, because to them the album was the main different than anything we’ve done. In a way
thing and the video was seen as some kind of we’re at a crossroads, we have to decide which
stupid gimmick, which now sounds really stupid. way we’ll go.”
The video was a bad idea to a lot of people and
people are always against me on things and that More details about the
hasn’t changed.” ‘Back From The Dead’ Project
And now no one has a VCR... is over at www.Sarcofagus.com
THE DEADLY GAME
As well as being a founding member of Sarcofagus, Kimmo, along with
partner Tanja Katinka, have made films since the early ‘80s including videos
for Vader, Lawnmower Deth and the movie ‘The Promised Land Of Heavy
Metal’, which was about the heavy metal scene in Finland. But that’s not all
they’ve done. As they explain below life as Sarcofagus continued long after
Kimmo hung up his signature flaming guitar...
Kimmo: “After Sarcofagus we made a lot of music videos and there’s a lot
of Sarcofagus music in there. Weirdly enough we did some films about traffic
safety and they wanted us to do some kind of young stuff, so we did this TV
show called ‘Automania’’, which actually features some songs from Tarot.
There’s this Monty Python style sketch, which is Sarcofagus acting. They’re all
drunk and driving, so what we are going to do is release a lot of videos and a
lot of songs that no one has really heard since the ‘80s. And the Finnish traffic
safety committee is quite excited about them because it’s quite cool now that
Sarcofagus was doing traffic safety, so we will do this web page where metal
meets traffic safety.”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 37

 Tiamat

THE PAST IS ALIVE

Tiamat
‘Sumerian Cry’

38 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 Before hordes of death metal-minded Swedish teens descended upon the
hallmark Sunlight Studio, four kids formerly known as Treblinka where the first
to desecrate the soon-to-be hallowed ground. In the second instalment of our
series that examines the legacy of albums that changed heavy metal, OLIVIER
‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN heeds the call of TIAMAT’S ‘SUMERIAN CRY’.
J
ohan Edlund hates looking back. Even just
rehearsing the songs from Tiamat’s just-released
brand new album ‘The Scarred People’ for their
forthcoming tour bores the hell out of him. This
from a man who confesses he doesn’t even listen back
to any of his albums, as it makes him feel “a bit silly, as if I
was coquetting or spending too much time in front of the
mirror.” Yet, for the first time and exclusively for Iron Fist, he
has agreed to set the record straight about the band’s
too often overlooked debut album ‘Sumerian Cry’, an
album vastly misunderstood on almost all levels, especially
when regarded as one of the finest examples of the then
rising Swedish death metal scene.
“We never decided what to be” says the man who,
still, opted in pure ‘80s metal style to have the album
divided by side A “Side Lucifer” and side B as “Side
Darkness”. “We never put much thought to where we
belonged. When we felt we could add keyboards to our
music, we just did it without really thinking if a so-called
extreme metal band could do that or not. It wasn’t as
important to be diehard compared to doing what we
believed in. Besides, we were the first to point out that the
other bands were the talented ones and that we were just
lousy musicians.
“Yet, we still wanted to have a band so we had to
find a niche where we could be the best in the world. So
in a way, I considered myself as black metal back then.
According to me, even to this day, I believe it is the lyrics
that really determine if you play black metal or not. Sure,
there are differences in the sound too but to me, black
metal is first and foremost about the Satanic message
and I was into that; I still am in a way. And that’s quite
clear right from the start: see, I kinda liked Autopsy and
Cannibal Corpse but lyrically they didn’t interest me to
be honest. Back then, we were also into horror movies.
But whereas the death metal dudes were usually more
into the splatter and gore ones, the ones more into black
metal were keen on occult films like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ or
‘Omen’. And I was definitively a ‘Omen’ guy.”
B
ut to have a full grasp of what ‘Sumerian Cry’
means to metal history you have to rewind two
years prior, when a young teenager from a part
of the Northern and posher suburbs of Stockholm
answered an advert by a young guitar player called Uffe
Cederlund living on the other side of the city that could
have changed his life forever. Or not. “Through Uffe, I
met Nicke Andersson and we all ended up playing in a
hardcore band called Corrupt for a while but this was
pretty short-lived as we did only one show and never
recorded anything. At least I believe we were called
that then since Nicke was the band leader and kept
changing our name and music style every week or so,”
Johan laughs. “This was pretty early on and we had only a
“It makes me realise how lucky I
was to be part of that gang of crazy
teenagers at this very special time
and very special place.”
handful of demos, coming mostly from the US to listen to.
I remember, for instance, Autopsy’s first tape was highly
popular among our small circle of friends. And as soon as
Nicke heard those, he decided to give up Corrupt and
start a death metal band that went on to become Nihilist
and then Entombed. The funny thing is that I did audition
to do vocals for it and for a while I thought I’d got the job
since Nicke kind of said ‘yes’ after the rehearsal we had.
Yet a week later, I heard through common friends that
they actually had picked up somebody else for the job.
Guess Nicke didn’t dare to tell me that he changed his
mind… but that was okay since, by then, I already knew
I wanted to do my own thing, something I’m in control
over.”
In parallel with his pre-Entombed punk pastime,
Johan was also hanging out with a bunch of other
musicians living much closer to him, yet not as immersed
in underground culture as he already was. “They were
called River’s Edge and were quite skilled musicians
already, unlike me, I have to say. Together, we recorded
one demo in ‘88 called ‘Mind The Edge’. Musically, we
sounded like Megadeth with Quorthon from Bathory
on vocals! The rest of the guys were very serious and
practised all the time, all they did when they weren’t
working on their instruments was sit at home listening to
Metallica and Slayer. But, I was the driving force, the one
to get things happening by meeting people and shaking
hands. Unlike the rest of the guys in River’s Edge, I was
partying a lot and that’s where you’d meet all the key
figures in the scene, you know? I was also very curious
and restless back then. I was always looking out for new
bands, ordering demos from odd places, checking
fanzines and so on.” One could say that from the get-go,
Johan understood the importance of what could be now
called ‘networking’: “Exactly. That’s something I bring with
me to this day. I got into tape-trading very early on and
in that scene, it wasn’t only about who was the best, it
was about who had the best credibility. I liked the bigger
bands yet always wanted to dig deeper and discover
new bands and new sounds. I have to admit I was pretty
proud, for instance, to be the first ever guy in Sweden to
wear a Carcass t-shirt even before they released ‘Reek Of
Putrefaction’. So we could start using them as influences
before everybody else because we knew about them
before everybody else. I loved Rotting Christ’s first demo
because that was the first time anyone dared using
keyboards in death metal.”
Since he always felt like a “session member more
than anything else”, Johan decided to set up his own
band where he could be his “own master” and hired
two of River’s Edge members, namely drummer Anders
Holmberg and guitarist Stefan Lagergren, soon completed
by bass player Jörgen Thullberg, and chose the moniker,
Treblinka, that would haunt them forever [see sidebar].
Thus, the seeds of ‘Sumerian Cry’ were planted…
“I
feel that our part is sometimes a bit unfairly
explained because we definitively had a
pretty central role in the scene, but more in
the socializing thing. There was some kind of
healthy competition in between Dismember, Entombed
and Unleashed but we were never a threat as everybody
agreed we were a bit different. We were kind of the
link between a lot of people: we were the band that
decided to give Sunlight studio a try to record an album
for instance and that’s when Entombed heard the bonus
track (‘The Sign Of The Pentagram’), we also recorded
there for the CD version so they decided to record ‘Left
Hand Path’ there. We were also the first ones to reach
out to the Gothenburg scene and have Necrolord
[Kristian Wahlin] paint his very first album cover for us. Also,
since I released the only Treblinka 7” on my own label, I
started a small mail-order to sell it and through trades, I
was the first one to import the first Nuclear Blast titles like
Pungent Stench or Disharmonic Orchestra in Sweden. I
even booked some shows in the north of Stockholm at
a local youth centre that attracted a younger crowd
that soon started their own bands, like the guys in Opeth
who were friends with my younger brother. So the
importance of Treblinka and Tiamat in the scene shouldn’t
be underestimated, though musically, hands down, I’ve
always thought that, by far, Entombed were the best
FACTFILE: ‘SUMERIAN CRY’
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1990
LABEL: CMFT Records
LINE-UP:
Johan ‘Hellslaughter’ Edlund
(vocals and guitar), Stefan
‘Emetic’ Lagergren (guitar),
Jörgen ‘Juck’ Thullberg (bass) and
Anders ‘Najse’ Holmberg (drums)
RECORDED: October 14-29, 1989
at Sunlight studio, in Stockholm,
Sweden
DID YOU KNOW? ‘Sumerian
Cry’ was the first ever full-length
album to be recorded at Sunlight.
Alas, due to their then label
shorthcomings, it was released
eight months after Entombed’s
‘Left Hand Path’ and then vastly
overlooked.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 39
 Tiamat

MOULD IN HELL RECORDS

Two months before entering the studio for
their debut album, the then still christened
Treblinka released their first and only 7”,
‘Severe Abominations’, with the title track on “We were the band that decided
side A and a re-recording of the ‘Crawling In
Vomits’ staple ‘Earwigs In Your Vein’ on the
flip-side. Unlike most of their contemporaries
whose first vinyl debuts were usually through
to give Sunlight studio a try.”
foreign imprints like Distorted Harmony,
Seraphic Decay or Thrash Records, this was
released through Johan’s own yet short-
lived label, Mould In Hell Records. “That first
vinyl was very important,” he recalls. “Not band out there.” understood that a lot of it was up to us and that Sunlight
only did it sell like hot cakes but the money I Indeed, if one listens to Treblinka’s debut recording could be good to us if we were prepared. And I know that
got from it helped finance the recording of ‘Crawling In Vomit’ today and isn’t at least amused by just like me, Uffe felt that we needed to give it another
‘Sumerian Cry’. It also allowed us to do a lot
its crude and naïve artwork (drawn by Fredrik Thörnberg, chance. Besides, Tomas was a very nice guy and very
of trades and in every order I would include
a whole bunch of flyers promoting that first Johan’s neighbour and best friend), you will still be easy to work with. The studio was small as hell and had
EP to spread the word even more. To tell bemused by its shambolic tremolo picking and frankly no windows so he barely ever saw the day of light and
you the truth, I had another release planned poorly executed black/thrash. Yet the most surprising part looked very pale. I guess the 100 cigarettes a day he
through Mould In Hell, a split 7” with four of the whole thing will probably be the discovery that this was smoking didn’t help either [laughs]. He looked and
then unsigned bands, each one represented poorly-produced demo was immortalised in November did behave more like an indie rock musician. He loved
by one song. It was to be us, Rotting Christ,
‘88 at what later would become THE recording facility The Beatles and would have loved to work on an old
Samael and a fourth American band, who
later on signed to Roadrunner, but whose synonymous with Swedish death metal, the Sunlight studio: Birthday Party album, for example. Whenever I think of
name escapes me right now. All the bands “I remember writing those first songs and thinking they Tomas, I associate him with bad behaviour, the smell of
had agreed to do it, yet other things got in sounded cool until somebody pointed out to me that bad coffee and cheap cigarettes. Yet, try to imagine
the way and ultimately this never happened. you couldn’t put those notes together. I like that idea to us kids, coming out from the very safe environment of
And that’s one big regret I have since it
this day, since I think that rules are made to be broken, our rehearsal room or our local youth centre to working
would have been quite a cult item if you ask
me… but you have to remember that on Treblinka’s first demo with that guy. But we loved him because he was the
“Anyway, the name Mould In Hell we almost had no distortion simply because we were first one to treat us seriously and as grown-ups, he never
came from a song off our second demo. the first metal band Tomas Skogsberg ever recorded looked down on us despite the fact he was over ten years
When I decided to press our 7”, I had no and although we had read somewhere that we were older than us. So we went back there in the second half
clue on how that whole business worked.
supposed to use one, we just didn’t own any effects of October 1989 for ‘Sumerian Cry’ and the result was
So when at the pressing plant, while they
were making the matrix, they informed that pedals. As a result, we ended up having a guitar sound already a huge improvement. But I think that what really
due to copyright reasons and the national that could have been lifted from a Chuck Berry record! did it for Sunlight was ‘The Sign Of The Pentagram’ that
songwriter association, they needed a Initially, we went to record there because Uffe had been was added to the CD version as a bonus track and that
catalogue number so they gave me all that there already for the second Morbid demo [‘Last Supper’]. we initially included as the A side on our self-released EP.
paperwork to do and I remember sitting And besides, back then, there weren’t that many studios That’s when we really ‘hit it’ so to speak.”
there crying,” he laughs now. “Like ‘what

the hell am I supposed to do with all this?’,
so when they asked what the company’s
name was, I had to confess there was
none. They replied, ‘just make one up and
put a catalogue number’, so out of the
blue, I chose Mould In Hell records with
a catalogue number, MHR 001. I did 666
copies, of course, of the black version and
then repressed it in 333 copies, in red this
time. But that was it for my short-lived career
as a record company boss. I can’t help but
wonder what would have happened if I
had decided to focus on this instead of the
band… I still have the two test presses of this
7” and I now remember I promised to send
one to a friend of mine working at Century
Media.”
that were ready to record metal bands anyway. The
weird thing is we recorded ‘Crawling...’ in November ‘88
and Nihilist did ‘Only Shred Remains’ just one month later
and in the end we were both disappointed by the results.
So it didn’t really urge the other bands to go there at first
to say the least,” he chuckles.
In the meantime, a second demo ‘The Sign Of The
Pentagram’ was recorded in what was essentially just
a four channel portable studio set up at some local
youth centre and produced by Nicke Andersson, since
Nihilist was rehearsing in the very same building and had
recorded prior to that their ‘Premature Autopsy’ demo
there in March 1988. “But somehow, after a while, we
‘S
umerian Cry’ proved to be a far more death
metal and evil sounding record compared
to their early material, as if boosted by the
more efficient and cavernous sound that
Tomas Skogsberg had been working on. Despite the fact
that three out of the four tracks that originally appeared
on ‘Sign Of The Pentagram’ were re-recorded for the
occasion, the writing was on the wall for Tiamat’s many
future musical metamorphoses, such as in the doom-
laden and atmospheric epic track ‘Where The Serpent
Dwell’.
“That specific song is actually a very important piece

40 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

of the puzzle,” Johan cryptically reveals. “As this is where,
for the first time, I used more metaphorical figures in my
lyrics that kind of became my trademark later on. As a
matter of fact, if you pick up a song like ‘Nihil’ from the
‘Prey’ album, recorded 14 years later, it’s easy to see
some kind of red line between those two.”
Still, the dry sense of humour that permeates
everything Johan says (“even back then, I already
wanted to be a rockstar, be famous and rich, so I could
have people taking care of me, be lazy, have free drinks,
lovely ladies and even a heart-shaped swimming-pool.”)
was present even back then. Let it be through the picture
collage that was included with the initial pressing of the LP
and where you could spot various members of the band
plus a very juvenile looking Nicke Andersson and Alex
Hellid goofing around, or with the track ‘Evilized’, originally
from the ‘Crawling In Vomits’ demo, that featured a
bluesy mid-section that sounds like a xylophone solo!
“That’s the punk attitude for you,” Johan laughs. “I admit
that attitude is also behind the reason why we wanted
to be black metal, just to piss the rest of our gang off with
whom we had quarrels – I mean friendly ones – about the
pros and cons of death and black. Besides, I loved the
movie ‘Evil Dead’ for its sick humour, so I guess it kind of
inspired us to do that. Still, that xylophone – whose sound crazy
things. teenagers at this very special time and very
was sampled from the Disney movie ‘Jungle Book’! – was
I guess they wanted to do their own thing and special place.”
played on a keyboard. So I guess that makes us the first
split to form Expulsion right after. Soon after they were out,
Swedish black metal band to have used keyboards, don’t
we did one show as Tiamat with Uffe and Nicke helping Tiamat’s new album ‘The Scarred People’ is out now on Napalm
you think?”
us out. I vividly remember the day we received our own

A
www.Facebook.com/Tiamat
copies [of the album]. It was a Friday and the rest of
fter the recording, while waiting on their then
our friends were having a barbecue party at a nearby
label CMFT (that soon disappeared from the
surface of the earth without a trace) to give
lake. Me and Juck, we had had spent two hours at the WHAT’S IN A NAME?
local post office since the package was detained by the
them a release date, they settled for the
customs and we arrived at the party after everybody else,
title ‘Sumerian Cry’ to fit with their newly-found moniker Right after the recording of ‘Sumerian
yet wearing sunglasses and with a copy of our album
[see sidebar]. It was also chosen after artist Necrolord
under our arm, just to show off really.” Cry’, Edlund decided to change the
– Grotesque and Liers In Wait guitarist who would soon
It’s great to hear Johan talk so candidly about those band’s name from Treblinka to Tiamat (a
make a name for himself as a cover artist for Bathory,
early days, as for a lot of time, he didn’t want to have
Dissection, Emperor – had come up with a first draft of the Babylonian goddess in Sumerian mythology)
anything to do with ‘Sumerian Cry’, having gone through
cover, depicting stairs leading to the top of a mountain to “fit more accurately” into the band’s
so many musical changes. The man responsible for the
while a pack of wolves stand by. That’s also during
‘Wildhoney’ album unleashed four years later that, to concept and lyrics. However, one can easily
that period of time that Anders and Stefan decided to
this day, remains Century Media’s biggest selling album,
leave the band, resulting in them being listed as ‘session understand the many problems the moniker
admits being “quite upset” by the fact that “there’s
members’ on the album’s credits, with only ‘Treblinka’ caused and why they decided
still people saying we ‘sold out’ since we don’t sound
Johan (aka ‘Hellslaughter’) and to dump it. “It was my idea,” admits Johan.
anymore like we did on an album that was recorded over
Jörgen (aka ‘Juck’) pictured
23 years ago!” But just like Tom G Warrior, who after two “It’s something I picked up from the thrash
as official members. “We
decades of denial, finally got around to appreciating
had differences, so to band Sindrome from Illinois. Their first demo
Hellhammer’s importance, Johan confesses that he’s
say. Now, I would have
learnt to “loosen it up with age. I can now even
‘Into The Halls Of Extermination’ had made
reacted as an adult and
appreciate the fact that it still a huge impression on me, it sounded and
try to sort this one out but
means a lot to some after looked very professional, with a coloured
we were young and
all those years. And it
inexperienced back cover and great production. To this day, I
makes me realise
then and did still don’t understand why they didn’t get
how lucky I was
nothing to
to be part of picked up by a big label. Maybe they
sort
that gang were too greedy or something. Whatever…
of
Anyway, the opening track of this demo
is about Treblinka and I thought, ‘wow, it’s
such a great name’ but I didn’t know what
it meant. Then somebody told me it was a
Nazi concentration camp and I remember
thinking ‘I hope not!’. So I picked up some
book and it said in there that it was, in fact,
an extermination camp and since my English
wasn’t the best back then, I stupidly thought,
‘well, at least it’s not a ‘concentration’
camp, so it isn’t that bad’, not knowing
that it was, in fact, even worse! Nowadays,
everybody knows that we never had any
political message behind this name but to
this day, still people ask me about this!”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 41

 Incantation

R THE
UNDEUENCE:
INFL

A
s one of the pioneering death metal bands of
the American scene to say that INCANTATION are
inspirational is an understatement. But beyond their
punishing output and invention lies a revolving door
of legendary members and a desire to keep going,
despite the odds. OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN grills founder
JOHN MCENTEE on what drives him onward to Golgotha

D
on’t call John McEntee a legend. A
simple “true fan” will do. The man has
been onboard the Starship Death Metal
since day one and has survived to tell the tale,
releasing few mighty classics along the way; but
despite being in his 40s he still can rave on about
his favourite metal albums or bands as if he first
heard them yesterday, and he can still act the
fanboy, giggling like a teenager when he reveals
that last July, when Incantation played with
Immolation in Belo Horizonte, he went straight up
to former Sarcofago leader Wagner Antichrist
who “was attempting to stay incognito at the
show” so he could have his picture taken with
him. And even over the phone you can still sense
his excitement when mentioning “life-changing
shows”, such as when Voivod and Kreator
toured the US for the first time. Or when, in the
fall of 1988, he did two shows in New York with
Immolation and Morbid Angel. “Morbid had such
a strong vibe… I mean, they were out for blood!
Pete Sandoval had joined two months prior and
their sound guy back then was Jon DePlachett
from Necrovore so being able to pick those guys’
brains was very inspiring.” By that time, John was
already well-versed in the underground, having
had his big break two years prior, thanks to the
overlooked thrash band Revenant. “I met them
at the record store I was working. It was my first
proper job. They used to come in and check the
import section looking for Celtic Frost and Voivod.
There wasn’t a lot of us looking for underground
stuff in that area back then, New Jersey was
mostly synonymous with poser music like Bon
Jovi so we immediately bonded. I knew nothing
about playing in a ‘real’ band and tape-trading
so those guys opened me up to a whole new

42 IRON FIST MAGAZINE


“If you do
something
only because
somebody asked
you and not
because your
heart is fully into
it then it ends up
being half-assed”
world, even if the closest thing happening where
we lived was Ripping Corpse. So when they asked
me to join Revenant, I jumped on the opportunity
and immediately left my former band Hex, with
whom I was doing mostly Sodom and Slayer
covers. Revenant has always been [guitarist and
vocalist] Henry Veggian and original bass player
Paul Pratscher. As a matter of fact, I think Paul
came up with the band’s name and Henry joined
afterwards. Revenant’s music was 100 percent
definable by one style at the same time: there
was a little bit of hardcore, some speed and
thrash elements to it but heavier, even if it wasn’t
exactly death metal yet. We were mostly doing
shows with hardcore, punk or thrash bands as
we knew we were in a position where most of
the people had never heard anything like that
before. The first 18 months were really tough. We
were booking concerts ourselves and sometimes
nobody would show up! But in the second part
of ‘89, while things were really starting to take off,
I realised we wanted different things. ‘Scream
Bloody Gore’ had just come out and I was getting
heavily into Necrophagia and Sarcofago so I was
leaning towards a more extreme style of metal,
but the rest of the guys wanted it to be more
sophisticated and technical. Everybody thought I
was crazy to leave, because we had just put out
a 7” through Thrash Records and Nuclear Blast
wanted to sign the band, but I wasn’t feeling
comfortable anymore and when Paul Ledney
THE FACTS!!!
NAME: INCANTATION
FROM: NEW JERSEY, USA
FORMED: 1989
SIX ESSENTIAL RELEASES:
‘Onward To Golgotha’ 1992
‘Mortal Throne Of Nazarene’ 1994
‘The Forsaken Mourning Of Angelic
Anguish’ EP 1995
‘Diabolical Conquest’ 1996
‘Blasphemy’ 2002
‘Vanquish In Vengeance’ 2012
entered the picture; he briefly played drums
for Revenant for about a month, we had such
“‘Onward to Golgotha’
was probably the most
chemistry right away that it kind of urged me to
do my own thing. This being said, Revenant still
primitive and dark
death metal recording
used four tracks of mine for their debut album
and I’m still in touch with Henry and even asked
of that time. It actually
took me a couple of
him to let me record an exclusive cover of years until the release of
‘Degeneration’ recently so we’re cool.” ‘Mortal Throne...’ that I finally understood the
P
brilliance of Incantation. The wall of sound
aul Ledney didn’t stick around very long
though (“He stayed for about six months
and atmosphere of their sophomore album is
so dense that it almost feels like you’re lacking
and then left because he was already air when you’re listening to it; a feeling of
into black metal and wanted to play that style
of music, wear corpsepaint, do pictures nude
suffocation and despair. Then with ‘Diabolical
Conquest’ my soul was sold. The sheer genius
with blood all over him and I wasn’t into that.”),
but before leaving to form Profanatica, he
of the compositions and unparalleled vocal
deliverance of Daniel Corchado make it one
stayed long enough to build the basis on which of my favourite metal albums of all time. Void
Incantation still stands today. Initially written for of any studio gimmickry such as click tracking
Revenant with the working title of ‘Isolated’ (“they and clinical editing, the album sounds so alive
deemed it as too dark but those words weren’t, in all the deadness that it oozes. Definitely
and still aren’t, part of my vocabulary!”) ‘Unholy
one of the most influential bands of our days.”
Massacre’ became the very first Incantation
AV - Dead Congregation
track; a guideline for things to come. Still, to this
day, the band is mostly remembered for their
debut album, ‘Onward To Golgotha’. Up to the
point that in 2007 and 2008, John asked former
Craig and to Jim as it was to me. I respect the
vocalist Craig Pillard and drummer Jim Roe to
fact that Craig simply doesn’t like death metal
briefly rejoin the band in order to perform it in
anymore but if you do something only because
its entirety for selected shows in the US. “If you
somebody asked you and not because your
read the magazines and don’t know shit about
heart is fully into it, it ends up being half-assed.
us, yeah, maybe you could think this is the only
“In January 2008, the day before we
album worth hearing; but when I talk to fans at
were supposed to leave for the Central Illinois
shows, I get a different vibe as we have a long
Metalshow where we were due to play ‘...
history and now a vast discography to pick from.
Golgotha’ in its entirety, he simply decided he
The two albums that get the most props are
didn’t want to go, so I had to learn all the lyrics on
usually ‘...Golgotha’ and ‘Diabolical Conquest’
my way there and replace him at the eleventh
but I know that some people like the straight-
hour. It made us realise that we wanted to stay
forwardness of ‘Blasphemy’ for instance. Even my
on good terms with all those guys and that we
least favourite album, ‘Infernal Storm’, is revered
needed to close that chapter and move on, for
by some. Also, you’ve got to remember that three
good. Nowadays, you’ve got Craig doing his
of the songs off ‘...Golgotha’ were written with
thing in Disma and I’m doing mine in Incantation,
Paul Ledney. I mean, I don’t want to undervalue
despite similarities. Don’t get me wrong, I like
anybody’s contribution but truth be told, the ‘...
Disma, it’s a great band and Craig is a great
Golgotha’ line-up is revered because of the way
vocalist. But I just don’t want to work with him
they performed those songs but not because
anymore.”
they wrote it. Will Rahmer from Mortician deserves
H
some credit in a way, as he briefly helped us on
ere we touch upon one the most craziest
vocals in our early days and even did some shows
topics about the band, that insane
with us. I even returned the favour by replacing
line-up turnover they’ve been suffering
Mortician’s very first guitar player who was having
substance abuse problems until they found Roger
from since day one, which even led a reference
website like Metal-Archives to stop trying to list
Beaujard.
them all. This being said, Incantation’s 20-year-
“Anyway, I already had my eyes set on Craig
plus history reads like a who’s who of the US
Pillard since he was playing guitar for Putrefact,
death metal scene, with as varied musicians
I knew he also had a brutal voice and I knew
it would fit us perfectly. But he was so worried
as Daniel Corchado (Cenotaph, The Chasm),
Rob Yench (Morpheus Descends, Mausoleum),
about following Will that in retrospect I think it
Dave Culross (Suffocation, Malevolent Creation),
pushed him to go over the top for the recording
Richard Christy (Death) or Reyash (Vader) having
of our debut. Anyway, back to those anniversary
leant their talents at one point or another, for
shows, to be honest at that time, I never thought
sometimes brief periods of time. You can feel
there would be another Incantation album. I
John grinning when asked about the second part
was tired doing everything by myself. Plus our
of the ‘90s, where the genre seemed, excuse the
long-term drummer Kyle Severn, with whom I’ve
pun, dead in the US and when it felt like he was
had a fantastic relationship since he first joined
fighting a lost cause. Even Craig Pillard briefly
in ’94 after I stole him from Escalation Anger, had
rejoined in 1997, despite the massive fallout he
personal issues and couldn’t play anymore. So it
had with John when he and Jim Roe first left
felt like an occasion to end the band on a high
Incantation three years before. They nevertheless
note, and it was fun to play songs off the first
agreed with their then label Relapse to remix
two albums with those guys and recapture that
the band’s second album while messing with its
feeling we had back then; but when it comes
tracklist to eventually re-release it as ‘Upon The
down to it, I guess it just wasn’t as important to
Throne Of Apocalypse’ without John’s consent.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 43
 Incantation
to drift away from Incantation. Since 2001, he’s
been playing guitar in Funerus with his wife Jill
(“It’s fun, I love it!”). In between 2007 and 2008,
he also served a brief stint with longtime friends
Goreaphobia with whom he co-wrote the song
‘Primal Nothingness’ that appeared on their
debut ‘Mortal Repulsion’. All this while trying to set
up his own imprint, Ibex Moon Records, named
after one of Incantation’s most popular songs.
Alas, as we speak, after being active since 2004
and after two dozen releases, the label had to
be put “on hiatus” since it became, according
to John, “a casualty of illegal downloading: no
matter how cheap I was selling stuff, I couldn’t
beat free! After almost eight years, I just couldn’t
allow myself to keep losing money”.

“I never got into death metal to be popular but
yeah, those times were tough,” he recalls. “But
call me stubborn, I still had a lot of ambition at
the time. After we did ‘...Golgotha’, we had
a good following but soon after the release of
‘Mortal Throne Of Nazarene’ crowds at shows
started to dwindle a little bit. More and more
people got into black metal and it discouraged
me because even if I liked some of those bands,
I couldn’t understand why our fans were turning
their backs on us. I guess it made me realise that
not everybody who bought our first two albums
‘fuck the trends’. Daniel Corchado wasn’t like
that. He was a friend of the band and jumped
onboard midway of a Mexican tour where we
shared the bill with Rottrevore, with whom he
was playing at the time as session member. We
even became roommates for about a year in
Cleveland and the one album we did with him
[‘Diabolical Conquest’] turned out to be one of
our best, but his heart was with The Chasm and
he eventually moved to Chicago to relaunch the
band from there.”
Y
et, lurking in the shadows, the beast won’t
die and slowly but surely, Incantation
got back on their feet for this month’s
release of ‘Vanquish In Vengeance’, their first
album in over six years. “It got back together
almost by accident. Initially, Chuck Sherwood
(bass, also in Bloodstorm) and Alex Bouks (guitar,
also in Goreaphobia) came in just to help me
finish all the touring in 2008 but I really enjoyed
jamming with them, and after about a year later
Kyle said he was ready to rejoin. We instantly
had the kind of chemistry that totally renewed
my interest in the band, and the proof is in the
pudding; that new album almost came together
on its own. It was a total band effort and that’s
something I hadn’t had in a long time as Alex is
very opinionated and can stand up if he feels I
haven’t come up with a good enough riff, while
Chuck came up with a lot of lyrics inspired by
different historical massacres, as he’s a history nut.
“You know, I like straight-forward death metal
but with Incantation I always knew it had to be
a little bit more twisted and dark, expected but
unexpected. We were very fortunate to have

were into the band but did so because it was a
trend to listen to death metal in the early ‘90s. I
did what I had to do to go through those difficult
times but truth be told it was becoming even
hard to find musicians willing to play death metal
as too many had jumped on the bandwagon
and declared death metal as passé. Around ‘95
we even had members pushing us to change
our style and follow the cattle. Luckily, I had Kyle
by my side and we stuck to each other and said
E
ventually, John switched to vocals
“kicking and screaming” in 2002 after
then frontman Mike Saez got stabbed
at a show in New York right before the release
of ‘Blasphemy’. “That totally blew the wind out
of his sails and he quit music soon after. I then
understood that I had to do vocals or the ever-
revolving door would never stop. But it took me
about a year to fully feel comfortable about it”.
Still, deterred by those obstacles, John started
the time to forge our own brand of death metal
yet I believe every album of ours has its own
distinct personality. As a matter of fact we had
too many songs to choose from for ‘Vanquish
In Vengeance’ so we’ve already composed a
good chunk of its follow-up. It hasn’t felt so good
to be in Incantation in a long time.”
‘Vanquish In Vengeance’ is out now on Listenable
www.Incantation.com

“The first death metal demo I ever owned was the first Incantation demo. My friend Bill
Venner, now the creative force behind Disma, had joined the band for an extremely
short period of time; he was also responsible for creating the Incantation logo. Bill had
given a few of us copies of the demo. That night, I took that demo home and must
have listened to it ten times in a row. It had this extremely dark atmosphere, and it
was refreshing to hear such dynamic songs, and they were from NJ, even better. Why?
Because all the bands I was a fan of were from overseas or out of the state. And then
came ‘Entrantment Of Evil’, which I still have the long-sleeve of, even though the sleeves
have pretty much withered away. Even if for me, one of the highlights in the death metal
genre came courtesy of ‘Onward to Golgotha’ I still have a place in my dark heart for that album. It was and
still is an incredible death/doom album. Plus, the vocals of Craig Pillard showed that growls can be dark, heavy,
projecting and coherent at the same time. Last, but not least, Incantation have stayed the course. I don’t believe
you can find one pretentious bone in their body. If you doubt any of these points, just listen to all the new death
metal bands coming out. An extraordinary amount of those bands are so heavily influenced by Incantation, they
borderline being an Incantation-clone. I wish them well, and hope they can continue on another 20 years.”

Vince Verkay - Evoken

“Incantation were definitely among the first few death metal bands to imprint themselves
in my mind during my baby steps through the genre’s heyday. They didn’t so much help
you tip-toe into the music as grab you by the throat and drag you right down to the
very bottom; their labyrinthine riffs and sub-demonic invocations are truly the stuff of
unthinkable night horrors. ‘Onward to Golgotha’ and ‘Mortal Throne Of Nazarene’ were
pivotal in death metal’s technical deconstruction and its sprawling towards truly ambience-
oriented and expressive terrain, but subsequent recordings have proved to hold a
consistency and purity of intent with few equals. They practically exemplify the word solid.”

Ilia Rodriguez - Indesinence/Binah

44 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

“Pau l left because he w
a nted to wear
co rpsepa int an d do pict
ures nude
with blood all o ver h ”
im

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 45

 Metal Massacre

BEYOND THE

“I met Lars after my friend John saw him in the par

king lot after
a Michael Schenker show. He was wearing a Saxon
t shirt”
As Sarcofagus say in this month’s article with Kimmo and Tanja, it’s the magic 30 year celebration in 2012; a whole
generation has passed since heavy metal was born and this year marks the 30th anniversaries of groundbreakers
like Metallica and Sodom and also one of the most important labels in heavy metal lore; METAL BLADE
RECORDS.
Back in 1982 BRIAN SLAGEL was working in a record shop, like most heavy metal obsessives, feeding his
appetite for British metal imports and writing a short-lived fanzine called The New Heavy Metal Revue. His part-
time job gave him enough hunger and understanding of music distribution to want to put out his own record; one
that would reflect the scene he saw was burgeoning in his hometown of LA and one that he felt was untapped by
any other label. That record was ‘METAL MASSACRE VOLUME ONE’, and the rest is, well, history.
We sent Iron Fist’s seeker of the past, and Metal Blade cohort, ALAN AVERILL to chat to the big boss to find
out the history of the legendary compilation series while JEFF WAGNER, KIM KELLY and LOUISE BROWN
clean up the aftermath of the massacre.

46 IRON FIST MAGAZINE


B
eing part of a scene right at its inception is a rare enough
thing, but being right at the vanguard of a scene about to
take over the whole world musically is truly something unique.
We have microcosms of this in the here and now but they
are like life now; so compartmentalised and marginalised. 1980 was
virgin territory in every respect, we simply know too much too soon
now to truly be able to feel what it was like to be spearheading new
movements. True enough, we all put our shoulders to the wheel and
get our hands dirty in the crusade for real metal to make it’s long
overdue return to the stage. Truth is it’s a microcosm and the world has
changed. Fight your corner, but there isn’t another Brian Slagel waiting
to put another Metallica on a compilation album and give them their
‘break’ leading to a “rest as they say is history” story…
I digress but it’s hard to describe how important the ‘Metal
Massacre’ series was back in the early 1980s. It was a kickstart to
the heart for not just Metallica and Slayer but many, many other
burgeoning bands that are now old warhorses. They in turn led to the
birth of Metal Blade Records and Slagel and I could talk about the
new Amon Amarth album and the digital age and flit across the “how
different it was back then” issue but ‘Metal Massacre’ is a good place
to start with getting to grips with being at the epicentre of a scene. The
one we inherited…
Push the right buttons and Brian Slagel, CEO of Metal Blade
Records, is more than happy to rake over the embers of the past and
30 years later it’s still possible to watch the years fall away as two self-
confessed metal obsessive compulsives stand in the den at the Metal
Blade HQ in LA and marvel at the original cassette Lars Ulrich sent
Slagel. It’s very possible that the world might be ending outside, but I
want the whole backstory on Cirith Ungol and the making of ‘Frost And
Fire’… the difference is we are a generation apart. This is the story of
Metal Massacre.
S
o first came the fanzine then came Massacre so let’s start at the
start, why did you put them together? Just wanting to be part
of the scene or kick start a scene, it must have felt like exciting
times back then?
“Back then there was no way for people outside of LA to hear
these bands playing here,” says Slagel. “I was heavily influenced by
NWOBHM and its DIY attitude. I felt if I could help the scene by putting a
compilation album together, people could hear how good the bands
were. It was fun back then, but I never thought it would lead to so
much.”
So you had a sort of a shoe-in, right when the compilation idea
came up, right?
“I was working at a record store, so I just asked the import
distributors I was dealing with if they could distribute an album if I put
one together. They said ‘yes’, so there was some distribution, but very
small compared to today”.
It’s hard not to talk about Metal Massacre obviously without
mentioning Metallica. It’s what most people think of first, so we might as
well ask the question… what was your first contact with them? “Well, I
met Lars after my friend John saw him in the parking lot after a Michael
CONDEMNED TO THE GALLOWS
Our professor in lost classics, Dr Jeff Wagner, has scoured the Metal Massacre
arsenal and mourned the passing into obscurity of some class gems from
across the ‘Metal Massacre’ catalogue
AVATAR
Featured on Volume 1 with ‘Octave’
This isn’t even the Avatar that changed their name to Savatage. And it’s
instrumental. And it sounds like NWOBHM with slightly more technical chops than
most of the bands from that era. They didn’t even record a demo, apparently.
Awesome song!
DEMON FLIGHT
Featured on Volume 1 with ‘Dead Of The Night’
A weird, witchy, amazing little tune, but the only thing they ever did was a three-
song EP and the other two songs weren’t that great.
SURGICAL STEEL
Featured on Volume 2 with ‘Rivit Head’
Total Judas Priest speed-laden metal. The scrappy recording is total Metal Blade
circa 1982. They caught the attention of Rob Halford, who sang on the song
‘Smooth And Fast’ from their 1984 demo, and Jeff Martin went on to sing in Racer
X, but they STILL remained obscure and didn’t go anywhere in the end.
MEDUSA
Featured on Volume 3 with ‘Piranahs’ (apparently these bands were terrible
spellers!)
Raw, rough, punky, short, fucked up... kinda like Exodus just seconds before the
‘Bonded By Blood’ era, and not just because of the song title.
BLACK WIDOW
Featured on Volume 3 with ‘Blitzkrieg’
Musically solid; like a slowed-down early Megadeth meets early Omen. No vocals,
although it could have used some. Super obscure, but they did give Mike Alvord to
the world, who was in Holy Terror, one of the greatest bands of all time.
SACRED BLADE
Featured on Volume 4 with ‘The Alien’
Their only album, ‘Of The Sun And Moon,’ is highly-regarded, but still totally cult
and still totally obscure. Awesome band.
WAR CRY
Featured on Volume 4 with ‘Forbidden Evil’
Raw and heavy, mid-paced and dark… even a doomy edge. Paul Speckmann
was bassist before Paul Speckmann was Master. Good, raw shit that you could
imagine would have found a full-length out on Metal Blade, but it wasn’t to be.
LETHYL SYNN
Featured on Volume 5 with ‘Destroyer’
Fucking great song, and a totally 100 percent obscure band. Some could call the
vocals dodgy, and he’s definitely nasal, but they’re just weird and perverse enough
to make sense in a scrappy-‘80s-MM-comp sorta way.
PATHFINDER
Featured on Volume 6 with ‘Fountain Keeper’
Awesome Maiden-esque sub-speed/thrash, one of the best obscurities in the whole
MM catalog… and nobody knows a damn thing about them, other than the fact
that the vocalist was in Canadian band Breaker.
LOST HORIZON
Featured on Volume 7 with ‘Troubled Ways’
Not the great Swedish band, but, well, one I know NOTHING about. They sound
like a mixture of Budgie (mostly the vocals) and High Spirits. Excellent, excellent
song.
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 47
 Metal Massacre

“We thought we’d finally made it when asked to be on ‘Metal Massacre Vol V’! We had seen
another local band from CT, Obsession, appear on ‘Vol 2’. After that, it became one of our main
goals. We were very disappointed when we missed submitting for volumes 3 and 4, but we made
it on to volume 5 and were offered a full contract at the same time. I remember screaming when
I opened my mailbox and found a letter from Metal Blade Records in there.
“For me, they introduced the world to some of the most influential and original bands
around, so in that sense, ‘Metal Massacre’ has shaped a lot of what metal fans listen to today.
Brian Slagel has been a champion of this band since 1983 and it’s not an exaggeration to say that
without him or Metal Blade, Fates Warning would not exist.”
JIM MATHEOS – FATES WARNING, OSI, ARCH-MATHEOS

“In 1983 I was 13 years old and totally hungry for metal. You couldn’t be too picky back then.

“We lost out on signing

Even bands like Trust or Atomkraft sounded very heavy to me. Only one place was selling import
heavy metal back then in Athens, Greece, called the Athinas record shop. That is where I bought
‘Metal Massacre Vol 3’ with Slayer’s ‘Aggressive Perfector’. Right then I knew that I would live only

Megadeth by $1,000”
for this. Total Satanic metal mayhem!”
TAS – SATAN’S WRATH

“Even before tape-trading became a big thing I think that the ‘Metal Massacre’ compilations were
a really important way of discovering new bands. I mean, the very first one had Metallica on it,
so that just kinda shows you what sort of level of talent was being discovered by Brian Slagel
back in those days. Just looking down what appeared on the last compilations sort of speaks for
itself: Trouble, Slayer, Voivod, Warcry, it goes on and on, just amazing bands. I could go on and
on about those, I have several of them in my collection now. I remember being really into the
Abattoir track called ‘Screams From The Grave’, I used to play that over and over. I didn’t really like
their albums, I mean they were a cool band, but that track, in particular, I just played it over and
over. ‘Volume 4’ was one that I listened to a lot ‘cos it had Trouble on it and ‘Rod Of Iron’ by Lizzy
Schenker show in LA. He was wearing a Saxon t shirt and back then
no one knew who Saxon was. So John talked to him and said, ‘You
have to meet my friend Brian’. We met up a couple days later and
became friends since we were so into NWOBHM. Now, at that time
no one in LA knew about that scene, so Lars and I became good
friends after that. When I was putting together ‘Metal Massacre’ he
asked if he put together a band, could he be on the album? I said
‘yes’, and I guess the rest is history.”

Borden. There was a band from Michigan called Medieval, who were like totally sludgy, kinda like
Venom, that were great… and the one with Slayer on, and Znowhite from Chicago. I tried to buy
every single one. I don’t own them all anymore, if I bought one and I didn’t really hit it off with
anything on there I’d just get rid of it, but I do still have several of the volumes in my collection
because they were just classic records, with typically amazingly cheesy artwork on the covers.”
SCOTT CARLSSON – REPULSION
“Brian Slagel was at the forefront of the early ‘80s heavy metal movement – he was full of passion
and excitement about this kind of music. We had recorded our first single, ‘Cold Day In Hell’ and
we were excited that Brian wanted to include it on ‘Metal Massacre Vol 1’; it only appears on the
first pressing, which is kind of cool because that one is really a collector’s item.
“If you were playing metal in Los Angeles in 1982, you knew Brian Slagel. He was
everywhere, wearing his denim and leather and waving the metal flag louder and prouder than
anyone. He published a magazine called New Heavy Metal Revue, he ran a music store called
Oz Records, he was at all the gigs. You couldn’t help but like him and feel his enthusiasm for
the music and the scene. It’s no coincidence that most of the bands and artists included on ‘Vol
1’ went on to major record deals and long successful careers, and people like Brian Slagel and
Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records) deserve huge praise for spearheading the movement. Those
compilations enabled the bands to get reviews in the press worldwide, to get played on the radio
and to be discovered by a generation of hungry fans. There was a mystique and an aura back
then that the internet has helped diminish – back then, it was special, it was important, it was
exciting to read about a new band in BAM magazine, or hear them on the KLOS Local Music
Show, and go to Oz Records and buy the albums. It was a very magical era, a special part of
history that is gone forever but lives on in the music and in the hearts of the people that love it,
but I’m glad I was there, I am proud to have been a part of it.”
RON KEEL – STEELER
T
he visual to the last statement would be my wide-eyed look
as I turn over the actual first cassette Ulrich gave Slagel as we
stand in the depths of the Blade offices up in the LA hills. My
look must be something Slagel has seen many times but still
gets a kick out of. But could he tell even back then what was going
to happen: from Mustaine to Metallica making it huge, things must
have changed almost from day to day?
“Not really,” Slagel admits. “I knew they were good. They were
doing something different from most of the other bands in LA at the
time. None of us ever could think that it would all come to this. We
often talk about that now: how did this all happen? It’s been really
crazy, but I was so happy for them. They are still really good friends of
mine.”
What I’m very curious about is the bands you thought were going
to make it after ‘Metal Massacre’ but never did?
“Well, there were some that I thought would be bigger, not
really from the first ‘Metal Massacre’. Armored Saint for example.
They should have been HUGE,” Slagel rolls his eyes as if he still can’t
believe it. “They have had a great career but not as big as I would
have thought. Lizzy Borden is probably another one who could have
been bigger as well. Cirith Ungol too, I always thought. Funny how
they have become legendary now!”
Who really slipped through the net though, almost pre-empting
the question Slagel shrugs at? “Well, I could have signed Metallica if
I had some money back in the day. Same for Megadeth too, we lost
them by $1,000. That was a lot of money back then.” And the band
that most surprised you? For example, on that first one I would have
expected Malice to make it further?
“Ratt was one I was surprised that did so well. They were really
good and heavy when they first started. I agree that Malice had a
good opportunity as well.”
When I say slipped through the net, what I mean is really not just
for Metal Blade, I meant bands you really were sure would make it
who ended up in obscurity? “Hmm, not that many really,” is his reply.

48 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 “A great band called Little Caesar that came around after Guns ‘N’
Roses came out, I really thought they would be big.”
L
ooking at ‘Metal Massacre Volume II’, apart from Overkill
and Armored Saint, it does seem even more obscure in some
ways? At least to me now, looking at the line up. “Yeah there
were not a ton of bands back then,” Slagel admits. “So a
lot of them ended up not doing much.” And then of course Slayer
on ‘Volume III’, what were your first dealings with them at the time,
people talk about the fact that they weren’t really friends or didn’t
have that gang thing that other bands did, but together, playing
music, just had the edge?
“I saw them open for Bitch at a show in Anaheim. They were
amazing live. They did mostly covers at that time, but were just so
good. True they were not that close as a band, but when they got on
stage it was just magic. Same for the studio, they just gelled so well
musically. I hung out with Kerry a lot then and still do and he had a
really good vision of what he wanted.”
The last volume was in 2006, but I suppose by then things had
changed so much, it was more a Metal Blade comp, do you get
nostalgic about those old days? Do you ever think we simply know
too much now and the naivety of the early ‘80s is what gave
everything character? “Yeah, it is great to look back for sure,” Slagel
smiles. “It was so much fun because you were really turning people
onto new music. You did not have the immediacy of what you do
today. In some ways it was great, but I love the fact you can really
search around today. I think in a lot of ways the knowledge is good
because you also know what mistakes not to make! But yeah the
innocence of it all back then was kind of fun.”
When you take a small trip on YouTube through the NWOBHM
era you are really aware of how many bands and people were
taking up arms and doing the DIY thing all at the same time, almost
independently of each other. As you say, Lars and yourself were one
of the few people in LA aware of it and it seems when Lars made his
NWOBHM comp the scene then wasn’t really as interested as it could
be now, what do you think?
“Yeah, it is amazing to think back then how many people were
actually doing similar things around the world without knowing each
other. It was so different back then, but as time went on we saw
there was a lot who shared our love of metal.”
The popular media vernacular is that the late ‘70s and early ‘80s
were about punk and the influence of NWOBHM was swept under
the carpet but even a cursory glance will show that the independent
NWOBHM 7” releases outnumber the punk output, did or do you get
a sense of that?
“Yes, but heavy metal will never be embraced by popular
media. I think the metal revolution of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s
was way more influential than punk was. As usual metal still gets little
respect for that.” The talk turns of course to the state of the music
industry but as always gets back to metal, the stories and the wine
flows; things have changed but one thing at least has not diminished
and that is the love of metal that drove Metal Blade back in the day.
Brian Slagel & Fates Warning
LUCKY 13
We don’t really count 2006’s ‘Metal Massacre Volume 13’, is that snobbish of us? After all, it
was a ‘Best Of’ really, featuring already established bands on the Metal Blade roster. For us the
beauty of the ‘Metal Massacre’ series was in shining the light on some of the most exciting, and
unknown, bands of its time. Although those steeped in the underground would have already
known about Malice, Steeler, Warlord and Omen, the MM compilations would unearth future
greats (The double T’ed Mettalica, for example?), so we at Iron Fist decided to
create the real ‘METAL MASSACRE THE 13TH’ from new (ish) bands on
Metal Blade that are rarely off our turntables.
1. In Solitude ‘To Her Darkness’
Kicking off our fantasy ‘Metal Massacre’ is a song, that with its pounding rhythm, is the
perfect mantra to light the fire for the new breed. Those twin guitars and odes to a life-giving
underworld wraith are both beguiling and unbeatable and prove that just like in 1982 Metal
Blade are on the money when it comes to fresh talent.
2. Ram ‘Defiant’
Leading a pack of newer bands from Sweden with their cowboy booted feet firmly in the early
‘80s speed metal heyday, Ram, from Gothenburg, remind of classic Priest and Maiden. And that
can never be a bad thing.
3. Portrait ‘The Nightcomers’
Keeping it old school and keeping it Swedish, Metal Blade were quick off the mark to catch the
zeitgeist of this trad brotherhood of wolves and Portrait are another example of how bands can
still sound exciting, fresh and modern without discarding any of the legacy and integrity found
on those early ‘Metal Massacre’ comps. Portrait are much more dark and menacing than some
of their fellow cohorts, especially on this track, and deserve their place on our fantasy comp
because of it.
4. Sister ‘The Unlucky Minority’
The early MM comps helped pave the way for some of the greats, and underrated geniuses, of
the Sunset Strip glam scene that would explode in the mid-’80s, so in a nod to bands like Ratt
and Black N Blue here’s another Swedish mob of misfits. We defy you not to sing along and
wonder where you left your hairspray.
5. The Devil’s Blood ‘She’
Satanic psyche cult The Devil’s Blood came out on underground label Van in Europe but having
a finger totally on the dying pulse Slagel jumped on this horde for a North American release and
helped them on their way to deserve world (and underworld) domination. F The Voice Of Satan
might sound sweet but on this ode to a divine and deadly deity she is devoted and deranged in
equal measure. The way we like it.
6. Pilgrim ‘Forsaken Man’
This Rhode Island trio is wise beyond their years, and they’ve got the tunes to prove it. Steeped
in the fantasy, emotional desolation and Candlemass-inspired grandiosity of classic doom, their
stellar Metal Blade debut is a fine entry into the great American doom tradition and one of
2012’s most underrated gems.
7. Primordial ‘Bloodied Yet Unbowed’
In the true spirit of ‘Invictus’ comes one of Primordial’s most stirring anthems yet (which is surely
saying something, given the epic scope and heartrending heft of the band’s pagan odes).
‘Bloodied Yet Unbowed’ graces their latest Metal Blade masterpiece, ‘Redemption At The
Puritan’s Hand’ and is a sterling example of Primordial’s doomy, blackened brand of Celtic fury.
8. Glorior Belli ‘Bring Down The Old Cosmic Scheme’
Black metal and blues are tied for the Devil’s favourite tunes, and these French miscreants are
one of the first extreme bands to really catch on. Their Metal Blade debut, ‘The Great Southern
Darkness,’ is an intoxicating mélange of fetid black metal, swampy stoner jams, and woozy,
bluesy rock ‘n’ roll riffs – just the kind of forward-thinking extremity that’s been MB’s bread and
butter since the ‘80s.
9. Satan’s Wrath ‘Between Belial And Satan’
Out with the old, in with the new – or say “fuck it” and mix ‘em in together like devil’s food
cake. These Greek occultists were only spawned in 2011, but their first demo and ensuing Metal
Blade debut, ‘Galloping Blasphemy’, positively reeks of the old school, channelling Possessed
and running their nasty death/thrash vomit through a coal-black filter.
10. Lightning Swords Of Death ‘Nihilistic Stench’
Los Angeles may be the City of Angels, but the dark, seething underbelly roiling beneath the
plastic and palm trees is home to a host of suspicious characters, not least among them Satanic
black metal provocateurs Lightning Swords Of Death. Their savage, angular tunes pay tribute to
Lucifer’s light and drug-addled nihilism in equal measure.
11. Desaster ‘Phantom Funeral’
Long-running German black/thrash horde Desaster joined the Metal Blade roster back in 2005,
and have been churning out galloping grimness ever since. One of the label’s first forays into the
blacker arts, the partnership has culminated after a five-year recording gap with this year’s ‘The
Arts of Destruction’.
12. Assaulter ‘Exalt The Master’
Brought into the fold via Alan Averill’s Poison Tongue imprint, Assaulter spit out the kind of fast,
furious black thrash that’s become synonymous with their home country. It’s no surprise to learn
that they feature past members of the mighty Destroyer 666 within their ranks, and their Metal
Blade debut (2011’s ‘Boundless’) sealed their fate as one of the label’s most blasphemous new
recruits.
13. Goatwhore ‘Parasitic Scriptures Of The Sacred Word’
Battered, bloodied and downright cursed, New Orleans black/death troupe Goatwhore have
survived hell and literal high water, and are still not only standing, but thriving. Ever since 2006’s
‘A Haunting Curse’ they’ve been flying the MB flag far and wide, touring like true beasts of
burden and releasing slab after slab of quality Christ-raping extremity.
by Louise Brown & Kim Kelly
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 49
 Doro

“Metal
is bigger
than ever,
definitely
a s bi g a s i n
the ‘80s”

50 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

METAL QUEEN
From idolising Ronnie James Dio and Lemmy,
to working with them, DORO PESCH has
stories a-plenty, and as she unveils her 11th
solo album ‘RAISE YOUR FIST’ she tells
LOUISE BROWN what it means
to both be a fan and live for them.

Y
ou know life has taken a surreal turn for the
better when you’re at an invite-only Iron
Maiden party and Doro has just cadged a
fag off you (“I don’t normally smoke,” she
whispers conspiratorially). Doro is regaling us
with tales about her travels. She’s an incredible
raconteur, she holds court making us howl
with stories about fans bringing her beetles to eat in South East Asia
(more of that below) – and all I’m thinking is, wow, this is Doro. She
was in Warlock, she was the first woman to front a band at Monsters
At Rock. She’s a legend. That was years ago now, we’ve met many
times since, but I’ll never shake the feeling of being a “fan”. The
dictionary describes being a fan as “a person with an extreme and
uncritical enthusiasm or zeal (as in religion or politics)”, but I think
they’re missing the words “as in music”, because that extreme
enthusiasm manifests itself in an uncontrollable manner when you
press play on a new album or watch a musician in the live arena. A
piece of music or concert can conjure up the time and place when
you first saw or heard that particular artist and take you right back
to the lightning bolt moment when you first fell uncontrollably in love
with them. They say journalists are meant to be critical and unbiased,
but when it comes to certain artists that goes out the window.
Last month Doro released her 11th full-length album ‘Raise Your
Fist’, following an unstoppable tornado of best ofs, live albums and
reworkings of some oldies, not to mention the four slices of witchy
brilliance from 1984 to 1989 when she fronted Warlock. Of course,
‘Raise...’ doesn’t have the raw power of ‘Sign Of Satan’, the arena
stomp of ‘Earthshaker Rock’ or the addictive menace of ‘Touch Of
Evil’, but those songs are untouchable classics and when you have a
legacy like that it’s hard to approach a new album from Doro with a
critical ear. That’s what it means to be a fan.
And it’s the idea of fandom that looms large during a recent
conversation with the petite powerhouse. It’s 11am, the phone rings.
It’s Doro. I wasn’t expecting her to call but she’s got 20 minutes to
spare before her flight home to New York and if I want we can have
a quick chat about the new album for Iron Fist. An hour later we’re
still talking.
“I think my last holiday was with my parents when I was nine years
old. We went to the Black Forest but even that didn’t work out well
because I heard on the radio that my total idol back then, Marc
Bolan of T-Rex, died in a car accident and then the whole vacation
was done. I was just so sad, my parents didn’t know what to do and

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 51

 Doro
THE ONE TO SING THE BLUES
Doro on working with Lemmy on the song ‘It Still Hurts’ from
the new album…
“I met Lemmy the very first time in England, maybe in ‘82
or ‘83 and ever since we had a very close friendship. We did
something before, on the ‘Calling The Wild’ album in 2000, I
can’t believe that’s 12 years ago. Lemmy played me a song
called ‘Alone Again’. He was on guitar and he was singing
and I swear to god, tears were rolling down my cheeks. It
was a ballad and I said ‘Lemmy, I will love you forever if I
could record your song’ and he said ‘yes’, but that was years
ago. And then I was in the middle of doing this new record
and I had a phone conversation with a very old boyfriend,
who I really loved, and I know he loved me but it just didn’t
work out. He got married, I even went to the wedding, so
we’re still family. He called me and told me he was having
a child and asked me if I would be the Godmother. I didn’t
know, I mean being a musician I’m always on the road, and
sometimes the money is good and sometimes it’s not, so I
don’t even know if this could be a possibility. He told me to
think about it and it was a long conversation, really deep
and emotional. Anyway, I hung up, and I just felt, ‘oh god,
this really hurts’, so then the song just came out. I went to the
studio with Andreas Bruhn, the ex-guitarist of Sisters Of Mercy
and I played him the chorus. Andreas sung some stuff and
I thought, you know what, this should be a duet, and then
while he was singing I felt that, in my inner eye, I see and I
hear Lemmy. [Thankfully] he said it was beautiful and I was in
LA in March and sitting with the engineer and I was in tears, I
got goosebumps. When Lemmy’s singing he’s very soulful. Of
course I love it hard and fast but I think he has a very sweet
soulful side so I’m so happy he sang on this song. It’s always a
great honour to get to work with him, we always liked each
other a lot and it’s a deep love. Lemmy is so unique.”
52 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
“I always remembered
the opening seconds
of the Dio show and I
thought if I could ever
make the fans feel close
to that sensation I
would love it”
that was the last holiday we took together.” Doro is talking about her
recent trip to Thailand, her first holiday in years [see sidebar]. But her
story about Marc Bolan rings true; about being such a fan that you’re
convinced you know your favourite artists and you mourn them like
you would a close family member. No, my parents didn’t understand
F
either.
rom Marc Bolan to Ronnie James. On the new
album, from poppy singalongs like ‘Raise Your
Fist’ to future festival favourites like ‘Rock Till
Death’, the one song that stays with you is
‘Hero’, a tribute to the man that changed Doro
Pesch’s life. From the first time she saw him,
Ronnie James Dio has had a profound effect
on Doro and this song was an important addition to the album. It’s
exciting to hear that while I’m a “fan” of Doro she’s no stranger to
being a “fan” herself.
“My second tour was with my favourite singer in the world,
Ronnie, and then we did many festivals together and we opened up
for Heaven and Hell, about three years ago,” she recalls, her voice
shaking with excitement at bringing back the memories of getting
to meet her idol. “We did another really fantastic tour in America
in 2000 and it was so special because grunge was on the way out.
I had the ‘Calling The Wild’ album in the making and I had a new
record company and there was a party for the ‘Magica’ album of
Ronnie’s and my label asked if I wanted to go. We were really happy
to see each other again and he said he loved the remake of ‘Egypt’,
which was on a tribute album to Dio [‘Holy Dio’, released in 2000], he
said it was so nice.”
When Doro talks she emphasises almost every word. You can
hear the passion in everything she says. She makes a small word like
“so” sound like it’s 20 letters long. She’s also so easy to interview, you
ask one question and half an hour later she’s jumped from story to
story and changed the subject and then back again. She’s a born
storyteller. She’s now onto how that American tour came about, but
not before going through recording with Lemmy [see sidebar] and
playing the same venues as Jimi Hendrix and down many other twists
and turns. “I did an interview with KNAC Radio and this lady asked
did I have any touring plans and I said ‘not yet’, and she said, ‘how
about opening up for Ronnie?’,” Doro is continuing, without pause
for breath. “This would be a dream come true! We did actually do a
tour in the ‘80s and she said Ronnie was calling the radio station in an
hour for an interview and should she mention it to him, well to make
a long story short, a couple of weeks later we were on tour together
and it was so special because it was just when metal came back,
it was unbelievable. There was a couple of shows in Florida where
we always did the encores together and I have some photos and
my face is beaming. I look so happy and since then we had a great
S
friendship going.”
urviving the grunge overload that near stopped
Doro in her tracks, that tour in 2000 with Dio came
at a perfect time, but how does our German guru
feel about metal 12 years on. Is this is the right time
to be releasing an album of such high voltage
odes to the genre of music that shaped who she
is?
 “Yes, I totally noticed it,” Doro near screams when asked if

EAST MEETS WEST

she feels heavy metal is back on top. “I think it’s bigger than ever,
definitely as big as in the ‘80s. I just heard that Wacken has sold out.
It only just happened in August and you know 11 months before the
festival is due to take place it’s already sold out. I think it’s definitely Doro on the triumph and agony of touring…
one of the big signs. The heavy metal movement is in full motion and “Food on tour can be sometimes so interesting. In Thailand
I’m so glad you are doing a new magazine and I feel even better some of the fans said it’s a delicacy and they were giving
than in the ‘80s because we can play in so many more countries. In me maybe some beetles or cockroaches or spiders, and they
the ‘80s we always toured Europe and the UK and America but now were fried so somehow you feel like it’s chips, but eating the
we’ve been to China and Columbia and South America, Russia, spider, oh god, I guess I’m not used to it. I tried it because
Romania; it’s exciting.” I guessed they were expensive and it made the fans feel
Wacken 2013 will be a big one for Doro. She’s booked to play good, but oh man, it was really strange. And then we went
there and it will be her 30th anniversary of being the ultimate metal to China, and the fans were saying, ‘oh try this, this is really
queen. But that’s not all. After her first stint in 2007 Doro is returning to good’. It was actually dog. I love animals, especially dogs, so
the big screen to reprise her role as Meha in the Swiss fantasy drama
I said ‘no way’. But you’re sat in a restaurant where everyone
‘Anuk-Der Weg des Kriegers’. “It’s coming out 2013, maybe 2014, it
is eating dog, and nobody seemed to care except the band
depends, there is still so much work to do,” she tells us of part two.
and me. In Switzerland, when I did this movie, a couple of
“I’m celebrating my 30th anniversary at Wacken and we are also
months ago everybody said try this sausage and I try to be
doing two shows in my hometown of Dussledorf in September 2013
vegetarian and it turned out to be horse so thank god I didn’t
and I would love to have some kind of screening of the movie to
try it.
show the fans, but you never know.”
“The most amazing place we went to is Thailand. It’s
A new album, a massive show down at Wacken, a cinema
unbelievable. I never had a vacation in my life and in Thailand
blockbuster; the highs Doro is facing are a far cry from the tragedy
we had a few days off after a show and we went to this island
she faced last year. Doro’s a trained kick-boxer and talking to her
is like going four rounds of being pounded by sugary sweetness,
called Koh Samui. Our Bangkok promoter had an uncle who
everything is “so nice” and “so lovely” and “so sweet” and we
owned some beautiful hotels and he said we could make a
wouldn’t try to darken this rock princess for all the world, so it pains
show there. I said, but it’s three days, we can’t promote it and
us to ask her to drudge up the memories, but in true Doro style even he said ‘no, they will promote it’. So we flew to this island, it’s
she finds a positive in the negative. In August 2011 Hurricane Irene about one hour from Bangkok, it was so beautiful and then
destroyed the home she rents in Long Island, New York. Everything every day at about 5 or 6 o’ clock in the morning there was
was obliterated. this big trolley with speakers and they played ‘All We Are’ so
“It was totally hardcore,” she admits. “I lost everything, the whole loud; the whole island was probably falling out of their beds.
place. I tried to save a couple of things but because I had to go They announced the concert, I couldn’t understand it as it was
on tour a couple of days later I couldn’t take care of it and water is in Thai, and then back to ‘All We Are’. They did that every ten
such a lethal thing, everything starts to mould immediately, so I am minutes going around the island, and then we played and
going back today and eventually I’ll have to get everything new. the whole place was sold out. It was so crowded, it was great.
I learned something from it, that even though I was a little bit sad It wasn’t only metalheads, there was normal people, but it
because some old photos and gifts I got from fans are all gone I was great and the beauty of that country and that island was
learned that I can definitely live without anything and I think that the mind-blowing. It was definitely a mini vacation.”
most important thing for me is the fans and the music and I have a
suitcase and I can go from city to city or country to country and sing
and hopefully make fans happy. I really learnt from it that I’m not a
materialistic person. People used to say to me, ‘what did you buy in
all your career?’, but even when we had some successes I always
put it back into the show or the video shoot or the next production.
Actually I brought something for myself once where everyone said
‘you’re totally crazy’, but I did it for my 25th anniversary concert.
I wanted to have a big Warlock behind the drum riser, something
that looked like Eddie of Iron Maiden. It was a fortune, I could have
definitely have brought a small apartment for it but I wanted to have
30 seconds of mind-blowing experience for my fans. I didn’t see it but
on the song ‘Night Of The Warlock’ I thought the warlock needed to
be the real deal and for 30 seconds I saw the most amazing looks in
people’s eyes. That was all my money and the Wacken people now
have it, it’s so big I can never use it again. It took three trucks to carry
it. I put my money into that for a couple of seconds of real joy.
“The first time I saw Ronny James Dio was before we did the
tour in 87, I think it was maybe ‘85. I was really excited to watch the
concert and because I’m so tiny I was standing on the mixing desk
and then the curtain was opening up and I almost fainted. It was like
the most beautiful and most magical amazing thing for a couple of
seconds. My knees were starting to shake. I always remembered the
opening seconds of the Dio show and I thought if I could ever make
the fans feel close to that sensation I would love it and then on the
25th anniversary I did it.
“So, I’m definitely not a materialistic person,” she concludes,
matter-of-factly. “As long as we are healthy and as long as we have
something to live for and I’m living for the fans and the music!”

‘Raise Your Fist’ is out now on Nuclear Blast

www.DoroPesch.com

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 53

 Necros Christos

DEATH OF
C H RSI SCT O S …’
NECRO HRISTOS
FINAL INTERVIEW?
I
t’s difficult to pinpoint what separates one “occult” band from
another, especially when it seems like everyone and his nan has
started one. The strength of such a band’s convictions, of course,
and the depth of their commitment to both their subject matter
and their presentation are key factors when it comes to the
business of being taken seriously. Without those elements, you’re just
another twat in a dress with some hasty pentangles scrawled across
your album cover, and metal definitely has no need for any more of
those.
Necros Christos have always understood this and taken great
pains to ensure that their visual approach matches and accentuates
what they’re doing musically. What they’ve been doing for the past
decade is crafting multi-faceted, atmospheric, oppressive death
metal of the most serious intent. Now, in their 12th year and with a third,
Words: Kim Kelly
death metal’s most furiously blazing stars.
I’m a massive fan, if you couldn’t tell, and alongside my friend
and co-interviewer Ankit Sinha of Heathen Harvest, have spent the
better part of the past year convincing Mors Dalos Ra to finish this joint
interview. MDR is the sort of man who likes to take his time, to weigh
his words, and to carefully consider the way he presents himself, and
while it took a while (about seven months!) for his responses to wing
their way into my possession, they made the wait worthwhile. On top
of their in-depth, thoughtful nature, they might just be the last of their
kind. Their creator swears that this is the last Necros Christos interview
that he’ll do for a very, very long time, if ever again. Even if the still-
gestating ‘Domedon Doxomedon’ does turn out to be their last earthly
evocation, rest assured that their legacy shall remain forever deathless
in spiritual evil.

and, perhaps, final album on the way, the band clearly have nothing Who knows what the future holds, but for now, descend into the
left to prove. To know them is to love them, and to be ignorant of their burning chamber of god, and feast your eyes.
existence or of their message is to cheat yourself out of one of modern

As a longtime student of theology, mythology,
the occult, and the esoteric, you’ve clearly
gained a deep understanding of and
appreciation for the religious rites and
theories of a great many other cultures; your
tributes range from Hathor to Kali, touch upon
Christianity and Judaism, reference ancient
Middle Eastern tomes, hail the lord of Hell and
whisper of voodoo. Cultivating such a close
relationship with the words of the dead and the
magical must have had some effect on your
personal belief systems. Do you put faith into
any of the religions and dogmas you invoke?
[KK]
“All is One; and One is All. That should be
the fundamental thought of my spiritual
studies, although my belief is a complex
tangle consisting of many systems,
fragments, ideas. I agree with the main
three concepts of Ari Isaak Luria (1534-
1572) regarding his mystical states named
Zimzum (the self chosen exile of Ain Soph
eternal to create), Shevirath ha-Kelim (the
breaking of the vessels while not being able
to stand the supernatural light of Ain Soph;
the mystical fall of Adam Qadmon) and
Tiqqun (the new aeon, recreation). Ah, and
yes, I indeed feel a certain connection with
parts in Hinduism and old Persian, Zoroastrian
worship. Concerning Christology, I must
seriously admit that I’m a follower of many
thoughts according to ancient Christian
Gnosis as well as Sethian Gnosticism. It might
shock people to the bone, but I do, for real,
believe in Christos, but seriously not as the
Church ‘sees him’. While speaking about that
complex tangle of mine, this man has indeed
walked the earth, the sands and plains
of unfruitfulness and desolation. He was a
prophet, anointed by the all-existing light
and will of Ain Soph and by far not the only
son/soul of God, nor was he without failure.
But he knew about the source of all sources
and he spoke in many tongues. Politics were
omnipresent though, even in ancient Galilee
and Palestine and so his words were unheard
and fear about His presence conquered the
hearts of the nonbelievers. His inner nature,
his real nature, was set free while being
crucified; what the disgusting Church made
out of it is another, truly sad story. That’s
about Christos within me, and within the
name of The Temple.
“Necros translates as dead, but it also
represents the ancient lord of all lords of evil,
waiting and wailing in dimensions unknown.
The End-Entity lurking in the shadows to
deceive us and getting stronger by every sin
we create. What do I mean with ‘sin’? Not
the ordinary type of Christian thinking, we
simply do not hear His word anymore. Have
we ever heard it though? Actually once,
when only the Aleph did intonate, vibrated
from Mount Sinai and sent fear into the hearts
of His people. Since the all-souls-containing
pool of primordial Adam Qadmon broke
in millions of pieces (Shevirath ha-Kelim),
we’re damned to multiple, sheer endless soul
incorporation until we shall be able to re-
enter His chambers of light. We haven’t been
blessed and touched by His light since ages,
and now, at present times, we have to feel
His darkness. We all shall see the supernatural
light of Ain Soph clothed in abysmal darkness
when the time has come. Soon, I tell you.”
Throughout your career, your lyrics and song
titles have shown a particular interest in occult
female figures, from Ereskigal to the Witch of
Endor, Kali to Mary Magdalene, to the cursed
Virgin herself. It’s interesting to see a band who
worships Death spare so much time for the
bearers of Life; is there any connection here?
[KK]

54 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 “Life and Death, just two words for the same
process of entering a world in its own, the
bearers of life are the bringers of death, isn’t
it so? But hey, yes, you’re right, the female
aspect has been of great importance in
my lyrics. I hardly can explain why, let’s say
that in my subjective point of view, women
possess real might while being aesthetically
gifted in comparison to men. Maybe that’s
a slight attempt of explaining my addiction
to evil female characters amongst historical
figures, demons and witches.”
‘Doom Of The Occult’s lyrical theme
largely revolves around the mysteries and
occult of the East, ancient Egypt and its
rites of death and also a beautiful hymn
album will be our
carved in the name of the Hindu occult
deity Kali on the hymn ‘Doom Of Kali
Ma – Pyramid of Shakti Love – Flame of
Master Shiva’, which interestingly contains
many words in Hindi. I must also commend
your dedicated effort in pronouncing the
words clearly and distinctively. It would
have sounded more amazing if any Indian
instruments, especially the sitar could
have been incorporated within the song
structure, though. [AS]
“The sitar, what an unbelievable instrument,
isn’t it? In my worthless opinion, it is one of
the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful
of all stringed instruments. Did you know that
the Indian Veena is said to be created by
Shiva himself? When hearing classical Indian
music, I must say that all of it must have been
created by Shiva himself as it can’t get more
complex, mind-blowing and beautiful. My
favourite album of the last few months is
from the female Indian khyal master Kaushiki
Chakrabarty. The album is called ‘Pure’ and
although a live recording, I never heard the
Raag Madhuvanti in any greater perfection.
Let me tell you that I simply adore musicians
as Chakrabarty, Ustad Shahid Parvez,
Nikhil Banerjee, Purbayan Chaterjee, Ali
Akbar Khan, Girija Devi, Ustad Irshad Khan,
Hessamoddin Seraj, Salar Aghili, just to name
a few. Classical Indian and Persian music is
definitely the absolute and main source of
inspiration for me. By the way, I started to
take sitar lessons in autumn 2011. I found a
“Our next
magnum opus”
great teacher/guru called Sebastian Dreyer,
who dedicates his whole life and musical
career to classical North Indian music only. I
just attended one of his concerts yesterday,
what an unbelievable master and musician
he is. He will, of course, have his guest
appearance on ‘Domedon Doxomedon’,
the whole album will have a lot of Indian
influences musical wise, you’ll all see and
hear in years to come, I promise.”
How is the preparation for the album going on?
[AS]
“As all of you might know by now, it
shall indeed be the last album of Christos
Necros. And I really want to have kind of a
controversy to fade from the scene. Some
people shall say, ‘yes, it is the final album
because what could come afterwards?’. The
rest might say things like, ‘well, finally, it is the
last album and may we thank God for it, as
it is so fucking strange and different from the
beginning that the end was unavoidable’.
“‘Domedon Doxomedon’ is a Coptic/
Greek term meaning lord of the
house, lord of glory. It represents
an aeon of the Supreme One to
come, so let me quote: ‘Domedon
Doxomedon appeared, the eternal
realm of eternal realms, with thrones
in it, powers around it, and glories and
incorruptions (The Holy Book of the
Great Invisible Spirit, Nag Hammadi
Codices III, 2; IV, 2)’. The whole text is
inappropriately called Gospel of the
Egyptians since the late 1940s and
unfortunately, a lot of translations bear
this strange name. But the record in
itself is shaping more and more; I’ve
approximately 70 percent of the metal songs
written and more than a bunch of ideas
for all the temples and gates. It will be our
magnum opus nonetheless, featuring nine
temples, nine songs and nine gates.”
The ‘9.9.9’ symbology (‘Darkness.Damnation.
Death’) expressed by you is a visually alluring
concept and somehow, it explains the
essence of reaching a higher plane of spiritual
transcendence with material death. Death is
not the end but the beginning of something
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 55
 getting darker yet more epic all the time.

“Yes, I did rituals, some of In the end, I seriously feel that it’s not my
decision. I know damn well that a lot of
artists out of the black/death/occult rock

them should better be never area say things like that, but I couldn’t care
less as I simply have to speak for myself.”

remembered again due to

Your previous band, Drowned, has slowly
but surely resurrected itself in the shadow
of 2006’s flawless ‘Viscera Terrae’. Necros

their horrible content”

Christos undoubtedly takes up a lot of time
and energy for you and Tlmnn Shepherd, but
one hopes that you’ll be able to participate
in the proceedings. Can you tell me a bit
about what Drowned has planned for the
grand; something which is beyond the realms predominantly on the desecration and coming year, and the coming album? [KK]
of mortal understanding. Is this concept blaspheming of Christ, but starting with ‘Triune “I sadly can’t, sorry. I had to get myself
synonymous with some of the teachings of Impurity Rites’ your lyrical focus seemed to out of Drowned’s activities, mostly due to
the Qabbalah Mysticism? Have you ever tried shift into more esoteric realms and, musically time. As far as I know, Mr Shepherd and his
to achieve ‘transcendence’ through means of speaking, ushered in a greater emphasis new neophytes have several songs written
mediation or by performing any rituals? [AS] on unorthodox, exotic instrumentation and and a full-length isn`t out of sight, that’s the
“This ritual kind of thing, I was asked that dynamics. What caused this shift? Was it the good news here. I told Tlmnn many times,
question very often and I will not answer organic growth of a band approaching its that I would be there if he needs a vocalist,
fully to that, sorry. Just that yes, I did rituals. zenith, or a conscious decision? [KK] but honestly, I would prefer if some of his
I even did a lot in my early 20s, some of “I never witnessed my musical creation musicians would take care of the vocal
them should better be never remembered process being a conscious decision, from duties. I really would like to see Drowned
again due to their horrible content. In time to time, I got/get hit by inspiration playing live again, but as it won’t be with
contrary, meditation, or call it ‘praying in and then it flows out of me. Just recently, me though, it shall obviously be better if
a spiritual way’ in my case, is something, I did compose a new Ra Al Dee song and one of his mates does the vocals on the
which I try to do every day. I understand it took only three days to finally get the recording. This band deserves so much
darkness as kind of an absence from Ain piece done. With Ra Al Dee, we might get more recognition, let’s hope they will come
Soph eternal, the essence of all essences, an outstanding offer to perform in 2013; if up with something new and outstanding
so yes, indeed the ddd-999 symbology has so, we simply have to record at least a mini very soon. The same goes for Red Abyss,
serious links to Qabalah mysticism.” album as the demo dates back to 2009. the new band of former Drowned
“Speaking about Necros Christos again, drummer Theby. I am seriously longing for a
The Necros Christos opuses are represented it’s nearly the same writing process. I demo as I know this man breathes obscure
as a mass with beautifully orchestrated can’t say why my compositions are death metal.”
Temples and Gates, which introduce the always becoming longer, more obscure,
main hymns. These instrumentals create a indoctrinated strange rhythm patterns and
very majestic environment with a ritualistic
demeanour, and makes Necros Christos
stand apart from an average extreme metal
band. I was especially blown away by the
Eastern sounding acoustic ‘Gates’, which
reminded me of your side project, Ra Al Dee
Experience. What is the significance of this
project’s name, and what do you have in
store for RADE? How did your most recent live
performance, in Dublin, Ireland, go? [AS]
“The band’s name is a simple mixture
between both Ben Ya Min Al Dee’s and
my artist name(s), Ra and Dee, the ‘al’
originally being the main article in Arabian
though. Honestly, it obviously makes no
real sense between our names, but I loved
the sound of Ra Al Dee Experience, so we
went with it since the beginning. You know,
Ben and me, we already played little
occasions here and there years and years
ago, like at fests of my music schools for
whom I work, even before we decided to
go for a serious two piece.
“The Dublin show was a great kick in the
ass, it went so well and everyone seemed
to be really into it, so we will definitely
play more shows in a not so distant future.
Imagine mostly metal brethren and sisters
sitting on the floor while two guys perform
strange oriental music; priceless, if you ask
me. I’m so damn thankful about everyone
who was there and gave us such nice
feedback, so I really hope RADE has some
kind of a slight, yet successful future.”

The last decade has seen you truly hone your

craft, and incorporate more and more of
your atmospheric and occult influences into
the compositions. Earlier releases focused

56 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

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 Necrocurse

DEATH GRIP
When we reviewed Kill-Town Deathfest last issue we didn’t expect NECROCURSE to be the
standout band. But maybe we should have. With members of Nifelheim, Sacramentum
and Runemagick we shoulda got the hint. OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN goes in search of
NIKLAS ‘TERROR’ RUDOLFSSON to get to grips with death.

Y
ou may not know the name but
you know the faces. If you’ve paid
any attention to what happened
to the Swedish death metal scene
post-‘Storm Of The Light’s Bane’
there is a fair chance you have at least one
album featuring the multi-talents of one Nicklas
‘Terror’ Rudolfsson. A man of many facets (see
sidebar), while his first weapon of choice is the
drums, he also plays guitar and bass and is
handy with a microphone. And while his first big
break came after joining Dissection wannabes
Sacramentum, in time to record their classic
debut ‘Far Away From The Sun’ at Dan Swanö’s
Unisound studio in July ‘95, the second half of the
‘90s saw him going into hyperdrive as between
1995 and 2000 he took part in no less than 12
full-lengths and various EPs under four different
banners. But fast-forward a few years and his
source of inspiration seemed to show traces of
exhaustion. Nicklas had become focused on
his main project Runemagick, a mostly studio
outlet for him and his bass playing wife Emma.
Ultimately, in 2008 after an impressive outcome
of no less than 11 full-lengths, a laconic message
on the band’s webpage simply stated that the
band, although not defunct, was now officially
“dormant” until further notice. Then came silence.
Or so it seems, as Nicklas himself explains. “What
happened exactly is that right after our last
album [‘Dawn Of The End’ in 2007] our drummer
Daniel Moilanen, who had started playing with
other bands like Engel, moved to Stockholm, five
hours drive from us. In the meantime, me and
Emma moved to Uddevalla, 60 kilometres outside
of Gothenburg, where we had our first kid so the
band got put on the backburner. I think Dan is a
fantastic drummer and I had a great relationship
with him since he joined in 2000, to the point

“I don’t want Necrocurse to

be considered as another retro
death metal band”
58 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
where I don’t see myself doing Runemagick
without him anymore. But the band ain’t dead,
it’s just on hiatus. As a matter of fact, I still have a
few unused riffs on tape somewhere and we’ve
received a few gig offers lately so who knows,
especially since I know Dan is up for it.”
However this hiccup never actually stopped
Nicklas from playing and composing music
and unbeknownst even to him, he was already
planning his next move. “Since the demise of
Deathwitch and as Runemagick had moved
away from its black and death roots into a more
doomish direction during the later years I guess
a part of me started to miss playing those kind
of frantic and aggressive riffs. I got bored with
Deathwitch and thought our last album ‘Violence
Blasphemy Sodomy’ didn’t turn out that good, so
I felt it was time for it to die and start something
new. So around late 2004, I started gathering
ideas for an unnamed project in that vein. I didn’t
have a name or anything, it was just me sitting in
my small home studio, putting ideas on tape and
recording everything by myself. Soon enough, I
completed a whole track by myself called ‘Songs
Of A Thousand Funerals’, which can be found
as an exclusive bonus on the tape version of
our ‘Insane Curse Of Morbidity’ EP as a matter
of fact, and that was the unofficial beginning of
Necrocurse, although it took few extra years to
really make it a reality.”

I
ndeed, for some time, this beast
remained a solo thing, shared only
with selected friends, until 2009 when
Nicklas reconnected with high school
friends of his; bass player Johan
Bäckman and guitar player Stefan Rodin who
were no strangers to his musical career. “We
all grew up in Uddevalla and went to the same
school. Actually, Johan and I were in the same
class whereas Stefan was a year younger. At first,
it was just me and Johan doing a thrash/death
band called Eternal Pain but in 1989 we formed
Masticator with Stefan and Robert Pehrsson on
second guitar, who years later would do vocals
for Deathwitch and is now in Death Breath. It
was pretty primitive death metal and it lasted for
about two years, long enough to put out a demo
and do few local shows but nothing more. After

that, we all followed our own path – for example
Stefan, who lived in Stockholm for a while, played
with John Norum from Europe! But we remained
in touch and ironically we all moved back here
around the same time for some reason so we
started to see each other on a regular basis
and soon the idea to jam together for old time’s
sake came on the table. Next thing I knew, I was
showing them those unused riffs and we took it
from there.”
two different seven-inches released through
Norway’s Aftermath Music, with whom Nicklas
had worked previously with both The Funeral
Orchestra and Runemagick. “Very quickly,
we realised Hellbutcher was the perfect man
for the job and we officially integrated him
soon afterwards. His vocal style brings another
dimension to the music than the standard
growling.” This might seem like a surprising choice
to some as the OTT attitude of Nifelheim has

A
fter they decided upon the moniker
Necrocurse (“There are hundreds
of ‘Necro’ bands around but what
the fuck, it tells you right away what
we’re all about, don’t you think?”),
they decided to start working on songs in their
home studio set up in their rehearsal room, with
Nicklas on vocals (“We knew this was temporary
as I didn’t want to end up doing drums and
vocals at the same time”). Eventually, Hellbutcher
from Nifelheim was brought in during the spring
of 2010 through bass player Stefan, initially as just
a session member so the band could complete
their first five songs, four of which ended up on
always been a love/hate thing, not mentioning
the insane amount of studs the Bröderna
Hardrock use on stage. “Well, we love ‘80s
heavy metal of course, but I guess that our stage
antics are on a more medium level compared
to them,” Nicklas adds with a chuckle. “Overall,
we’re not as Satanic as Nifelheim but are more
into horror and that kind of subject but we have
a few blasphemous lyrics still. And Hellbutcher
did contribute with a few lyrics for the upcoming
album so he obviously brought his vibe as well.”
Even if the latter remains vague about what’s
going on in the Nifelheim camp (“I don’t want
to talk about it but do not worry, we’re alive and
well and we will have big announcements in the

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 59

 coming months!”), he says it came naturally, “as
I live in the same area so we kept bumping into
each other anyway!”
W
hen we caught up with the
band, they were locked up
in Andy “King Diamond”
LaRocque’s new studio Sonic
Train Ranch working on the mix
of their upcoming debut full-length, to be called
‘Grip Of The Dead’ and to be released early next
year on Pulverised Records. When asked about
how the material sounds compared to their first
two 7”s, while Hellbutcher thinks that it has more
“1980s influences, even if it’s still quite brutal”,
Nicklas simply states that it is, “Faster and better
than our early stuff, simply because there is now a
bunch of us composing instead of just me. I guess
you can simply call it death metal but I don’t
want it to be considered as another retro death
metal band. Our guitarists might love the Boss
Heavy Metal pedal but no-one needs another
Entombed clone.”
When asked if he thinks Necrocurse will
appeal to both Nifelheim and, say, Swordmaster
or Deathwitch fans, you can tell that Nicklas ain’t
the kind of musician who really plans anything.
“What can we say, if you like real metal I’d find it
hard to understand if you do not like Necrocurse,”
he laughs. “It’s not that it’s a completely different
style of music but we have not had a plan to do
exactly the same thing as before either. It’ll be
inevitable to find red threads since Hellbutcher
sings and composes music in both Necrocurse
and Nifelheim or with any of my past bands since
I did compose a good chunk of the music. But
to us, Necrocurse is no project, it’s a band on its
own. And we’re just getting started, believe
us!”
www.Necrocurse.com
“I started to miss
playing aggressive riffs”
60 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
THE MANY LIVES OF
NICKLAS ‘TERROR’ RUDOLFSSON
Necrocurse is far from being Nicklas ‘Terror’
Rudolfsson’s first proper band. He’s been
involved in the underground since 1989. Here’s
the lowdown on some of the most notorious
bands he’s been, or still is, involved with.
DEATHWITCH
Status: split-up
Lifespan: 1995-2005
Style: Primitive thrash/death
Favourite track/album: “‘Dawn Of Armageddon’
from 1997, even if the sound was pretty thin
and shitty.”
“I consider this to be more of a project than a
band. It had so many different members involved
through the years that I can’t hardly remember
myself who they were! Usually, what we would do
was to book a studio then drink beer, write music
and record it in two days, with more or less good
results. Ironically enough, I recently dug out two old
demos recorded before the first record (‘Triumphant
Devastation’) and they sound really raw!”
THE FUNERAL ORCHESTRA
Status: active (“in a project way”)
Lifespan: 2002-???
Style: Slow doom metal
Favourite song/album: “‘Apocalyptic Trance
Ritual’ on ‘Feeding The Abyss’ (2003).”
“It all started around 2002 more as a project that
is active on and off. I used different members and
there might a new album coming out in 2013,
even if we haven’t been very active for quite some
time now”
RUNEMAGICK
Status: on hold
Lifespan: 1990-????
Style: Dark death metal
Favourite song/album: “‘Darkness Death Doom’.”
“My longest running band as it’s been around
since the early ‘90s, with many different musicians
involved and several breaks along with the way.
The music has evolved from a quite straight-
forward style to a more dark and doomy style of
death metal. Not much has happened with it for
quite some time now but I won’t say you won’t
hear from Runemagick ever again just yet.”
SACRAMENTUM
Status: split-up (“as far as I know, I myself
dropped out from the band in 1999”)
Lifespan: 1990-1999
Style: “Melodic thrash/death/black metal I guess,
even if I prefer the not so melodic parts.”
Favourite track/album: “‘Thy Black Destiny’
(1999).”
“Let’s see, as I remember it, I was first asked to
help them as a session musician on drums around
1994. I think it was Johan Norman who asked
me first because he had already started or would
start playing guitar with Sacramentum. We were
neighbours and had played together in various
projects previously so it felt kinda natural. Then
I became a more or less permanent member
rather quickly while Johan left for Dissection. The
more time passed, the more I got involved in the
songwriting and arrangements. This being said, it’s
been years since I haven’t put any of our records on
to be honest.”
SWORDMASTER
Status: split-up
Lifespan: 1993-2000
Style: Thrash/death metal
Favourite track/album: “I think the last album
‘Moribund Transgoria’ is the best, although I’m
not very happy with my drumming on it.”
“Initially, I was asked to jump in as a session
musician on drums when they recorded a bonus
track for a mini vinyl LP. Around 1996 I was asked
to join permanently by Emil Nödtveidt and we
quickly began writing music together; me, him and
the singer Whiplasher. We released several albums
and did a lot of gigs around Europe. Three of those
guys are now playing in Deathstars.”
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 Jaguar
STILL
‘Axe Crazy’ is a NWOBHM anthem. There’s no denying that. But did you know that
JAGUAR are still going strong and still gigging. As they prepare to bring their crazed,
speed metal, pogo-stick antics to London in December MAREK STEVEN tried to not
get all fanboy and got GARRY PEPPARD to tell us his ‘Master Game’ plan.
B
ristol’s Jaguar are a pioneering band
of the prime NWOBHM era. Forming
in 1979 shortly after leaving school,
their first gig was just prior to the
coining of the term NWOBHM by rock
critic Geoff Barton. Guitarist Garry Peppard and
bassist Jeff Cox were joined by singer Rob Reiss
and the then 16 year old Chris Lovell on speed
beats. The band were typically influenced by the
usual metal gods Motörhead, Priest, Sabbath,
UFO and Deep Purple but Garry particularly was
also a huge fan of punk. As a result they quickly
developed a distinctly fast and raw sound that
influenced the birth of speed metal. Jaguar,
alongside their friends Raven and Venom were
the fastest bands around in the early ‘80s. Their
pioneering speed and heaviness undoubtedly
helped birth the thrash metal monster that still
stalks today.
A couple of killer demos in ‘80 and ‘81 led to
the fast-selling single ‘Back Street Woman’ (Heavy
Metal Records, 1981). The band then parted ways
with singer Rob Reiss and tracked down Paul
Merrell (ex-Stormbringer) to voice their classic
period. Legendary label Neat Records snapped
them up at this point for the 1982 single ‘Axe
Crazy’ and the fantastic ‘Power Games’ (1983)
album.
Jaguar famously took many trips to Holland with
Raven during this peak period. These tours, and
their passionate Dutch fans, were documented in
the brilliant ‘Dutch Connection’ track on ‘Power
Games’. At these shows the crowd would shout
“Faster!”, at the band who were only too happy
to oblige. Speed metal was being born as the
crowd pleaser it swiftly became.
Jaguar broke up in 1985 after the relative
failure of the comparatively melodic ‘This Time’
album (Roadrunner, 1984) but returned in 1998
62 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
CRAZY
and have been present ever since. The current
line-up has been fairly solid for the last 14 years
and the band are still winning new fans, not only
due to their back catalogue but also recent
albums and reliably killer live shows. Founding
member Garry is now joined by singer Jamie
Manton, drummer Nathan Cox and Darren Furze
on bass. Jaguar have barely changed musically
in all this time and are still one of the very best
live bands on the scene. Iron Fist caught up with
guitarist and main man Garry Peppard on the
eve of a new album and free London show in
December.
You still rip it live. How do you keep it so natural
and raw? Most of the older bands clean it up and
it can often sound rather lame!
Garry Peppard: “Well from my point of view I can
only play one way, I couldn’t clean it up if I tried!
The other guys want it to be as raw as possible
too so we’re all pulling in the same direction. I
hate bands that go soft.”
How do you feel about the recent resurgence in
‘good’ metal? You’ve played some great metal
festivals in Europe and Live Evil here in the UK.
Good times?
“Yes indeed. A lot of older bands like us are
getting back together, which is healthy for the
whole scene, I think. In mainland Europe I don’t
think the interest has ever gone away as we’ve
been doing festivals there since 1999. Maybe it’s
younger metal fans discovering there’s life in us
old dogs yet.”
Have you seen any other old bands playing now
that you like?
“Obviously there’s Maiden and Motörhead to
name two. But we’ve played with some great
older bands like Diamond Head and Vicious
Rumors. Elixir are pretty good too.”
Back to Jaguar, you always seem very humble
considering how good and ahead of the time
your music was. You lack any bitterness that
some bands seem to suffer from slightly. Is that
the case?
“I keep my bitterness well hidden. Seriously
though, I suppose I could be bitter if I thought
about it. But I think the way things turned out
is down, in a large part, to mistakes of our own
making. If I look back at decisions we made, I
think ‘What the hell did we do that for?’. With
hindsight of course that’s easy to say. You could
also argue that we didn’t get that required slice
of luck that all successful bands have somewhere
in their history.”
Well there is still time. But did you – at the time –
notice the brats in the States around ‘83 stealing
the Raven, Jaguar, Venom sound? Do you think
Metallica did steal riffs?
“[Laughs] Yes, the new kids on the block!
Metallica stole our song ‘Stormchild’ and turned it
into one of their own songs. I’ve got a copy of the
interview at home where Lars laughs about it and
admits it. I’ve lost count of the number of people
who’ve told me I should sue them. It’s flattering
though. Lars owes me a beer or two!”
Would you be happy to accept it if I said you are
one of the most underrated guitarists around?
“I would say thank you very much. I don’t hear
that said very often [laughs].”
Well no problem… what do you use – gear wise
to get your sound? Anything special? And is it the
same as always or has it varied over the years?
 “Jaguar has been a part of
my life since I was 19 years
old. If Mick Jagger can keep
going then so can I”

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 63

 Jaguar
“I guess, as people say, with guitar players, a
large part of their sound is literally in their hands.
Gear wise though I’m a Gibson and Marshall
man, although I have got other amps I can use.
I’ve got a couple of genuine old ‘80s pedals on
my board that I use too. Maybe they help. But
really I think it’s all in the way I play.”
Does Jaguar feel very special and personal to
you now after so long?
“Yeah, I guess so as it’s been a part of my life
since I was 19 years old. It won’t be there forever
but for now I can handle it. If Mick Jagger can
keep going then so can I.”
Let’s go back to the 1979 formation. Does
anything stand out about the way you formed?
“Yes, how young Chris Lovell was when he joined.
He was only 16 years old and was driven around
by his mum. In fact for the first couple of years
none of us were old enough to hire a van. We
always had to get
someone to drive for
us.”
What were your
general early
influences?
“The Sex Pistols, The
Ramones, I’m an old
punk at heart. Steve
Jones was and still is
one of my favourite
guitar players. I was
also a massive UFO and
Motörhead fan and
Maiden totally blew me
away when I saw them
in 1979. I saw Van Halen
in 1978 and they were
awesome. All power
and energy! I’d never
seen anything like it.”
Was late ‘70s Bristol
isolated metal-wise? Or vibrant?
“Well, in my view Bristol never really had a metal
scene, back then or now. Metal shows at the
Colston Hall and The Granary Club were great
but that was about it. It’s more about the dance
and trip hop thing in Bristol.”
So punk was an influence on your playing. Was
there as much of that around generally in the UK
as we hear there was?
“In Bristol, where I grew up, I saw all the greats;
The Clash, Ramones, Stranglers and so on, but
that was generally pre-1979. My love of it never
went away though, it just got mixed in with my
metal influences I guess.”
Heavy Metal Records put out the early Jaguar
stuff. ‘Back Street Woman’ sold 4,000 copies
quickly but they didn’t repress it. That seems a bit
silly of them?
“I don’t remember why they didn’t repress, but
yes, it does seem silly. My guess is we’d moved
swiftly on to Neat Records and so didn’t follow
issues up.”
Neat Records seems so untouchably cool now
to the new generation of metal heads. Do you
agree?
“Signing to Neat was a dream for us as they had
the coolest bands like Raven and Venom. We
jumped at the chance to join them. They were
THE label for NWOBHM at the time and we were
honoured. Yeah, suffice to say we were real
happy.”
You were close with Raven and did many ‘Dutch
Connection’ trips. Any good stories of memories
64 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
from that time?
“I have so many great memories from that
period. I have to say that Raven were not only
our friends but a big influence on us. Again
they had the massive energy thing going on. I
remember Rob Hunter being one of the most
original drummers I’d seen. His drum fills were
unique and he insisted on travelling everywhere
by train.”
Are you still in touch with the Raven guys?
“Yes, on email and stuff. We hope to play with
them again sometime.”
And Venom’s Cronos worked at Neat’s studio
right? Was he as fun to hang out with as he
appears?
“He worked on ‘Power Games’ with us and was
a great guy, but we never hung out with him
socially or anything. I never got to know him really
well.”
You have loads of great tracks in your catalogue
but ‘Axe Crazy’ seems to be the stand out for a lot
of people. Do you have a favourite to play?
“It does doesn’t it? And there are a few covers
of it on YouTube. People always call out for it
when we play live and we’re happy to oblige!
As to a favourite, well that’s probably ‘Dutch
Connection’.”
“Lars owes me
a beer or two!”
And ‘Power Games’, is such a catchy and fast
album too. Was it a fun one to record?
“I’m not sure fun is the word. We only had five
days to record it so we weren’t too pleased
about that, as I recall. It could have been so
much better if we’d had more time. When I
asked Dave Wood, the then owner of Neat, for
more time he asked me if I was going on a fishing
holiday. But I’m proud of the way in which people
hold the album in such high regard.”
Do you regret the somewhat more melodic sound
of the (still excellent) 1984 follow-up album ‘This
Time’?
“I regret the fact that we changed our style so
dramatically. What a career killing mistake that
was! I don’t regret the album though. There are
some decent songs on it and I’m very proud of it.
All we were trying to do was to write better songs.
But unfortunately we never thought what our
fans might make of it. I’ve met people since who
have apologised for giving me a hard time about
it back then and they tell me actually they quite
like the album, which is nice.”
Coming nearer to the present day then. How
did you find new singer Jamie Manton for the
reformation in the late ‘90s?
“We stole Jamie from another band! Nathan had
seen him playing with this particular band and
thought he would be perfect for us. So we set
about trying to track him down. Eventually he did
find him and luckily for us Jamie accepted our
invitation.”
He’s an awesome front man. The pogo stick is his
trademark I guess?
“[Laughs] Yes he is! The
pogo stick mic stand
is unusual. In fact I’ve
never seen another
singer with such a thing.
He falls off it now and
again and of course
we’ve got to watch our
feet when we play!”
Your second era has
been quite a while now.
Is it still building?
“Yes it has, it’s been
twice as long as it was
the first time around.
Still building? Yep,
although everything
takes a long time to
get together now, not
being 21 anymore and
having families and
stuff.”
How does it feel to be
considered a bit of a metal legend by the new
generation underground scene?
“I’m not sure about ‘metal legend’ [laughs]. If
we’ve influenced some bands then that’s great
and it definitely makes me proud. As does seeing
bands covering our songs, that’s brilliant!”
Are you looking forward to your London solo show
in December? You’re playing ‘Power Games’ in
full, right?
“Oh yeah, I’ve had a look at the venue’s website
and it looks like a proper old rock venue. It’s
gonna be a good ‘un.”
Any advice for young bands starting up now and
expecting glory?
“Yeah, don’t bother! No, only joking. Life for
new rock bands is totally different to when we
were first starting up. There are virtually no major
label deals to be had anymore and web issues
to contend with. It’s never been more difficult.
On the other hand there are still loads of smaller
labels out there and being able to do it yourself
on the web is great. So opportunities are still out
there. Bands will need to be resilient and stick at
it. Learn your trade. Oh, and not forgetting that
slice of luck of course.”
Do you have any spare copies of the demos lying
around? Wink wink!
“[Laughs] Nice try Marek! On cassette no. On CD
yes, no problem!”
Jaguar play The Old Blue Last in London
on December 29th 2012
www.MySpace.com/JaguarOnline
 Thor

ONLY
THE
STRONG

66 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

K
eep It True Festival, Germany, 2011. The storm is coming thick and fast and
whenever there’s a flash of lightning some guys start singing ‘Lightning Strikes
Again’. Suddenly there’s a crash of thunder and another group of guys on the
opposite side of the field started singing ‘Thunder On The Tundra’. It’s a moment
we’ll never forget, and proves how much THOR MIKL has become a heavy metal legend.
Once we heard he was working on a new album DAVE SHERWOOD tracked down the hero
to talk movies, music, comics and hot water bottles.
I can’t honestly think of any other acts hailing from
Canada during the early to mid-’70s who were
playing heavy rock and metal; do you think you
were the first? Were you aware of any other bands
playing with such force back in the day?
“There was no one else in the world who not only
played heavy rock/metal with such force but
also performed the concept of the superhuman
frontman who could bend steel in his bare hands
in the arena while singing and performing theatrics
on stage. I started the first Muscle Power Gladiator
rock band ever. There were other rock acts in
the ‘70s as the tag heavy metal was becoming
known, but we set out to be something of an
anomaly. My first metal band Centaur started the
ball rolling. That evolved into MIKL Body Rock, then
Thor and The Imps before deciding on the name
Thor because of our thunderous sound.”
Thor And The Imps was with guitarist Frank Soda,
but you released your debut album, ‘Muscle
Rock’, and then parted ways. What happened?
“Frank Soda is an amazing guitarist. I met Frank
years ago in 1974 when I came back from
performing in Hawaii and was doing a tour of
Northern BC. I was very impressed with him. So
much so that I contacted him later in the year to
join MIKL Body Rock for our Eastern US/Canada
tour. It was during that tour we decided on
becoming more theatrical as bands like KISS and
Alice Cooper were causing such a sensation. This is
how the concept of The Imps came about. Frank,
Charles Towers and James Lord were smaller
musicians so they became the Imps and I would
become Thor and wear all these wild costumes.
Frank and I had our show down pat. In one scene I
would lift Frank up with one arm while he played a
blazing lead. I would then throw him to the crowd
who would catch him. In 1976, after the success of
our album ‘Muscle Rock’, we performed with KISS
at Maple Leaf Gardens. Later I signed a deal to
star in a big production called ‘Red, Hot And Blue’
at the Aladdin in Las Vegas as well as performing
on National TV at Caesars’s Palace on the Merv
Griffin show. We had the same manager at the
time and so Frank kept on touring as Frank Soda
and the Imps. We parted ways then to pursue our
separate careers but came back years later to
tour and record again.”
Whilst starring in those various productions during
that period did you miss the music? Did you ever
have a direct dream or motive as to what you
wanted to do as a kid?
“Yes. My heroes were The Beatles, The Yardbirds,
The Doors but also Steve Reeves [Mr Universe and
star of the movie Hercules] and George Reeves
[TV’s ‘Superman’]. So I loved movies and music.
That was my dream. To become a bodybuilding
champion, a rock star and a film star. I achieved
all those goals.”
At what age did you first get into pumping steel?
“I started pumping metal at seven years old,
inspired by ‘Superman’ and ‘Popeye’ comics. My
muscles grew quite rapidly. I had good genes. I
then started entering bodybuilding championships
at 12 years old.”
Thor has not always been just about the music has
it? Your physique and body-building enthusiasm
has also played a big part in the band, so much
so, that ‘Gladiator Rock’ was born. How did
you entwine pure heaviness with heavy-lifting
mayhem?
“I would always listen to heavy rock music while
pumping iron as part of my training before
entering a physique championship. Metal music
and muscle seemed a perfect meld.”
In 1977 you were back in the studio with a brand
new line up and writing songs simply under the
name Thor. Later that year was the beginning of
something special with the full-length, ‘Keep The
Dogs Away’. Did much touring come out of that
album?
“We were to tour arenas and stadiums in USA and
Canada, starting in early 1978 for the ‘Dogs...’
album. Some issues between the label and
management caused a hold on the already
booked 30 city tour. It was something to do with
3D lazers and hologram monsters that were to be
part of the show. I went to Las Vegas temporarily
to work out a new show under my own supervision.
While there I developed some new moves,
theatrics and wrote new songs while starring in a
production called ‘Space Circus’. I decided not
to let the mayhem and enigma of the manager/
label squabble get in my way. I took the reins and
put together a major 35 city tour of North America
from 1978-79. We promoted the album and the
tour was a success with sold out concerts in every
city.”
“I would lift Frank Soda
up with one arm while he
played a blazing lead”
The following two releases ‘Unchained’ (1983) and
‘Only The Strong’ (1985) are two very powerful
records – must haves for any heavy metal fan.
How were things different for Thor this time round?
“It all worked out tremendously. After years of
touring America from 1979-83, almost 300 nights
a year, the band signed with Mongel Horde
Records. Motörhead‘s manager Doug Smith
heard the album and saw there was a big buzz
on the ‘Unchained’ record in the Billboard charts.
It was selling like crazy. We signed with Greybrey
Management and Albion Records in London.
Taking a gamble, we crossed the Atlantic and
performed a show at the Marquee in London. It
went over huge. The press picked up on it and the
rest is history.”
The band then decided to take over London and
the UK at some point, right? Tell us about that...
“Yes. We were fortunate that Melody Maker
and Kerrang amongst others thought we were
an interesting and very unique act. Also we
appeared on numerous national TV shows in
England. The music was pretty good too. The song
‘Thunder On The Tundra’ hit #1 on the Rock Charts
and ‘Let The Blood Run Red’ became an anthem.
I loved living and touring in England and Europe.”
So after 1986’s ‘Recruits – Wild in the Streets’ (which
was then used as the soundtrack for the film
‘Recruits’), what happened? Did you perhaps think
your music days would be over forever from this
point onwards?
“At a young age of 31, I retired. I did what I set out
to do. Become a champion bodybuilder, rock star
and movie star. I wanted to leave the scene as a
champion. I wanted to to do other things. In 1987
I never intended to ever record or perform live
again. Thor had left the building.”
Were you still taking weight-lifting seriously during
this gap?
“I went into other businesses that had nothing to
do with show business. But I kept on working out as
I always have done.”
How did the 1997 reformation come together?
Had you been in contact with the rest of the band
during the ten year gap?
“Michael Pilmer, who heads the Thor Koor fan
club in the US set it all up. The album ‘Ride Of The
Chariots’ started taking off. We decided to meet
in Orlando, Florida to shoot a new video and
record ‘Thunderstruck – Tales From The Equinox’. It
was great to see everyone again.”
Thor has almost managed to coincidently follow
the trends and patterns of heavy metal popularity.
By this I mean you were there at the beginning
in the early 70‘s and your “matured” sound
during the early ‘80s was perfectly fitting to what
was happening in England at the time in which
you moved here. Then as we reached the new
Millennium things started picking up again – along
with another reformation of the band. However, do
you feel that now in 2012, the majority of your new,
younger fans only listen or pay attention to your
earlier work?
“I am honoured. But in addition to ‘Keep The Dogs
Away’, ‘Thunder On The Tundra’, we also get
requests for songs like ‘Thunderhawk’, recorded
in 1996, ‘Call Of The Triumphant’, recorded in
2002, ‘The Coming Of Thor’, recorded in 2004,
and one of our biggest anthems ever ‘Warriors
Of The Universe’, recorded in 2006. The younger
fans seem to want to hear songs from all eras
of our career. Our new album we are currently
recording, I feel is the best of all. Thor is ageless.”
What are your thoughts on the Thor inspired
Muskelrock festival in Sweden?
“I think this is fantastic. The promoter Jacob
Hector and all at Muskelrock are wonderful and
hospitable people. We have had great shows
there and they always have a tremendous lineup
of bands.”
Thor was meant to play in London during 2010 but
it was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud.
Any plans for re-booking a show? And most
importantly, why didn’t you beat the shit out of that
volcano?
“We tried everything possible to make it. All flights
were grounded. The president of the United States
couldn’t even get there. We really wanted to
perform this festival. We are hoping to re-schedule
when the new album comes out.”
Finally, how many hot water bottles do you think
you’ve blown up in your time?
“3,496. I extend my appreciation across the miles
to all those fans who have supported the band
throughout the sands of time. We are all Warriors
Of The Universe!”
www.ThorCentral.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 67
 Vektor
Certainly no space cadets, VEKTOR’s 2011 album ‘OUTER
ISOLATION’ was one of the most exciting metal releases of
last year, and now things are set to go into hyperdrive
for the band in 2013. JEFF WAGNER meets a band
determined to go boldly where no band has gone before
ot a fan of any of this retro-thrash stuff.
How did cloning become acceptable in
a style born as an outcast spinoff of
traditional heavy metal? Thrash metal, in
its prime, was a defiant gene splice of
individuality. All the worthy bands of the 1980s put
their own unique stamp on the form. Yeah, there
were clones even back then, but in 2012 we get
nothing BUT clones. Where is the modern band
with lyrical depth and multi-dimensional music on
the level of a Holy Terror? Where are the outliers
like Blind Illusion and Realm? Where are the
visionaries? To my ears, there’s but one modern
band pushing the form forward, and that’s
Vektor. Vektor is bad ass.
Drawing from the glory days of Voivod, the
seething insanity of early Sadus, the off-the-chain
wildness of prime Destruction and inspiration
from the black metal and prog rock fields, Vektor
have been seriously hot shit to any ‘head who
first heard their ferocious demo emanations in
the mid 2000s. Fast-forward to 2012 and the band
have two mind-mangling full-lengths to their
credit (2009’s ‘Black Future’ and last year’s ‘Outer
Isolation’); their label, Heavy Artillery, recently
partnered with the legendary Earache Records;
they’re embarking on a tour with Municipal
Waste, Exhumed and Napalm Death, and at
the time of this writing just got off the road with
68 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Primordial and While Heaven Wept; they hope to
grace the studio again early next year. Things are
beyond excellent in Vektor-land.
Guitarist/vocalist David DiSanto and bassist
Frank Chin gave Iron Fist some time recently, fresh
from a move to Philadelphia, having departed
their home state of Arizona earlier in 2012.
Says David; “We were all getting bored being
stranded in the middle of the desert. We wanted
to move where we could have better touring
possibilities, and Philly is a prime spot for that.
The people are awesome and there’s a great
underground music scene there.” Adds Frank;
“Myself, along with [drummer] Blake [Anderson]
and [guitarist] Erik [Nelson] were born and raised
in Arizona and needed to move on. We’d
toured through Philadelphia before and loved it.
Everyone was super rad and the bands were sick.
It’s been great.”
riends with revivalist thrashers Havok
(Colorado), Vindicator (Ohio) and Lich
King (Massachusetts), the dudes in
Vektor are immersed in traditional thrash
from head to toe, familiar with what’s
around them in this wasteland. “Our goal was
never to copy anything that had been done
before,” says David. “We took a lot of influence
from the ‘80s thrash bands, but also have a million
different influences, from black metal to
‘70s art rock. We want to do what a lot of
the early ‘90s thrash bands did and evolve
the genre into new areas. We wouldn’t feel
satisfied if we weren’t doing something
new. If bands are just copying what’s
already been done, it’ll just end up being a
fad because people will get sick of hearing
the same thing over and over.”
Frank, on the other hand, is pretty cool
with it all. “New bands are out there killing
it, doing what they love and doing very
well. Yeah, some may need to look deeper
within for more of a creative influence, but
regardless, it’s good music and people. We
found ourselves in a pretty cool spot because
all of us appreciate the same music and
know what Vektor should sound like, but have
varied influences personally. The incorporation
of these influences made our sound.”
Perhaps taking a look at the band’s
influences will help explain what truly sets
Vektor apart. “I’ve always been heavily
influenced by black metal and ‘70s prog,”
admits David. “I thought it would be cool to
take our basic thrash influences like Destruction
and combine them with Emperor, Absu, Pink
Floyd and Rush. It sounds like it wouldn’t work,
but that’s our sound. The goal is to not rip off
any of the bands you’re into while being inspired
by them.”
Frank adds, “My main influences, other than
more obvious ones, are Iron Maiden, Hawkwind,
Motörhead, Watchtower and Neil Young. I get
the same enjoyment and inspiration from all
of them in very different ways and definitely
incorporate them into writing. All I want to
do is inspire creativity and new possibilities in
unorthodox ways, whether it be with music or
another form of art. Anything is possible.”
rank’s philosophy sounds a lot like a
certain Canadian troop who the band
are heavily influenced by. Indeed,
Voivod have been mentioned in almost
every Vektor review and the bassist
(who sports a rad Voivod tattoo) makes very
clear his passion for albums like ‘Killing
Technology’, ‘Dimension Hatröss’ and ‘War And
Pain’, while David adds; “All of us are big Voivod
fans. The early era up to ‘Nothingface’ is my
favourite. No one will ever be able to replace
Piggy, but it’s awesome that Voivod are
continuing their legacy with Dan Mongrain.”
Voivod’s influence can be heard when Vektor
slay with diminished, dissonant chords, breaking
out into odd rhythmic patterns, or focuses on
weird sci-fi subject matter, all of which they do
often. The band have often been called “sci-fi
prog thrash” and why not? They kill listeners’ brain
cells while at the same time stimulating them.
“We’re definitely progressive,” says David. “My
definition of progressive is an epic song that if you
heard the intro, middle, or ending separately from
each other you wouldn’t know it was the same
song. The song only comes together when you
hear it evolve from beginning to end. I like songs
that take me on a mental journey. Progressive
metal is just a heavier version of what bands like
Rush and Yes were doing in the ‘70s.”
One wonders if Vektor will go all the way,
morphing and changing significantly over time.
It’s the kind of evolution that pisses off more
conservative fans while being exactly what more
adventurous listeners are looking for: that big,
broad, unpredictable journey. Frank is careful
to make such a prediction, saying, “Only time
will tell. No matter what happens, it’ll be natural.
It’ll be what we want to do as a band, not what
others want or expect. For now, we’re happy
with what we write. I don’t see us changing super
drastically.”
Let’s hope not, as ‘Outer Isolation’ was one
of the best albums of 2011. It’s a hulking thing of
jagged riffs, unusual melodic configurations and
epileptic rhythmic fits. It makes you feel like you’re
hurtling through the cosmos, forgotten in space.
Each of its eight songs is epic in scope (half of
them over the 6-minute mark), all twisted up with
a serious sci-fi obsession. Vektor are special, and
they have just begun to obliterate.
Earache Records are reissuing
‘Outer Isolation’ on December 10
www.Facebook.com/VektorOfficial
While spitting out the tales
that comprise the band’s
songs – concepts based on
sci-fi inspirations ranging from
Carl Sagan’s non-fiction epic
‘Cosmos’ to ‘80s sci-fi movies like
‘Battletruck’ and ‘Spacehunter’ –
David will send chills up the spine
of any Slayer fan who misses
Tom Araya’s long dormant high-
pitched wail: a vocal talent all
too rare in extreme metal circles
these days. He admits the hawk-
like “screeeeee!!!” of Darren
Travis in the early Sadus material
was an inspiration, adding to that
list: “Schmier from Destruction,
Ihsahn from Emperor, and James
Hetfield in the ‘Kill ‘Em All’ era.
I was interested in vocalists who
had dimensionality to their
voices. I liked singers who could
combine a mid-range growl with
a high-pitched screech.”
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 69
 Sadistic Intent
Still Waiting For The Storm
Visa issues may have prevented SADISTIC INTENT from desecrating the UK this
summer, but being stuck on the other side of the Channel gave guitarist RICK
CORTEZ good chance to give Iron Fist’s JÉRÔME MARÉCHAL a potted history of
metal’s most tortured souls
L
et’s avoid the boring “can you please
introduce us …” and instead tell us the
bands that made you wanna start Sadistic
Intent? Looking back on those 20 years,
would you do anything different?
Rick Cortez: “Technically, Sadistic Intent
started in 1986 under a different name but
we changed it in 1987 when we brought in
a new vocalist. Back in those days we were
influenced by the more extreme music of that
time; bands such as Slayer, Sodom, Venom,
Destruction, Celtic Frost, Dark Angel, Mercyful
Fate, Bathory, Discharge, Extreme Noise Terror,
Death, Terrorizer, Repulsion, Death, Doom, etc.
Honestly, I knew back then that our other band
members would eventually leave the band
within a year or two and I figured that would
be the end of Sadistic Intent. All we had in
mind was to play backyard party gigs in the LA
area, especially because at that time bands
like Sadistic Intent were not allowed to play in
the Hollywood club scene: they wanted stuff
like Guns N Roses or Poison.
“We never pictured Sadistic Intent being
around for another 25 years, or even to play
outside of our hometown for that matter.
By late 1987 we had started corresponding
with diehard metalheads of the international
underground scene and when we first started
receiving fan mail from around the world it
was very motivating. Looking back, one thing
led to another, and those things kept Bay
[Rick’s brother – bass/vocals] and I into Sadistic
Intent. It got to the point where we started
accomplishing things we never even dreamed
of. It’s easy to look back now and say we
could have done this or that but that’s the way
it goes and since I don’t have a time machine,
I look at it as a learning experience.”
You’ve just toured Europe. Is there a country or a
city you particularly enjoyed?
“Well, it’s really difficult to pick because we’ve
really had several enjoyable memories. Sadistic
Intent’s very first appearance in Europe was
in Hamburg and that was a killer night for us!
We met people who came in from different
countries, the show was sold out and we
had a great time doing the gig with our old
friends Pentacle! Meeting Fenriz of the mighty
Darkthrone certainly was cool! Another special
night for us was our gig at Hell’s Pleasure in
Germany with a crowd of diehard metal
maniacs banging their heads to Sadistic Intent!
As far as being in tourist mode, we really
enjoyed Amsterdam!”
70 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
You’re working on a split 7” with Pentacle, is that
correct?
“Yes, the Sadistic Intent/Pentacle split shall
be unleashed very soon through Iron Pegasus
Records. We will be releasing two songs each
so more than likely it will be on 10”. As far as
meeting Pentacle, before the internet days,
Bay and Wannes [Gubbels, bass/vocals] had
contact through actual pen and paper. Not
only is our support mutual for each other but
also we’ve become good friends for nearly 20
years now.”
What about your first album? Let’s speak the truth,
will it ever be released?
“We’ve been through so many different
problems that we decided to put it on hold.
Seriously, it is a long story but if I told you every
detail then I think it would make sense to
everyone. We never planned for it to take so
many years to materialise, but on the positive
side, at least we’re still around and getting
back on track. I know that when the time
comes we’ll be ready to lay down our tracks
and I’m certain that the music is going to be
killer! With regards to us building up the band
over the years, some one else brought that
up to me recently, saying that Sadistic Intent
is a rare phenomena. I believe that it’s been
quality over quantity and on top of that our
attitude, we never gave a fuck about trends
that come and go, even when they told us
that our style of music was dead, we kept
marching forward.”
You spent three years in Possessed. How come
you’re not now?
“It really got to the point where we had to part
ways with our now ex-drummer and shortly
after that, Jeff Becerra decided he was better
off keeping him and hiring new members to
replace the rest of us. We had just finished
doing a USA tour supporting Danzig and Jeff
was really proud of us, at least that’s what he
told us. So when we got an email from him
a couple weeks later that he was looking for
new members, it was a bit surprising to say the
least. As far as our time in Possessed, it certainly
was an adventure with its peaks and valleys.
It began with a record label that wanted to
put together a tribute to Possessed. The label
got a hold of Jeff Becerra as well as Sadistic
Intent and asked us both if we’d be interested
in recording a song together. We both said yes
and then we got together and recorded ‘The
Exorcist’. About two or three years later I came
out with the idea of playing the song live with
Jeff so I asked him if he was interested in doing
that. I still remember him telling me that he did
not feel comfortable going back up on stage
because of his paralysis but I immediately told
him not to worry about any of that bullshit so
he said yes. About a year later we were talking
about the great response we got, that is when
he asked me if I’d be interested in doing more
Possessed songs. He told me; ‘you’re a fuckin’
bad ass Rick, I know you can do it and I’m
gonna call it Possessed’! Being into the original
band, that moment stuck with me. That is
basically how Sadistic Intent got together with
Jeff Becerra. Bay and I were Possessed fans
since 1985 so playing in the band with Jeff was
a bit surreal.
“Throughout those three years we met various
Possessed fans who had seen the original
line up who told us that we actually sounded
better than they did! We even had some new
material in the works and I did my best to keep
it in the vein of [1986’s] ‘Beyond The Gates’ so
when Jeff told me ‘fuck ‘80s Possessed, think
outside the box,’ I asked him, what did he
expect? At that time he told me he wanted to
sound different than the original Possessed, he
wanted some ‘blastbeats’ and I let him know
that it was not the style of Possessed. Then he
asked me to come out with something ‘groovy
and commercial’ so I told him, ‘Jeff, you know
how to play guitar, you come out with the
groovy, commercial stuff and I’ll come out with
the old school death metal’, but apparently
that upset him. Anyhow, we did have new
material in the works and the new music was
being written by me, with some help from Bay.
The way we look at it now, obviously the music
is ours so we’re going to take at least one of
those songs and record it for our upcoming split
with Pentacle. We’ve had several people get
in contact and tell us that regardless of any
potential obstacles which got thrown our way
they continue to support Sadistic Intent. Even
though I could refute the gossip, I’d rather not
drag things out with Possessed. All it is now is
just a part of our past.”
Let’s talk about Dark Realm Records. It’s the
record store you’re running in Downey, California,
right?
“We got inspired to open up a shop after we
toured Mexico back in 1991. We noticed that in
the different cities, they had either metal shops
or swap-meets with the vendors selling not only
the big label stuff but a lot of underground
bands as well. Back in those days, the vast
majority of metal fans in LA were not really into
 extreme underground bands, so we felt that
perhaps with our own record shop we could
help spread this music. Walking inside our
shop, you will notice all of our walls are black
and we have some chandeliers with candles
and even skulls on the main centrepiece, with
album covers and posters (several of them
autographed) of bands such as Venom, Slayer,
Bathory, Dark Angel, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost,
Destruction, Sodom, Kreator, Watain etc. As
far as what can be found on the shelves;
CD’s, LP’s, DVD’s, t-shirts, magazines/fanzines,
patches, incense burners, candle holders,
jewellery, bullet belts, etc.”

Should you be able to sign a current band to Dark

Realm which one would you pick?
“Well, there’s been several bands such as
Grave Miasma and Cruciamentum that I’ve
enjoyed but if I could only pick one at this
moment it would be Unaussprechlichen Kulten.
I really enjoy their music, it’s heavy, dark as hell
and they’re a serious band, diehards to the
metal of death!”

I’m sure veterans like you have a precise opinion

of the so-called metal scene. Please give me
yours! And don’t be afraid to go for the throat so
to speak, if needed!
“Honestly, a lot of what the mainstream media
and fans deem as metal today is really lame.

“We never gave a fuck about

When did shit like I Dated The Prom Queen [sic]
become metal? My interpretation of metal is
not nerdy, dorky bands who think just because
they growl and play fast are death metal!

trends that come and go,

Death metal is something deeper than that,
it is something philosophical yet spiritual and
perhaps those idiots may try to mock us but

even when they told us that

we don’t give a fuck! We’ve been doing our
own thing for 25 years without mainstream help
and we are devoted. The oath has not been
broken! Eternal praise to all who embrace

our style of music was dead”

Sadistic Intent, the cult is alive.”

www.SadisticIntent.com

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 71

 Dragged Into Sunlight
MURDER MIRE
Over just three songs of doom-like dirge that pull you into the
of hell DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT have created an album
that reeks of death and desolation. KIM KELLY tracks down the
mysterious cult to discover the depths of their darkness
B
eware of masked men and strangers
bearing knives. A murderous collective,
fuelled by drug lust and naked disgust
have risen from the North… and the
East… and the West. They have no
home base, per se, as much as one can imagine
them hunkered down in some dank, cracked
lair, plastered with lurid murder notices and
decapitated starlets. I couldn’t even tell you how
many of them there are. They’re fucking with
you in those new promo photos, man – no one
frame contains the same collection of bodies.
The anonymous shtick is nothing new to metalloid
scum or hip pretension machines, but with
Dragged Into Sunlight, it actually seems fitting. The
band thrives on chaos and is run entirely on dirty
smoke, coke mirrors and painful feedback. Why
should you care who they are? They don’t care
about you. It’s DIS versus their audience, and
we’ve brought a shiv to the gunfight.
“Dragged Into Sunlight comprises individuals
of a very similar mindset and it is a very close
knit collective. Anonymity comes with the
territory,” according to the vocalist, a slip of a
man with hooded eyes and a shifty demeanour.
“DIS has no mandate for the reward sought by
other extreme musicians. We opt not to divulge
72 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
guts
details as trivial as identity. The reality is that no
one ‘needs’ to know who is making music, it is
contemporary musicians who seek such mass
approval and often the mainstream publications
who facilitate the same ego trip. Simply put, it is
not in our nature.”
And even more simply put, fuck your
moneygrubbing and attention whoring. DIS
are currently caught in the midst of a small
avalanche of overseas attention, thanks in no
small part to last year’s double gut-punch of
signing to Prosthetic Records and corrupting the
stages of Maryland Deathfest, SWR Barroselas and
Roadburn. Their live performances had already
become the stuff of legend in underground
circles, and stunned bigger audiences unused
to being enveloped within DIS’ unique hell of
billowing smoke, punishing strobe lights and
hooded figures with backs turned and shoulders
tensed. They made their presence felt, and now,
the looming release of ‘Widowmaker’ is one more
long, shiny nail for the coffin lid.
“Total chaos. A 25 day trail of destruction. It
was our honour to share the stage with bands
such as Cough, Demigod, Electric Wizard and
others,” the vocalist recalls of last year’s tour
across the New World. “As a band, the US tour
and 2012 in general, demonstrated that Dragged
Into Sunlight could tour relentlessly. The reality
is, however, that it is not in our nature to do so
and we would prefer to focus on creating music
rather than elements distracting from our true
purpose. It’s unlikely that our schedules will allow
for travelling anytime soon, however, we hope to
revisit the US in the future.”
I
n a bizarre aside, several of their collective
work very “normal” white-collar jobs when
they’re not battling demons in DIS. One
wonders how they manage to balance the
need to fit into “normal” society with the
hateful, acerbic noise that they create. Could
one exist without the other’s counterbalance?
“Simply put, they co-exist as polar opposites
and one is very much an exorcism of the other. If
we weren’t doing this, the world would certainly
have a few more maniacs unaccounted for.”
He continues, going on to explain their
unorthodox approach to band life in general:
“Dragged Into Sunlight is a collective, operating
as one entity. If it were possible to define the
binding element, chances are that we would not
continue to grow. We are as bound and as driven
as one another and that is of great significance
with regards to the momentum and weight
with which Dragged Into Sunlight continues to
progress. In terms of rehearsal and writing, it
operates with great difficulty and demonstrates
the commitment of those involved. We work with
likeminded individuals and would much rather
have salvage creative input than see it wasted
working with those who don’t share the ethic that
Dragged Into Sunlight seeks to promote.”
T
heir ethic – or lack thereof, if we’re
talking morality – seeks to destroy,
rebuild, and pervert. ‘Widowmaker’
is the band’s latest release, and has
already set plenty of heads spinning
with its heft, its harrowing atmosphere, startling
beauty and just how damn different it is from its
predecessor, 2009’s ‘Hatred For Mankind’. It’s
heavy, crushingly so, but vast swathes of the
composition dwell in melancholy, simple, wordless
ambiance, the seeming polar opposite to
‘Hatred...’s howling, abrasive menace.
“‘Widowmaker’ is a different means towards
the same end and consequently, an equally
deformed limb from the same organism,” the
vocalist explains. “There isn’t so much a change
of sorts as we anticipate revisiting those influences
on ‘Hatred For Mankind’ in the future, however
‘Widowmaker’ follows a different path. It is
best described as an offshoot characterising
those influences which, although captured on
‘Hatred...’, were not obvious.
“‘Widowmaker’ started life as a shadow and
we waited for it to take shape. There existed a
very defined idea of what it would look like from
inception, however, there are so many variables
involved with such a conceptual recording that
it really is about everything falling into place. A
release with as much to offer takes a long time
to formulate naturally. We are not ones to force
creativity and consequently ‘Widowmaker’
was cultivated for an exceptional time inside a
creative vacuum. The depth and complexity of
“For Dragged
Into Sunligh
it is very muc
h on our
terms or no
terms”
the recording process is evident throughout and
that is perhaps what separates Dragged Into
Sunlight from others who feel there is a set pattern
or traditional timescale in which to produce
recordings. We are content to have waited in
order to complete the recording as intended
and to do otherwise would defeat the notion
that Dragged Into Sunlight is a completely selfish
venture for those involved. It was important to
perfect our collective efforts.”
Just as practice often makes perfect,
hesitation and deliberate action often yields
the best results. ‘Widowmaker’ is proof enough
of that. It’s 40 minutes of pain, suffering and
minor chords woven within a deceptively gentle
façade that begin with half-buried, haunting
vocal samples, the story behind which will haunt
your dreams.
“The opening voice is that of serial killer,
Tommy Lynn Sells. Currently serving time on Texas
Death Row since 2000,” our interviewee explains.
“I visited Texas Death Row in 2006 and in Sells’
own words, ‘when you look at me, you look at
hate, because I don’t know what love is’. It is an
impressively harsh reality to accept that a human
being can be completely devoid of emotion.
“Tommy Lynn Sells is an exceptionally lonely
being, in that he is best described as being
addicted to murder having reaped no reward
from the carving of human flesh other than
his own pleasure. There is no motivation other
than to cascade his own personal hell and
horrific intent onto the lives of others. The words
spoken are relevant in context as ‘Widowmaker’
shares a similar intent and passion. There is of
course always a discrete beauty to be found
in something so hideously ugly and difficult to
digest,” we are told. “Similarly to the samples
sourced, ‘Widowmaker’ is a lonely being. It
encompasses themes of depression, misery,
loneliness and loathing; perhaps a less direct
approach to that demonstrated on ‘Hatred
For Mankind’. It would be a mistake to think
t
that a conceptual release needs to tell a story.
‘Widowmaker’ as a concept comprises feelings
and vibes which are evident to the listener in the
first and every note.”
P
rosthetic Records mightn’ve have known
what they were getting into when the
time came to ink a contract with these
lot, but so far, the deal seems to be
working out alright for both parties. A
Faustian bargain is only as good as the devil’s
word, after all.
“Similarly to many products, a label assists with
recognition. The likeliness that a label will alter
the substance at hand is minimal. For Dragged
Into Sunlight, it is very much on our terms or no
terms,” our interviewee spits. “We don’t ask for
a great deal, just that an honest hand is dealt.
Dragged Into Sunlight remains very much a beast
of its own making and we continue do what we
do with or without a label. It is promising however
that Prosthetic don’t interfere and demonstrate
a similar independence. Prosthetic is a mark of
high quality having produced a remarkable back
catalogue, and this is indicative of the standards
to which Dragged Into Sunlight holds itself.”
In closing, our intrepid subject offered a
few thoughts on the state of his British peers.
“For extreme metal, the UK continues to follow
suit as it has in other genres. Producing a dirge
unfortunately overpopulated with routine
stagnation and simplification which will inevitably
fade. Whilst so many extreme acts can be
viewed as a positive characteristic, it is arguable
that the UK has little to offer in terms of distinct
creative efforts, in comparison with mainland
Europe. There are however many great extreme
acts within the UK. It is a shame that to date, the
majority remain unrecognised.”
DIS are one, at least, that cannot be
ignored.
‘Widowmaker’ is out now on Prosthetic
www.DraggedIntoSunlight.co.uk
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 73
 Funeral Throne

Resurrect The Flames

is heavy metal
All the email said was: “THIS
blackened by death from the UK. Black
metal doesn’t need ‘saving’. It needs
resurrecting.”
And attached two simple, unmastered MP3s that,
despite their lo-fi quality ignited something deep
inside. At once notes of Watain and Marduk, second
wave buzzing, and, yes, an ambitious yearning to
“resurrect” the flame weaved its way around a dank,
decrepit atmosphere.
Something Winterfylleth said in Iron Fist #1 about
black metal in the UK failing in its early promise to
create some of the world’s most innovative and
sinister music awakened the rage in the sender
Words: Louise Brown
to open the portal into the world of FUNERAL THRONE.
I craved more.
“Listen at maximum volume,” I was told. “In
darkness. Light Patchouli incense to welcome Saturn.”
I pressed play again. ‘Hypnotic Coils’ tethered me.
Tendrils of Les Légions Noires-esque craft grasped
at my throat, I was suffocated. This IS heavy metal
blackened by death from the UK. Fuck!
I’m no stranger to Funeral Throne. At the behest
of London’s premier promoters of black metal,
StrataNael, I was asked to host the horde at my house
after they opened for Watain in 2010. What followed
was a partnership of misdeeds and magick, mostly at
the bidding of their bass player and frontman M. So,

enough for them to send me such an email. And in still reeling, from hearing how intricate their new songs
return his music made me want to dig deeper. were, and eager to know what invocations had
The anguished scream at the end of the song been cast to strike such blackened gold, we took
‘Through Transforming Fire’ was enough to entice me communion and learned more of his art.

You said that British black metal doesn’t need
saving, why?
“It was a reaction against what the music press
is dubbing some UK bands at the moment. It
doesn’t need saving because it’s not truly dying.
It never went away. It needs resurrecting from
this stasis by the fires of the underworld not some
wistful Neo pagans.”
Are you an advocate of orthodox black metal?
Or are you a fan of newer bands taking the
template laid down by the elders and pushing it
to its boundaries?
“‘Advocate’ is a strange term – I equate the
truly ‘orthodox’ with honesty, conviction and a
religious fervour, so in that respect I support it. I
think in the past I was much more liberal with the
definitions I used, but as time has progressed I’ve
grown less tolerant, mainly because our ideas
have been sharpened. I only really consider
what we do/our goals when it comes to creating
anything to do with Funeral Throne. We have
‘progressive’ elements in that we don’t sound
wholly like Mayhem’s early material but I also
don’t believe we push it to being something else
entirely.
“There seem to be a lot of hipsters taking
the name black metal, perhaps because it is
perceived as being dangerous and the ultimate
Browny point in terms of counter culture. They
want to cash in on the bloody image of the
genre but in the same breath they dismiss the
traditional aesthetic and symbolism, claiming it to
be beneath them or even childish. If you play with
the Devil’s fire, prepare to get burned.”
You’re not just a fan of black metal; you like
noise, punk, occult rock, psychedelia – does that
enter the musical pattern of Funeral Throne at all?
“This is true, but I think the attitude of some of
these bands, or their honesty is more readily
absorbed – more so than the actual sound they

74 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

have. With that said we love the twin guitar
harmonies of Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden for
example, and I guess things like that can come
through. However, I can’t really listen to Funeral
Throne from a distance and am quite unable to
hear what others might hear in our sound.”
You’re from the “home of metal”, and when the
city of Birmingham put on their recent exhibition
celebrating the genre’s history did you get a
sense of pride? Why do you think The Midlands
spawns so many bastard bands?
“Being big Priest, Diamond Head and Sabbath
fans, the museum (at least for a few weeks) was
like Mecca. I can speak for all of us when I say
we are obsessed with the bands from our area –
proud is a strong word but I guess we can’t help
feeling something. Their blood is our blood. Their
frustration and need for expression is within us.
“The Midlands has doubtlessly changed much
since the late ‘60s, but instead of being noisy with
the hammer and anvil of industry, now we are left
with its silent spectre. You cannot go anywhere
in the Black Country or Birmingham without
seeing the shells of once thriving buildings. This
landscape has affected us in the same way it did
Tipton and Iommi. It’s still bleak, but we were born
in a graveyard.”
You’re an artist, right? Explain your art and how
has that played into your role in black metal?
“I work across media – be it in illustration,
giving performances in gallery settings, or
gigging with my bands. Every thought that I
want to use artistically has to be put across in
the most eloquent way possible – sometimes
it is through music but in the past it has been
through installation works or even Beuys-esque
performances.
“If you play with the Devil’s fire, prepare to get burned”
“The thing that being an ‘artist’ has taught
me is that you need to have standards – this is of
sole importance. There is so much shit out there
but there is also so much potential. It is astonishing
what some people will allow to be released in
their names. You should never feel like you have
truly completed something – you should always
struggle to leave it behind. I think if you feel you
have reached the absolute end of a project then
you are doing it wrong, you just have to be able
to let it go at some point.”
So, what’s next for Funeral Throne?
“‘Threshold’ is the title of the new album. It’s a
word that has come to symbolise so much. It
represents a very literal crossing of boundaries
as well as a farewell to chains. From personally
finding a foothold on a spiritual path to flying
to Germany to play our first European show,
‘Threshold’ is powerfully symbolic to us. The album
artwork also manifests a few facets of the word.
The more we seem to do and the more new
ground we cover, the more meaning the title
takes on.
“We’ve worked very hard for five years on
this album, scrupulously going back to tracks
to perfect them. The album is thus a document
of all the energy, sweat and each and every
experience we’ve had. We recognise that an
album isn’t an ending, rather a documentation
of an ever-evolving organism and a specific point
along a journey. That journey being our own Left
Hand path.”
What the hell does Heavy Metal Blackened by
Death mean?
“Everything from Dio-era Rainbow to [the stained
glass artist] Harry Clarke has been an influence.
We know pretty clearly what Funeral Throne
means to us and how we want to represent it.
When it comes to the sound of the new record
we knew early on that we wanted no triggering
on the drums and to make a stance against
plastic black metal that dominates the world
‘scene’. What we have created with [producer]
James Walford [Anaal Nathrakh] is heavy and
aggressive but also dynamic and a truly heavy
metal sounding record. Sabbath, Priest etc are in
our blood, and we wanted to create something
with this in mind. This is, as we are naming it:
Heavy Metal Blackened by Death!
“We’ve had some interest from labels but
we want to send it out everywhere to see what
happens. We feel so passionately about this
release that surely someone out there will hear
it and dig it and understand what it means,
especially within the context of the UK. It sounds
unlike anything else from this country. We want
nothing else than to be Funeral Throne. We’ve
sacrificed a lot for each other and we want to
play live and promote this thing to the ends of the
earth.”
Finally, you recently played in Germany? What
did you learn about Funeral Throne, yourself and
the act of breaking out of your comfort zone?
“Germany was our first show outside of the UK.
It was a great experience, the venue reached
capacity and it was flawlessly organised (after
all, they are German). The crowd was ridiculously
responsive, compared to how it can be in this
country for lesser-known bands. Some maniac
travelled across the country just to see us and that
was a special feeling. Knowing that we can have
such an effect has caused our hunger to grow.
Not even oceans can stop this band anymore
and this sense of liberation is intoxicating.”
www.ReverbNation.com/FuneralThrone
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 75
 Ruins

The Sun No Longer Rises

RUINS are putting the ice back into black metal. But how does a
band that sounds like month-long nights and snowstorms spring
from a nation famous for baking sunshine and Neighbours?
PAUL STRAUSS investigates...

ur lyrics and songs reflect music can sound anything but. These Tasmanians

“O
some of the torment in my life.
Sometimes dragging up all of
that can be punishing in itself.
We suffer for our art.”
Listening to Ruins, the words of guitarist, bassist
and vocalist Alex Pope ring true. While black metal
has never been short of face-pulling cretins who
want everyone to believe they are deranged,
tortured and generally dangerous, too often the
are a different story, however. For one, they do
sound genuinely unsettling; eerie melody and
bleak sonic voids cropping up amidst raw fury. But
over and above that, they sound truly cold.
As black metal’s second wave receded and
production values improved – irrespective of
whether you consider this a welcome change or
an abandonment of principles – it’s undeniable
that the grave-like frostiness of Dissection or the
blizzard-in-the-face blast of that first Emperor
album began to disappear. In its place, the
infernal fires of Deathspell Omega and Drudkh’s
earthy wanderings have, amongst others, seen
the genre evolve unimaginably, but few bands
have retained the power to chill their stylistic sires
possessed.
Yet Ruins unquestionably do. New album
‘Place Of No Pity’ – which, while firmly sitting in
the present day, clearly owes its ancestry to the
Norwegian and Swedish greats of the early-to mid-
’90s – is a case in point. A swirling, nasty bastard of
an album, it manages to sap all the warmth and
light from the room despite a production quality
that actually allows you to hear what the fuck is
being played. Just don’t be surprised that a band
from Ruins’ part of Down Under are playing music
that makes you think of snow-mantled peaks more
than Bondi Beach.
“People probably have a certain idea of what
they imagine it to be like in Australia,” says
Alex. “They probably think a lot about the
outback and the desert, and heat and sun.
But Tasmania is not really like that. It is a very
mild climate compared to Scandinavia or
northern Europe, for sure, but it’s certainly
nothing like the outback down here. We are
living in a winter climate much of the time.
We are close to the Antarctic.
“I live to the south of the capital city
[Hobart] at the foot of a mountain. The
whole of our island’s South-West is basically
untouchable forest wilderness. There are
a lot of similarities [to Scandinavia] when
it comes to inspiration from geography.
We are isolated and we have a small
population. I love the isolation, reclusion and

76 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 “I lov e th e iso lat ion,
rec lus ion , and th e be au ty of
th e un sp oil ed wi lde rness ”
the beauty of the unspoiled wilderness. Tasmania
is a really beautiful and mysterious place. I have
removed myself from many distractions living in my
part of the world.”
The relationship with their native surrounds
has been a recurring theme in many black metal
bands’ backgrounds, from the cultural heritage-
referencing acts (Bathory’s move into Nordic
mythology on ‘Hammerheart’ arguably being
the first) through the acts whose music is indelibly
tied to their environment – the recent “English
heritage black metal” wave being the most
recent example – to Immortal inventing a realm to
represent the landscape and isolation of Bergen.
And while Ruins certainly don’t take their love of
home in any so firm a direction they are quick to
acknowledge the influence of their location.
“This absolutely affects my music,” says Alex.
“All these things focus my concentration and
attention to the moods I like to capture in my
music, or the moods I need to summon to capture
my music at all. There are so many things about
the landscape that inspire, let alone that reclusion
via isolation that probably breeds the creativity
initially. I am not saying that I would not be an
artist making music if I was raised or lived in some
other environment, but it is fair to assume the
material would come out somewhat differently.
Everything, absolutely everything that I perceive, is
all influencing in one way or another what I am or
what I do.”
ormed in the late 1990s as a two-piece
F
(Psycroptic drummer Dave Haley
completes the line-up), Ruins cite
Darkthrone, Immortal and Satyricon as
primary influences, and while it takes
little effort to spot this – Satyricon in particular
– they are far from a throwback act. With four
albums now under their belt, they have very much
found their own style. They join a list of Australian
extreme metal acts that is far lengthier than many
further afield may be aware of – and contains
considerable quality and originality. From death/
doom legends diSEMBOWELMENT through the
evil of Deströyer 666 to the terror of Portal, the
idea that Australia’s soil is poor for brutality and
horror is up there in the urban myth stakes with the
“American black metal is all shit” misnomer. But it
seems Hobart isn’t imminently going to turn into
Tampa in 1989 either.
“When I was young – and still now, really – there
was not exactly an extreme metal scene,” says
Alex. “There is probably a lot more people trying
to do it than there used to be. When I grew up
there was really only a couple of heavier bands,
but I think there had always been good, original
bands that had inspired me to realise I could make
my own stuff. There is certainly a much bigger
audience for it now.”
That may well be part of the reason Ruins
are not exactly playing what is en vogue in the
global black metal scene. They aren’t rehashing
‘Filosofem’ or ‘The Somberlain’, they aren’t
welding Pink Floyd onto their sound, and they
absolutely aren’t joining Liturgy’s “nice black
metal” movement – if anything, they sound
like they are running screaming in the opposite
direction. They are blending their own mix of
modernity, classic black metal and their own
atmosphere – something much harder to do in
a genuine “scene” where the conventions to
conform are more pronounced.
They are also not part of the Watain-revived
Satanic branch of black metal. But that’s certainly
not to say they are unconcerned with spirituality.
“I was raised with no spirituality,” explains Alex.
“My family never attended any kind of church. I
am not Christened, none of it.
“As a result of the spiritual void, I was always
open for some stimulation in that area, so I learned
a lot as a younger person about a variety of
religious ideas and different cultures. In some
ways we are a kind of apocalyptic band; I feel we
embody the necessity of destruction and oneness
with it, a detachment from it whilst embracing it. It
is aggressive and violent and dark and primal, but
inspiring and uplifting in its way.
“This band is my church. It is my way of dealing
with my spiritual side; the ‘other’, the ‘dreaming’,
the ‘psyche’.”
Their philosophies are complex and could fill
an article this long in and of themselves. What is
less complex is why they are affecting – they do
not just write good songs, they sound honest and
present their own personality.
‘Place Of No Pity’ is out now on Listenable
www.Facebook.com/Ruins666
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 77
 Sonne Adam
DESOLATE MEASURES
Behind one of our favourite albums of 2011 there was no arm-twisting needed to speak
with Israeli metal merchants SONNE ADAM on their recent UK tour. We sent LILY
RANDALL down to quiz DAVIDOV on war, pain and old school death metal
W
hen a musical genre is
defined by the era in
which it was prolific is it
controversial to resurrect
it? For many, old school
death metal should be left to rot in its hellish
graves and only the gruesome forefathers are
allowed to bring it back to life. As the late 2000s
saw the Internet-grown death metal scene rear
its ugly head (some for better, some for worse),
it seemed old school would stay “old” with the
fresh flesh going for technicality over brutality
and haircuts over heavy metal. However, push
the weeds away from around the crypt door
and it became clear that behind the backs
of the triggered, over-produced death metal
hordes there was a new generation desperate
to recapture the gory days.
Century Media was one such label that
went grave-digging and while they’ve been
busy reissuing classics from Marduk and Krisiun
of late, it was their ear for the newer bands
playing creepy, raw, decrepit death that
marked them out. As well as snapping up
78 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
bands like Morbus Chron and Necrowretch CM
brought Isreali act Sonne Adam to our ears in
2011. That year, their debut ‘Transformation’
was thrown onto many an “albums of the year”
list and Sonne Adam finally got the recognition
they deserve.
Tonight we’re hanging out with frontman
Davidov as they prepare to support the
legendary Grave and despite the praise
heaped on his band around the release of their
debut he is still as modest as ever. When asked
about how it feels to be playing around Europe
with such an influential band he seems slightly
lost for words. “Well, Century Media have been
really supportive so we’ve been really fucking
lucky,” he admits. “It’s pretty cool, they [Grave]
were definitely a band I grew up with so it’s
really cool to see them on stage every night
and we’ve been taking notes.”
The expectation that Scandinavia and
the US holds all the cards for extreme metal
has definitely faded, as artists from the more
confined corners of the globe are unleashing
the heavy metal spirit outside of the now-
almost-obsolete tape-trading underground. As
Annick Giroux demonstrates here at Iron Fist
with her World Downfall column, the ease in
which bands can spread their gospel is ever-
growing and for Sonne Adam the escape from
their less-than-metallic homeland was thanks
to the online realm. “To be honest, we weren’t
even trying [to get signed]”, Davidov recalls.
“We literally just recorded some stuff and put it
on MySpace. We hadn’t really thought about
sending stuff out to labels.”
F
ounded in 2007 Davidov and
Dahan, who recently left the band,
were inspired by the European
scene and debut EP ‘Armed With
Hammers’ confirmed this with a
crushing blend of doom death, reminiscent of
the ‘90s greats. ‘Transformations’ continued to
drag us into a blackened abyss with influences
from either side of the pond – the raw fury
of Morbid Angel combined with the gloomy
realms of Asphyx – and despite a much
fresher production sound, the origins were still
 “More evil! More dark! That’s my goal”
embraced.
With a war going on around them, Davidov
surprises Iron Fist by explaining how the religion
and hatred surrounding their homes does not
influence his music. His love for extreme metal
always distracted him and he claims that
what’s going on in his homeland is nowhere
near as bad as the media makes it out to
be. Contrary to popular belief, getting hold
of heavy metal records wasn’t hard for the
vocalist. “There’s no censorship at all. Nobody
in Israel gives a damn and we have way bigger
issues to deal with than some kids playing
metal. There is a fucking war going on, so who
cares? You can get everything, especially now
with the web but before that there were always
some metal shops near Tel-Aviv and the central
cities. And obviously now with the Internet,
you can hear everything.” He also remembers
tape-trading but was never really a part of “the
scene” and with the majority of bands that
travel to Israel being more mainstream acts
like Ensiferum or Sabaton it still remains a slight
mystery how Sonne Adam truly got to be such
a powerhouse of death metal on the European
scene.
With Sonne Adam now completed by Steel
on drums, Butcher on bass and Vitaly sharing
the guitar duties, Davidov feels there is no
comparison when playing in Israel and Europe.
“I always saw myself as part of the European
scene, even before Sonne Adam, because
in Israel the scene is all about metalcore and
hardcore stuff, not really death metal, so it’s
Photo: Axel Jusseit
been cool to actually be here and play for
the people that I actually want to play for. In
Israel you can’t really tour. It’s a small country
and there’s not really any point in playing
somewhere like Egypt, as we don’t want to get
murdered,” he laughs, “so, it’s just like one gig
in Tel-Aviv, then up to the plane, go to Europe,
then go home and same again.
“I always joke about it with my friends
actually,” Davidov laughs. “They all used to
say you know ‘Hey man, why don’t you go to
some festivals in Europe’ and I was like ‘No, I’m
just waiting until I get invited to play there!’ And
then funnily enough it actually happened so
fuck yeah!”
2012
has seen the
band not only
on this deathly
tour but Hells Pleasure Festival also had the
pleasure of seeing what we’ve seen tonight; a
stripped down, to the point, heavy metal show,
with riffs that haunt you for days to come and
a rhythm section that causes both floor and
viewer to tremble. In between their travels the
band also released two EPs on vinyl, which will
now be available on CD as the compilation
‘Messengers Of Desolate Ways’. Despite all
this and great praise being met everywhere
they turn, founding member Dahan decided
to part ways with the band in July. “I think it
was a surprise to all of us but there is no tension
between us, we’re still really good friends”,
Davidov explains. “All in all I think he just wants
to do his own thing now and that’s what he’s
done and started his own band.” Surely this is
a bit crazy just before a tour? “Yeah, but if you
think about it it’s going to be harder from now
on if you want to keep it this way and do more
tours. It’s harder to get a steady job and stuff.
It’s the right time to leave.”
Despite the bumpy road, in just one year
Sonne Adam have managed to sign to a
prestigious label, release an incredible debut,
tour extensively and cement a tight live line up.
However, Davidov refuses to admit to starting
a new wave of old school death metal, which
is what many experts predicted. “Honestly,
when we started the band we said we were
going to play death/doom stuff as no one
really plays that kind of stuff anymore. Then we
started doing interviews and would receive the
magazines and look through the pages and
be like ,‘hmm those guys are interesting, gonna
check them out’. Then we realised that lots of
bands were playing this kind of shit right now so
we discovered there was an old school revival.
I personally don’t see us as a retro band or an
old school style band. I think that there are a lot
of clones right now but there are a few bands
that actually pick up where the old guys left off,
but more evil, more dark and that’s my goal for
Sonne Adam.”
‘Messengers Of Desolate Ways’ is out
now on Century Media
www.Facebook.com/SonneAdam
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 79
 Procession

JUDGEMENT COMES

“We are a devastating fist in the face

of everyone who wants to remove
metal from doom metal”

80 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

Majesty, a poignant yet beautiful sense of dread and pure naked stark emotions pouring out
of massive riffs: this is, in short, the essence of classic, epic doom metal. And from the get-go,
PROCESSION had all that in spades and then some. As they’ve just released a brand new 10-
inch called ‘DEATH AND JUDGEMENT’ and are getting ready to record their second full-length,
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN checked with their singer and guitarist FELIPE PLAZA KUTZBACH to ask
if death was still on his mind…
“I
t’s not something you really sit down
and decide,” admits Felipe Plaza
Kutzbach when asked why he started
playing a solemn and slow form of
metal in a country mostly known for
its rabid and primitive black and death metal
scenes. “When I first heard Candlemass ‘Tales Of
Creation’, Trouble ‘Psalm 9’ and Solitude Aeturnus
‘Beyond The Crimson Horizon’ in 1997 I was just a
teenager obsessed with speed, thrash and death
metal and it changed my whole perception
of heavy metal. As I grew up and started
discovering real life I realised that all those things
that tormented me, disturbed me or pleased me
had to come out in some sort of form, finding
their way in the verminous, crawling, slow, heavy
and dark music. Considering that back in 2007
there were no bands playing ‘classic’ doom
metal music in Chile, right after we organized
Candlemass’ first gig in Chile, we decided to
make an unpretentious demo tape, started
getting some feedback, an European offer for a
vinyl release, etc… I guess we took one step at
a time, were in the right place at the right time
and realised that as unambitious as we were, we
could actually make something transcendent, if
not important, out of it.”
Being huge Candlemass fans – Procession
used to include the classic ‘Solitude’ in their
earlier sets and there’s a video uploaded on
YouTube of them performing it in Stockholm in
January 2011 with Messiah Marcolin on vocals
– one could have expected them to dig into
their heroes’ repertoire when the time came to
choose a name. “Hey, indeed we could have
since ‘Samarithan’ is my favourite Candlemass
song,” admits Felipe. “But then, why we chose
Procession instead is pretty obvious. Of course
there’s a religious connection in terms of the
dedication and devotion we pour onto what we
do; I like to refer to it in the ways of a constant
pilgrimage, through different gates, onto different
dimensions; a permanent journey into the multiple
states of the self.” No wonder then that they join
the rest of their doom cult in making sure the sky
is still filled with grey clouds and heavy rain when
they ponder over life and death, of course in a
sombre and reclusive manner.
“Death is fascinating and relieving, the sooner
you relate to it, the better, because we all die a
little bit everyday, which means death can be
ugly and uncomfortable or the most beautiful
thing ever, because of its omnipresence. But one
thing is certain… death is the ultimate spot of
all beginnings and all ends, and that terrifies as
much as inspires. We just try not to be so evident
and give the listener the chance to unveil signs
and codes in the form of stories, symbols and
analogies.”
F
rom their first years as a band, Felipe has
only good memories to share, even if
most of them are linked with shitty food,
uncomfortable couches and DIY ethics.
Still, despite the harsh conditions, witnessing
a small underground Chilean band getting to
do what most of his fellow countrymen dream of
must have raised a few eyebrows: “As soon as we
got our first recording contract with Germany’s
Iron Kodex Records for a vinyl EP in 2008, we
started contemplating touring Europe. Yes, it
felt almost too early for us but we weren’t really
worried, nor afraid. Like with most of our decisions,
we just went for it without much second-thought.
That tour was basically self-produced by the label
and pretty low-key: five people driving around
in a van, playing almost for free and spreading
the plague. As for the potential jealousy that
opportunity might have created; truth be told,
what we care the most about how we relate
to our own scene in Chile is that, at least of the
labels or bands we support and care for, we’re
on a constant mission: we talk about them, we
bring their material and spread it around on tour.
We’re all comrades when we’re on the right path.
I mean, have you heard of Force Of Darkness? It’s
probably the kind of band that can be only from
Chile, believe me…”
Still, maybe realising that things couldn’t
move forward as he wished while living in South
America, Felipe elected to move to Sweden
about two years ago after their first proper
European tour. To make possible further live
ventures on the old continent, he then enrolled
Uno Bruniusson from In Solitude on drums and
Jonas Pedersen of Strychnos on bass, while still
working at a distance with original bass player
Claudio Botarro Neira who remains in Chile. Last
month, Procession released through High Roller
Records a new 10-inch EP, limited to 500 copies,
containing the future album track ‘Death And
Judgement’ on one side and on the other, an
exclusive cover of ‘Nightsky’, originally recorded
by cult ‘90s Russian doom band Scald. “We
wanted to commemorate 15 years since Agyl’s
early departure and to remind people that back
in 1996, five unpretentious Russian musicians
recorded one of the best doom metal albums of
all time,” Felipe insists.
S
weden has become so much his second
home that while the band’s first proper
full-length ‘Destroyers Of The Faith’ (yep,
guess to whom that title is nodding to)
was recorded in Santiago, its follow-up
will be given birth to in the middle of the cold
Scandinavian winter. “This time around, we’ve
decided to record this album by ourselves and
get Patrik Engel from Temple Of Disharmony
studio in Germany to mix and master it,” Felipe
explains. “We first tested that new way of working
on our recent ‘Death And Judgement’ EP and it
turned out great. As we speak, we’re rehearsing
in Uppsala and plan to move all our gear and
equipment up to a house in the woods of
northern Sweden this winter.” Set to be called ‘To
Reap Heavens Apart’, it is slated for next spring:
“We’re shooting at a March or April release date.
It will include six tracks (‘Damnatio Memorae’,
‘Conjurer’, ‘Death And Judgement’, ‘To Reap
Heavens Apart’, ‘The Death Minstrel’ and ‘Far
From Light’) and will have a total running time of
approximately 42 minutes. It’s pretty much a free
fall journey inwards toward the self, represented in
different moods and colours. Take the title track:
it is a straightforward nine minute monster where
I think we revealed some of our most challenging
material to date. Musically, it lies somewhere
between Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Solitude
Aeturnus, Solstice with an added mandatory dose
of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It’s been already
described by a friend of ours as a ‘devastating
fist in the face of everyone who wants to remove
metal from doom metal’ so I guess we’re on the
right track.”
‘Death And Judgement’ is out now on High Roller
www.MySpace.com/ProcessionBurn
CAPILLA ARDIENTE VS PROCESSION
Besides Procession, Felipe also plays in another
doom metal band called Capilla Ardiente, with
whom he released an EP (‘Solve Et Coagula’) in
2009 on Eyes Like Snow Records. But even if this
trio also includes past (drummer Francisco Aguirre)
and current (bass player Claudio Neira) Procession
members and performs somehow the same epic
style, for him, this ain’t just the same band: “CA is
pretty much Claudio’s vision, even if I do vocals
and take part in the arrangements. I understand
why people are getting confused but really, I see
the concepts, the sound approach, the way we use
my voice or the tuning as really different. Plus it’s
got a wider range of influences as besides the usual
suspect Candlemass, there are also hints of Sorcerer,
Mercyful Fate but also Voïvod, Celtic Frost and
Motörhead. As we speak, Claudio finally found a
stable line-up in Santiago and is finishing composing
our debut full-length. As soon as we’re done with
this new Procession album, we should get back on
it and aim at recording it early next year. It’ll be
called ‘Bravery, Truth And The Endless Darkness’ if
everything goes according to the plans.”
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 81
 Weapon

FIRE ‘EM UP
“The flames burn our former self and
rejuvenate; the flames resurrect us as
stronger, sharper, fire-born entities”

Not one to mince his words, or his music, VETIS of Canadian-

based black metal ragers WEAPON is on the warpath, and not
even JOHN MINCEMOYER can calm him down

T
he advent and evolution of
weaponry throughout recorded
history is one of the more fascinating
and frightening facets involved in
mankind’s development, although
some might argue that weapons have not truly
helped mankind’s development, but hindered
it. There might be truth to this argument, but
mankind’s constant search for newer, and better,
methods for killing continues unabated. In Biblical
mythology David slew Goliath with a rock and a
sling as they stood across from one another in the
Valley of Elah. Today, a US Navy Trident Ballistic
Missile submarine sitting silently on station beneath
the surface of either the Atlantic or Pacific
Oceans can launch a Trident II D-5 missile and hit
multiple targets over 4,000 nautical miles away.
In the mythological tale, one man slew a
giant. In the reality of our world today, just one
Trident II D-5 missile has the capability to kill
millions depending upon population density,
which in strategic think-tank vernacular is referred
to as “megadeath”. One Trident Ballistic Missile
submarine carries a payload of 24 Trident II
D-5 missiles with each missile featuring multiple
warheads. Generally, multiple Trident Missile
submarines patrol at all times, each with their
respective payloads. The covert, but simultaneous
overt threat is called, in almost banal terms,
“strategic deterrence” and to remain on track we
won’t even begin to delve into what is referred to
as “mutually assured mass destruction”, but when
one thinks about the sheer magnitude of such

82 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 misplaced sense of entitlement has essentially
resulted in inbred pussies playing musical
instruments.”
Obviously, to paraphrase, Vetis is not one
to pull punches. This iron-fisted resolve, many
would say is sorely lacking in the current scene,
comes out in Weapon’s music, even more so
on ‘Embers…’, which is by far the most overtly
belligerent and blunt of Weapon’s full-lengths.
“Agreed,” replies Vetis. “This is the first album
where we didn’t incorporate any Eastern musical
instruments. Musically, ‘Embers…’ still retains the
Eastern tonalities within the riffs, but there is no
sitar on this album, no tabla. We stepped away
from certain elements simply because the songs
didn’t call for incorporating those elements. The
mysticism on this album stems more from overall
feel and certainly the lyrics. Unfortunately most
people nowadays don’t care to read the lyrics
so that will be lost on many. Bands like Rudra and
Melechesh are the fucking boss when it comes to
creating so-called exotic metal.”
personal lives and all these things affect the band
in one way or another. It all comes together
under one umbrella and we do our best to
harness these energies into something aggressive
and sinister.
“My music is my life,” he continues, “they
are one and the same. In a nutshell, I believe in
exploiting the system from the inside out for my
own growth and advantage. The nature of my life
and music is built on the foundation of lawlessness
and going against the tide. Unfortunately, if I
was to physically act out on those beliefs without
subtlety, I would be in prison right now. So I have
to be cautious, and keep my sights on the big
picture, which is the success and triumph of
Weapon.
With the music acting as cleansing,
resurrecting fire the subsequent revelations found
on ‘Embers…’ clearly reside in the lyrics which
Vetis reveals is “a collection of songs pertaining to
the album itself” instead of one unifying theme.
“It’s part of the unifying theme of the

B
entire Weapon discography, the puzzle,” he
y stripping away the previous clarifies. “We have not strayed from the tenets
exoticism the Bangladeshi-born of the occult, the Left Hand Path and Satanism
Vetis accepted and embraced whatsoever from the demo days to where we
change in a concerted effort to are now. If anything, the ideological structure of
make Weapon more feral more Weapon has been refined and developed into
lethal. Yet, the changes did not stop there. a niche; we have a very unique approach of
Recently it seems change has become quite the combining different LHP traditions into a singular,
catalyst within Weapon’s ranks as well as leaving stealth dagger. I am finding more inspiration
AJNA Offensive to sign with Relapse. everyday from ‘unconventional’ books that one
“We parted ways with the guitar player that wouldn’t necessarily equate with Satan; but as
played on ‘From The Devil’s Tomb’ and added I have said before, the darkness is always there,
Rom Surtr to the ranks. That I think is the biggest one just has to be receptive to it. It’s interesting
change within the band. RS is a phenomenal for me to sit and read all the lyrics I have written
guitarist, perhaps the most technically skilled for Weapon from the 2004 demo to our latest
axeman the band has had thus far. The live/ album. The development of what is essentially
touring aspect of the band is becoming really a multidimensional, but singular topic truly
prominent; we were part of the biggest black/ fascinates me.
death metal tour this past summer with Marduk, “The Twin Peaks reference is appreciated
1349 and Withered, which was a great learning because that show never ceases to inspire me.
experience. We are continuing our development David Lynch’s work is some of the darkest to
as musicians and live performers, reconciling permeate into pop culture. The flames burn our
those two worlds that are often separate in this former self and rejuvenate; the flames resurrect
kind of music; so yeah, things are changing and us as stronger, sharper, fire-born entities. Living
it’s good. Stagnation is weak.” and breathing weapons. The embers are the
Even the album’s brilliantly subtle title, ‘Embers revelations.”
And Revelations’, speaks on a metaphoric level
‘Embers And Revelations’ is out now on Relapse
about change. In essence, the reaction of the
www.WeaponChakra.com
ritual fire creates change as well as purifies. For
potentiality it truly boggles the mind.
those gifted with sight
Weapon’s Vetis Monarch might not concern
the resulting remaining
himself with scenarios involving potential
embers reveal
megadeath resulting from an all-out nuclear war,
answers, whatever
but that does not mean he is idle in his thoughts.
those answers may
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” he replies
be. Thinking about
when asked if he is, indeed, out to prove anything
this evokes images of
in light of recent comments made in several
David Lynch’s Twin
interviews to promote Weapon’s third full-
Peaks.
length, ‘Embers And Revelations’. “The agitated
“Change,
responses are consequential and reactionary,
development, growth,”
and always come from people who are insecure,
asserts Vetis. “I might
impressionable and immature. My fiery comments
add the utter refusal
are simply a reflection of my personality and what
to remain stagnant
I think of 90 per cent of metalheads today.
and ever regress into
“The scene is a joke and your band is the
the past. But that’s
punchline. Bands I grew up listening to didn’t
just one aspect of
get butthurt by comments and throw hissy fits
it. It is personal and
on the Internet. Men behaved like men. In real
collective. I’ve had
bands, that is still the case. There are many
many shitty things
contemporary bands that carry the torch of
happen in my life in
real metal with pride and dignity, and they are
the last ten years or so,
not afraid to curb stomp people’s values and
admittedly mostly by
ideals. This is metal, not fucking reggae. Why does
my own doing, but all
everyone have to get along? If someone asks my
these things shaped
opinion on a certain band, I will tell them what I
Weapon. And not just
really think. No punches will be pulled. Applaud
my life; my brothers in
and support that which you truly believe in,
the band have had
eliminate the rest from your paradigm. People’s
their own issues in their

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 83

 Black Magician
Five Thieves Vinegar
Nature, witches, pagan rites and British literature, where
would doom metal be without those key ingredients.
While doom has spawned many tentacles, we at Iron Fist
still believe it should rotate strictly around the Trouble/
Candlemass axis. And, luckily, bands like BLACK
MAGICIAN agree, as JOHN MINCEMOYER finds out
B
lack Magician, a relatively new
quintet hailing from Liverpool,
craft dark, wicked doom metal
infused with folk touches and
mind-expanding prog flourishes.
Now before you scream, “Not another doom
band from the UK!” please allow vocalist Liam
Yates to explain.
“Doom for me is the purest form of heavy
metal. Bands like Trouble and Candlemass were
at one time just called ‘heavy metal’, without the
need for the ‘doom’ label. What we do harkens
back to the early roots of heavy metal in its
rawest, most satisfying form. A simple, powerful
riff can create so much more intensity and
atmosphere than any fast technical playing.
“Black Magician formed a year ago, around
the time of the riots. I was complaining to a friend
84 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
when my previous band didn’t go anywhere,
and asked him if he knew anyone who was into
the same stuff and wanted to do more than drink
beer in the rehearsal space. He recommended I
speak to Kyle [Nesbitt – guitars] who was looking
to get something started. I had seen him around
and he certainly looked like the kind of fellow
eccentric I would get on well with. I approached
him at a gig and a drunken rant about old heavy
metal and doom ensued, and that sealed the
deal. After that, others answered the call.”
A
nd so it was done. After several
months the newly formed band
put “two demo tracks up online
just to get the name out,” says
Liam and it became obvious
from the onset that he and his cohorts possessed
something special because they received a few
label offers solely on the strength of those two
tracks. Ultimately, though, they decided “to wait
until they had something more substantial.”
The “something more substantial” would
become their fantastically mesmerising five-track
debut full-length, ‘Nature Is The Devil’s Church’
(Shaman Recordings).
“The songs were written in a matter of weeks
but continued to expand as we jammed them
and played live over a few months. We had the
songs written for about seven months before we
decided to record them.”
Of the recording Liam says, “We recorded
the album over three grueling days. We played a
gig after the first day in the studio and continued
recording for the next two days with little rest. The
recording captured the grim work ethic and strain

we put ourselves through.”
Their toil is the listener’s reward and two things
stand out on ‘Nature…’: Matt Ford’s eerie and
ubiquitous Hammond organ and the strong sense
of sincerity oozing from the recording.
“The Hammond is vital to our sound,” says
Liam. “We take influence from '70s prog and folk
as well as heavy metal. The Hammond is just as
important to us as the guitar. Bands like Atomic
“What we do harkens back to the early roots of
heavy metal in its rawest, most satisfying form”
Rooster, Caravan and Arzachel utilised it to
create such sinister atmospheres and total freak
outs. It can be used to create more of a ritualistic
vibe. The Hammond will be more predominant
in future recordings. We are aiming for some ELP
dagger in the keys antics when we have figured
out how to travel with it.
“I feel you should always be sincere
about any artistic endeavor. It would be
pointless to devote ourselves if we didn’t
have a strong connection to the ideology of
the band. We have all been passionate about
the themes explored in the music a long time
before the band was formed.”
I
n a pre-release promotional quote
Liam said ‘Nature…’ was “an ode
to brigands, boggarts, witchcraft
and the dark British psyche.” So does
he consider Black Magician a true
“occult” doom band and are “occultism” and
“Satanism” one and the same in his mind?
“Occult” is a term thrown around quite a bit in
today’s metal scene. So much so, it is almost as
if the word has lost its power and even its original
meaning.
“I think a lot of people and bands, use the
term ‘occult’ without really knowing what it
means. It’s not about drawing pentagrams on
your guitar and painting your fingernails black,
it’s not Halloween. ‘Occultism’
and ‘Satanism’ is not the
same thing. The ‘occult’ exists
outside of any association with
Christian iconography. We’re
interested in exploring those
ideas, but we don’t consider
ourselves an ‘occult doom’ or
‘Satanic’ band.
“The album’s title, ‘Nature…’,
reflects a Christian view of the
wild and unknown dark forces
of nature and old religious
practices,” says Liam. “The
church has always feared and
condemned old practices and
beliefs. If nature is the Devil’s
church, we would reside quite
comfortably there. Imagine
Sgt Howie’s disgust when he
arrives on Summerisle and you
get the picture [Summerisle
is the fictional island off the Western coast of
Scotland featured in the 1973 cult film 'The Wicker
Man'].
“There are still places very close to us that
retain old customs and are completely untainted
by modernity. The village where I grew up still had
a Morris dancing site up until a few years ago.
Areas of Lancashire, like Pendle, still hold their
heritage very sacred and as we spend as much
time as possible in places like this we cannot
help but be inspired by the atmosphere and
surrounding countryside.”
Just what is it about the British Isles that plays
upon people's fancy for fantasy?
“The landscape,
British folklore and literature, Arthurian legends,
for example, are the bread and butter of heavy
metal. The best fantasy and horror stories are
grounded in British legends and history, even
Poe and Lovecraft were total Anglophiles. British
mythology has been influenced by so many
different cultures that even those who consider
themselves well-versed in the subject will always
find something new and mysterious.”
As for their historically-based lyrical themes
Liam admits, “Plenty of doom and heavy metal
bands deal with similar lyrical themes. I feel we
can connect with these ideas on a more personal
level as they are part of our own heritage. We
couldn’t take ourselves seriously writing redneck
sludge metal when we have no connection to
that scene or those themes. Looking to the past
is, in a way, a form of escapism. We might look
to the darker side of history for inspiration, but on
some level it’s still a romanticised view of the past
which we hope can take the listener somewhere
else, away from the mundanity of modern life.”
Another way through Black Magician to
escape “the mundanity of modern life” is to seek
out a copy of their self-printed, self-distributed
‘Black Magician Almanac’.
“The almanac is a collection of stories, folklore
and historical anecdotes which influence the
band in some way. We want as many people as
possible to be able to read about the things that
have inspired us since we were children. Issue
Two is on the way, and will be available at future
gigs. We wanted it to hark back to the era of the
metal zine, where you’d go and see a band then
pick up a zine to find out more. If the band didn’t
exist we would be probably be exploring these
themes for other non-musical projects.”
‘Nature Is The Devil’s Church’ is out now on Shaman
www.BlackMagician.co.uk
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 85

Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
ALBUM OF THE ISSUE
PAGAN ALTAR
‘Judgement Of The Dead’
SHADOW KINGDOM/
CRUZ DEL SUR
The various releases of this classic
album are somewhat confusing.
The Brockley based heavy rockers
originally put it out as the ‘Pagan Altar’
cassette in 1982. Most of the copies
of this mini-release were destroyed
because of the tape’s poor quality.
The album was finally given it’s actual
debut in 1998 with the incorrectly title
‘Volume 1’. This release, alongside a
return to the live arena, started the
band’s slow rise to recognition, which
continues to grow year-on-year even
now. In recent times various vinyl
releases have become collector’s
pieces quickly. What we have here
is the first ever CD release with a
remastered sound, the correct album
title, a nice little booklet and killer,
spooky artwork.
And what a record this is. The
antique production and witchy
atmosphere help to give it a lasting
ABHOTH
‘The Tide + Demos’
DARK DESCENT
The old tape-trader inside of us can’t
help but somehow feel happy to finally
see some of those rough recordings,
that rocked back in the day on crappy
xeroded-cover tapes, being able to
reach a wider audience. And indeed,
Abhoth’s ‘Forever To Be Vanished’ was
of those great demos, recorded (as it
should be) in April ‘91 at Stockholm’s
Sunlight studio and even if, by then,
their vocalist (future God Macabre and
Bombs Of Hades) Jonas Ståhlhammar
had already decamped to allow room
for a less suitable replacement, those
three songs nevertheless remain some
of the best Swedish stuff laid to tape.
Alas, even if maniacs will be delighted
to discover a 70-plus minute compilation,
the rest of their patchy discography is
far less interesting and even sometimes
cringe-inducing, especially their clumsy
86 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
RPM
appeal in the modern over-produced
era. This particular reissue has kept the
original, raw sound with the remastering
adding a touch more clarity than
previous releases. Apart from Alan
Jones’ knack of bashing out classic
riffs, the main strength here is Terry
Jones’ gift for song-writing. The seven
epic tracks are packed with melody
that have an irresistible magical
quality to them. This is a banquet of
occult metal that justifies the passion
and hyperbole they have received
in recent years. ‘The Black Mass’, ‘In
The Wake Of Amadeus’, ‘Pagan Altar’
and the title track deserve devotion.
The lack of a legitimate release in ‘82
has meant a slow rise to their rightful
place alongside Witchfinder General
as the daddies of doomed metal.
And the recent wave of successful
new occult rockers can thank Pagan
Altar for laying down the post-Sabbath
template for them to follow. This is an
essential album for any fan of classic
heavy metal.
MAREK STEVEN
grindcore-oriented 1989 debut demo.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
AEON
‘Aeons Black’
METAL BLADE
Ah, the refreshing stench of Swedish
death metal! Although Aeon don’t stem
back as far as Dismember or Grave the
loyalties to their origin remain. Aeon’s
three previous full-lengths have proven
to progress as time goes on and ‘Aeons
Black’ is no change, as the Swedes
continue to develop and swell into a
monolithic beast. Tommy Dahlström’s
consistent yet destructive vocals make
Aeon distinctive but riff-wise ‘Aeons
Black’ shreds with swirling melodies and
homogenous brutality. Technicality
shines through clearer than before,
with ‘Garden Of Sin’ and the title track
confirming that Aeon can keep in with
the youngsters while preserving the old
school tones. The first listen may not grab
you but see it as the threatening letter you
receive before a reckless beating.
LILY RANDALL
AFTER ALL
Dawn of the Enforcer
VAN
If a hefty dosage of Bay Area thrash
is what you’re after, then look no
further then After All’s ‘Dawn of the
Enforcer’. By-the-numbers thrash isn’t
usually something to cause a stir in your
downtown area, but After All work hard
to get those neck muscles loosened
up suitably for a raunchy decent into
pit hell. Vicious pitched vocals overlap
some wonderfully wicked thrash riffs that
will quickly transport you back to times
long Forbidden. After All aren’t trying to
change the game, they just want to play
it the best they can – and they do a pretty
fucking good job of it.
JOSH WEST
ALUK TODOLO
‘Occult Rock’
NORMA EVANGELIUM DIABOLI
With all the hypnotic intensity you
come to expect from an Aluk Todolo
(meaning ‘way of the ancients’) record
but without sounding like a tried and
tired format, ‘Occult Rock’ opens with
droning intensity. This French trio rarely
disappoint with their stirring instrumental
séance – they are a truly magickal brood
whose organic music electrifies the air
around the listener. When it hits the mark
their rabid drone forces you to question
what you are actually hearing. The
repetition of riffs transmogrifies the guitars
into swarms of locusts and the sound of
throat singing. This bizarre soundscape is
almost tantric. Words and images can’t
help but jump in to your mind when
listening to this. A good many other bands
would doubtless try and cram in spastic
“proggy” passages but Aluk Todolo prove
that expansive, mind-altering music can
be achieved through repetition, ritual
and meditation on a handful of great
riffs. It sits somewhere between the most
earth-wrenchingly atmospheric drone,
raw black metal and obscure Krautrock.
Production-wise, it is massive – just as
you’d expect. The sound is crushing and
everything is in its place with the bass
cutting through and blending with the
guitars exactly when it needs to. Light
some incense, switch off and dissolve.
JACK WELCH
AMENRA
‘Mass V’
NEUROT
Amenra’s fourth full-length sees them
continue to scratch at their wounds with
four, sonorously ponderous tracks much
in vein of Neurosis and Cult of Luna.
‘Dearborn And Buried’s’ slow builds and
huge riffs are familiar territory made
uneasy by a distinctly ragged, haunted
vocal. ‘Boden’ unnerves with its ritualistic
chimes, persistent as the track slowly but
surely mounts its tortured explosion with
the record’s most successful moment
of bombast, before ‘A Mon Ame’s’
contemplative soundscapes
underline the introspective approach
really
Amenra take with their music; something
underlined by final track ‘Nowena I 9.10’,
a confessional purge that lurches over
the record’s final eerie precipice with
the line “Look into my eyes/You will know
there have been better times”[$itals
lyrics]. Whilst there is nothing startlingly
original about the music on offer here, it
is within the lyrical content that Amenra
reveal their depth, with an obvious
religious motif upon their soul-searching
internal monologue manifest as a bleak
confessional.
TOM O’BOYLE
ANAAL NATHRAKH
‘Vanitas’
CANDLELIGHT
We expect most extreme metal to cause
an element of fear and discomfort
but it seems Anaal Nathrakh have
taken that to a whole new level. Their
blackened, industrial grind has always
been disgusting (mostly in a positive way)
and ‘Vanitas’ confirms this with a gnarly
branding rather than a pathetic stamp.
The Brummie boys have managed to
take their style into an even darker abyss
with structures so twisted your insides feel
crushed. The electronic moments are
a disturbing bonus, rather than losing
credibility like many bands who try to add
such samples. And although the grind
element has been left behind to some
extent, it still rears its repugnant head
on tracks like ‘Todos Somos Humanos’.
The black metal riffs show a paradox of
beautiful ugliness, as doomy sections and
several melodies are joined by Ihshan-
esque clean vocals to haunt you further.
Anaal Nathrakh have grown into a more
terrifying monster, like a snake whose
poison hardens and expands the human
blood, causing death.
LILY RANDALL
ANAL BLASPHEMY
‘Perversions Of Satan’
HAMMER OF HATE
Despite what its moniker might apply, the
Hammer Of Hate owner’s little plaything
doesn’t dwell in the dirty swamps of
subsonic primitive black metal à la Beherit
as it once did. Sure, this one-man band
ain’t pretty and faithfully follows a very
Finnish orthodox path, akin to Satanic
Warmaster. But while the subject matter
hasn’t really shifted from below the
waist (‘Black Cum Absolution’, ‘Perverse
Madonna’), the music has evolved
from the lo-fi noise of its earlier albums
into a more grand and, dare we say,
melancholic left hand path. Anguished’s
Possessed Demoness’s high-pitched
contribution may have ruined ‘Lust For
Satan’ and the aptly-named Reverend
Molestor Kadotus may sometimes seem
to lose focus when tackling more epic
structures but ‘Perversions Of Satan’ still
feels like a step in the right direction.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
ANTROPOMORPHIA
‘Evangelivm Nekromantia’
METAL BLADE
Those familiar with Antropomorphia’s
recently rereleased ‘Necromantic Love
Songs’ MLP (originally released in 1993)
will know that it’s an overlooked gem
– a solid piece of death metal that
is at once dark and heavy, yet also
genuinely creative. Real attention paid to
dynamics, ugly harmonies and unusual,
sinister basslines that shouldn’t really
fit (but do to great effect) all work to
create a genuinely creepy atmosphere
that stands out amongst the band’s
contemporaries. But that was then. The
CGI abomination on the cover of new
album ‘Evangelivm Nekromantia’ does
not bode well. And any hopes that
this book can’t be judged by its cover
are dashed as soon as the “click-click”
of the EZdrummer double bass drum
pedals kick in shortly into ‘Nekrophilian
Mass’, revealing a sound as sterile and
oppressively digitised as the cover art.
What came first: the big label or the big
label sound? Either way, what follows is
largely unlistenable cookie cutter death
metal tragically devoid of the band’s
earlier creativity and spirit. These riffs have
been heard a million times by a million
other meat and potatoes death metal
bands. The occasional fleeting glimmer
of hope is generally dashed by another
cut and paste barrage of blastbeats,
chugging riffs or plain crushing banality.
Pick up ‘Necromantic Love Songs’ if you
haven’t already, but let’s just pretend this
one never happened.
ADAM WILKINSON
BANE
‘The Acausal Fire’
ABYSS
After 2010’s promising debut ‘Chaos,
Darkness & Emptiness’, Bane continue
with a formula that works for follow
up ‘The Acausal Fire’. The Serbians’
Scandinavian idolisation is as apparent
as before with a blackened death gem
that has been polished off like a fossil from
the ‘90s. The production is a lot cleaner
than its forefather’s, but that doesn’t
stop Bane from creating an atmosphere
reminiscent of Dissection and the vocal
balance between black and death flows
between a symphonic intro and outro in
a haunting Belphegor style. ‘As Chaos
Rises’ embraces the epic and although
the album seems to lose its ferocity near
the end, a blinding cover of Dissection’s
‘Night’s Blood’ reels you back in. It may
not be a game changer but it’s good to
know that the Serbian storm has spread
across the world.
LILY RANDALL
BAPTISM
‘As The Darkness Enters’
NORTHERN HERITAGE
Opening with an invocation, it’s the
second song ‘Bringer Of Misery’ that
gives the first glimpse into the abyss,
with vocals that sound both darker and
deeper, but that is not as surprising as
the spoken word passage later on in
the song before it concludes with the
typical, raw, fast, melancholic Baptism
style of old. It’s a similar story throughout
the record, with unfamiliar elements
such as the Dissection-esque beginning
of ‘The Prayer’ and its sung (yes sung!)
vocals later in the song, to the mysterious
effects in ‘Esoteric Spheres’. However
upon repeated listens, the classic Baptism
sound begins to surface, none more so
than on ‘Sieluni Temppeli’ with its raw
vocals sung in Finnish, and on ‘Spell Of
Penitence’ with its classic sound. The
mature approach to the songwriting
may put off some, but those prepared
to fully immerse themselves and allow
for the different elements to emerge on
repeated listens will be rewarded with an
album that mixes both old and new to
perfection.
JEREMY MILLER
BELL WITCH
‘Longing’
PROFOUND LORE
Doom. Rarely in such a broad genre
has the term been so fitting. Bell Witch
is a duo from Seattle, utilising no more
than drums, bass and voices, yet for
their limited resources, their debut album
‘Longing’ doesn’t suffer one bit. It’s
claustrophobic and despondent, yet
offers more melody and tranquillity that
such sparseness of instrumentation might
suggest. This form of doom relies heavily
on atmosphere more than anything, and
‘Longing’ delivers strongly in conveying
feelings of misery, hopelessness and
despair, bringing to mind at times Until
Death Overtakes Me and early Esoteric,
and at others Warning or 40 Watt Sun.
It’s one of those albums that needs to
be absorbed in full, preferably through
headphones in a darkened space and
in the right mind-set, to be appreciated
appropriately. When given the attention
that it deserves, it proves itself to be a
rewarding experience. A pleasantly bleak
surprise.
MÁIRTÍN MAC CORMAIC
BIG DAISY
‘Big Daisy’
HIGH ROLLER
Big Daisy were the gateway to the
NWOBHM era. Forming in 1978, their
unique sound of whiney vocals, razor-
edge guitars and tinny production
helped mould the sound that was to
come. This is most recognisable on their
party anthem ‘UFO’. No doubt this track
is also an influence on Gotham City’s
‘See How It Flies’, with the lyrical content
of flying saucers being practically
identical. Although smashing out some
‘Big’ tunes, there was also a progressive
and melodic ‘Daisy’ side to them. The
‘Fever’/‘Footprints On The Water’ double
A-side was released in 1980 and has the
feel of amateur Rush. This was a really
amazing single that now goes for at least
£300 to today’s record collectors. Soon
after this release Big Daisy had a line-up
change and re-named themselves The
Jury who didn’t last too long. Just as well
for vocalist/bass player Spam Spence
who went on to join Wishbone Ash in 1984.
This fantastic Big Daisy re-issue celebrates
the short-lived life of one of the more
special, unsung heroes of the NWOBHM
era. Totally cool.
DAVE SHERWOOD
BORROWED TIME/ WYTCH HAZEL
‘Black Olympia/ The truth’
HIGH ROLLER
Good versus evil; a tale as old as mankind,
and now played out between two
leading lights of the current traditional
metal scene. Borrowed Time with their
Maidenisms, twin harmonies and fast-
paced solos makes for a very polished
sound on their track ‘Black Olympia’,
whilst Wytch Hazel, although suffering
DIT
EED
ATTIC
‘The Invocation’
VÁN
Not a very “metal” name for a
band is it? Attic. Kinda like shed, or
conservatory. But then again there’s
a wealth of movies where the naughty
kid is told not to go up there and
definitely not to touch anything if
they do, which inevitably leads to
some madcap adventure of arcane
wonder. And that’s kinda what Attic
conjur up. They discovered the secret
passageway into the mysteriously lit
room at the top of the mansion from
the cover of ‘Them’ and found the
secret of how to sound exactly like King
Diamond. Or maybe the family ghost
has possessed these four Germans
and is guiding their every move now.
from a thin production, incorporate
many elements of the ‘70s as well as the
NWOBHM into their melodic hooks, and
their solos complement the music on ‘The
Truth’ nicely.
JEREMY MILLER
CRADLE OF FILTH
‘The Manticore & Other Horrors’
PEACEVILLE
Knocking Cradle Of Filth seems to be
an easy thing to do of late. Whether it’s
the at times borderline Widow Twanky
extreme metal pantomime image of
Dani Filth and company or claims that the
band themselves are are as creatively
redundant as the population of a small
Welsh mining town, the chances are
that tenth album ‘The Manticore & Other
Horrors’ won’t do much to change those
cast iron opinions. However, that is a bit of
a shame. Pulling together their orchestral
side with a slightly punkier, thrashier edge,
it would seem that Cradle Of Filth are
clawing their way out of the slump. While
they will more than likely always be known
for the grandparent-baiting schlock
sloganeering of the ‘Jesus Is A Cunt’
T-shirt and appearing in that Channel 4
documentary, ‘The Manticore & Other
Horrors’ shows that a creative heart still
beats in the collective chest of the band.
JAMES SHARPLES
CRIPPER
‘Antagonist’
SAOL
Sometimes a band is simply defined by
the vocalist they employ. Whether you’re
quite prepared for 12 rounds of blunt-
force-trauma from Britta Gortz as she
brutalises any sound in her path will largely
define what you take away from Cripper’s
third release, ‘Antagonist’. The music itself
is raw and primitive. A lot of the riffs don’t
stick, but when they do you get a glimpse
OR
ITO R’S ICK
’S PPIC K!!
How will they break the curse? Do
they even want to? New album ‘The
Invocation’ is just that, a summoning
of some ancient evil (ancient being,
like, at least 1987) and with it’s Ghost-
esque organ intro paves the way
for old school sounds in the vein of
Accept, Helloween and of course The
King, but also newbies like Portrait,
Slingblade and Huntress. There’s not
really an original idea in sight but that’s
not the point. The point is to celebrate
heavy metal the old way and have a
fucking craic while doing so. One day
the curse will be broken, we’re sure,
and Attic, who are clearly talented
fuckers, will break out of the Mercyful
mould, but for now enjoy the tribute.
JIM YOUNG
into what could have been, and fuck-us-
sideways is that something to witness. The
band is tight, and music full of passion,
but we are finally at a point where the
‘new wave’ of German thrash bands are
hitting the oversaturation marker that has
blighted the Brits over the past few years.
Only the very best can stand up to the
tide, and while yet another solid release
from Cripper, ‘Antagonist’ threatens to
get washed away amongst a sea of other
releases.
JOSH WEST
CRYSTAL VIPER
‘The Curse Of The Crystal Viper’
AFM
Crystal Viper began their attack on
mainland Europe in 2003. Now several
years on, they have stormed the stages of
the specialist Metal Magic, Headbangers
Open Air and Keep It True festivals. The
Polish warriors embrace the true heavy
metal experience with a passion for
‘Conan The Barbarian’ and fantasy
artwork. This is a guaranteed headbang
for the weekend rocker. The hot riffs and
clunky bass go without saying, but the
continuous overpowering double bass
drums show they are keeping up with a
young, modern sound. The Doro-styled
vocals are also welcomed with open
arms. This re-issue of their 2007 debut also
consists of several bonus tracks including
surprisingly good covers of Manilla Road
and Warlock. Although forming before
the likes of Enforcer, Cauldron et al, the
simple reason CV have not gained as
much success is because their riffs aren’t
as catchy. Even so, a re-issue of this and
their second album ‘Metal Nation’ prove
the genuine heavy metal sound is on its
way back up to 11. Crystal Viper deserve
some serious credit.
DAVE SHERWOOD
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 87
Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
CULTFINDER
‘Black Thrashing Terror’
ELDRITCH LUNAR MIASMA
Sleazy, distorted bass driven black/death
filth reflecting a partial Impaled Nazarene
and Carpathian Forest fixation is what
Cultfinder seem to be about. There is a
punk undertone to the overall EP, all the
while sounding a little more controlled
and focussed than clumsily thrown
together. The standout part of this release
is undoubtedly the drummer’s ability and
fills, adding a little more charisma and
character to the whole thing. Worth a
listen for fans of black thrash with fusing of
‘80s hardcore punk.
DARRAGH O’LEARY
KRAKOW
‘Diin’
DARK ESSENCE
Okay, so Norway may have held the
second wave of black metal, but what
about the third and fourth waves. Yes,
the Nidaros scene is probably the most
exciting current underground movement
but what about the bands taking the
black metal template and twisting it
into shapes not seen, nor heard, before.
Enslaved, Virus, Ihsahn, Shining (No) are
all, in some way, still black metal and
now Bergen boys Krakow are joining their
ranks as they weave shoegaze, indie, far-
our, proggy elements into the blackened
soundscape. With Isis style peaks and
denouements, ‘Angel Rat’ era Voivod-
esque vocals, ‘60s pop sentiments and
introverted but tortured anguish ‘Diin’
is a meditative trip into the hemisphere
that climaxes on the aptly-titled ‘Sense
Of Space’, which is what this album has
in spades.
LOUISE BROWN
DAYLIGHT DIES
‘A Frail Becoming’
CANDLELIGHT
Four years since 2008’s sterling effort
‘Lost To The Living’, Daylight Dies return
with their latest work. From the off it’s
clear that the break has helped the
band distil their songwriting and come
back more positive than ever; with ideas
that bear the fruits of their time away.
When they are at their best the band
manages to fuse progressive death
metal with doomier atmosphere in a
way that is powerful and emotive, yet
somehow uplifting at its core. Despite
having an overall feel that harkens back
to ‘Blackwater Park’ era Opeth (which is
no bad thing), what Daylight Dies do with
grace is to manipulate that framework to
their own ends. Effortlessly overlaying an
atmospheric ‘essence’ onto their sound –
through the use of keys and intertwining
lead guitars – what is achieved is a lesson
in stirring progressive metal that should
elevate the band to new levels.
CHRIS NAUGHTON
DEIPHAGO
‘Satan Alpha Omega’
HELLS HEADBANGERS
You’d be wrong if you thought that the
Manila maniacs in Deiphago might have
relaxed a bit since relocating to paradise
in Costa Rica eight years ago. Since
moving, the triumvirate of terror have
wretched out two albums of violently
chaotic, swarming death, and ‘Satan
Alpha Omega’ doesn’t deviate from
this style. The new album is a grinding,
thrashing maelstrom of malicious black/
death hell, almost totally belied by the
fantastic and defined cover art. This
88 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
is raw, primitive and on-edge, almost speed metal riffage that does not
sloppy at times, but not quite. ‘Satan let up across its 11 tracks. From the
Alpha Omega’ exudes discordant leads, shredder of an opener ‘Cyanide’ to
churning guitars, vocals that agonise the the brutal assault of tracks like ‘City Of
dead, a relentless battery of percussion,
Doom’ you can’t fault the precision
and bass that, when audible, bulldozes
and dynamics of the Teutonic trio’s
your soul into oblivion. Inevitably, this
total-war, total-death barbarianism formula. However, the core of
leaves no room for any variation in tempo Destruction’s fury is at times repetitious
or song writing. The title track is probably DESTRUCTION and can often pass you by, as can
the best offering on here, partly due to
‘Spiritual Genocide’ the well-trodden topics of religion,
its impressive extremity and darkness,
NUCLEAR BLAST genocide and war. They do roll out the
but there aren’t any particular highlights
Cynics might suggest that Destruction big guns of Angelripper from Sodom,
on this album, and Deiphago certainly
don’t go out of their way to endear may have rushed into the studio a Gerre from Tankard and Ol Drake from
their madness to anyone. ‘Satan Alpha little too soon after 2011’s ‘Day Of Evile on ‘Legacy Of The Past’, one of
Omega’ also includes a “cover” of Reckoning’ in order to release a the album’s standouts. A solid album
Deicide’s classic ‘Crucifixation’. Make of once again from Destruction, but one
record to coincide with their milestone
it what you will.
that still, ultimately leaves them in third
birthday and to a small extent they’d
JIM YOUNG
be right but ‘Spiritual Genocide’ is a place in the big German three.
THE DEVIL slick, punchy attack of the sharpest MILES HACKETT
‘The Devil’
CANDLELIGHT
There’s something eerie about this; a
when they do, their mosh-inducing urban Olof Wikstrand’s high-pitched wails. The
nightmare inducing, bedwetting eeriness,
power is too hard to resist for their own band were lazily lumped into the then-
yet it is impossible not to be hooked.
good. NWOBHM revival when this came out in
Forsaking vocals for audio samples was a
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN 2008 but this album is way more Exciter
risky move, it could be seen as a rather
or Razor than British and showcases the
pretentious move on the London sextet’s
DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT dedication to old school heavy metal
part, but it seems to work, adding to
‘Widowmaker’ that has lead them to 2013’s forthcoming
the unnatural atmosphere they have
PROSTHETIC new full-length, which this reissue makes
created. There’s no real progression
‘Widowmaker’ capitalises upon the us impatient for.
throughout the album, that’s not to say
reputation that Dragged Into Sunlight LOUISE BROWN
that it is at all boring, but it feels more
have made for themselves of late on
like an exercise in creating a film-score
the live scene with atmospheric and ENTRAPMENT
than a deeply artistic album, which is
removed appearances at Roadburn, ‘The Obscurity Within’
lucky because some of these songs have
Maryland Deathfest and Damnation SOULSELLER
already been earmarked for upcoming
Festival, vocalist T often preferring to Death metal is nothing if not in rude
movies.
exorcise his multitude of demons with health, with a plethora of bands
SAM MCKAVANAGH his back to the audience. Their obscure emulating and plagiarising the long
and introspective death/doom is hailed trailblazers and scene leaders of
DORO not for everyone, and accessibility, if yore. Equal parts Swedeath, Autopsy
‘Raise Your Fist’ ‘Widowmaker’ is anything to go by, is and Repulsion, Entrapment are nothing if
NUCLEAR BLAST not on the top of their priority list. Taking not by the book and deftly adhering to
Oh Doro, you’re so adorable. How can
the form of a single track clocking in at the rules and this in itself is both laudable
we even review your output critically
almost 40 minutes, 15 minutes of which and questionable simultaneously.
when you’re so damn awesome and
serving as an intro of grim portent, it ‘The Obscurity Within’ is nostalgia, from
lovely. And you were in Warlock! Yes,
eventually bursts into angular and atonal beginning to end with its naïve charm and
your solo music these days is way more
crust-ridden riffs that mount to savage reflective box-ticking. It fits squarely into a
sugary than ‘Burning The Witches’ but we
crescendos before dropping off once category of contemporary reminiscence
wouldn’t have it anyway. And you’re so
again into the void. This is a record for kids who are simply too young to have
sincere and sweet in the video for ‘Raise
primarily focussed upon atmosphere, its experienced the first, post-thrash wave of
Your Fist’ compared to the speed-frenzy,
ponderous pace rewarding the attentive death metal and thus this becomes ‘their
sweaty, rock ‘n’ roll mania of ‘Fight For
listener with moments of beauty amidst scene’. Entrapment is their new wave
Rock’. Now you’re doing romantic duets
its gouts of misanthropy. Best listened of death metal and succinctly fills that
with Lemmy and singing about how much
to when locked in a darkened room position and this is where its merits really
Dio is your hero instead of shooting to
contemplating how much of a fucking are.
kill, should you so desire. But don’t ever
mess people have made of the world, DARRAGH O’LEARY
change and don’t ever quit. We love you.
which, if you are reading this magazine, is
LOUISE BROWN probably a regular pastime anyway. ETEHRNAL
TOM O’BOYLE ‘Arkioas’
DR LIVING DEAD SELF-RELEASED
‘Radioactive Intervention’ ENFORCER From the opening flurry of ‘Order Of
HIGH ROLLER ‘Into The Night’ The Black Sun’, it’s clear that not only
Their debut may have kinda passed by
EARACHE do England’s Ethernal share much in
unnoticed in the UK but truth be told,
Earache cleverly picked up the Heavy common with the current British black
underneath their masks the mysterious
Artillery catalogue lately and while we and pagan metal acts like Winterfylleth
Dr Living Dead might just be the most
hope for a proper European release for and Wodensthrone, but thankfully retain
lethal wrecking crew north from here.
At War, Midnight Chaser and Volture, their own identity in the process. The
Their sophomore album ‘Radioactive
we’re more than happy that they’ve pastoral lilt to their music belies a solid
Intervention’, once again recorded
kicked off this campaign with Enforcer structure behind each and every song,
at Gutterview by former Dismember
and Vektor. Released on CD and vinyl with a canny ear for melody, heard
skinbasher Fred Estby, may be less than
(limited editions on yellow, blue and red particularly on ‘The Seat Of Kings’. The
crossover oriented and more focused
if you’re quick) ‘Into The Night’ deserves nearest reference point would be early
on pure thrash, with an upgraded
this new airing as only the true few got Forefather, but just as things seem to
Slayer influence. But just like their fellow
their mitts on it first time around. If you got follow a traditional pattern the band
countrymen FKÜ, these Swedish lads
into the Swedish speed slaughter-crew introduce elements to hold the interest,
know their ‘80s white trash culture inside
around their sophomore ‘Diamonds’ and it is on album closer and title track
out, as well as the fine line that separates
then this will show the ground they broke ‘Arkioas’ where thing get very interesting,
parody from heartfelt tribute and when to
to get there. The bass on this album the epic song interestingly combining its
throw in a solid dose of humour without
is utterly pounding (played by now- black metal structure with progressive
sounding too goofy. There are still scarce
axeman Joseph Tholl) and this was when touches, taking the listener into a realm
moments when they uncannily sound like
the band were originally a four-piece with beyond. Ones to watch.
Suicidal Tendencies (hooligan choirs and
Adam Zaars on guitar (we’re not being JEREMY MILLER
Mike Muir’s caterwaul included) but even
biased - promise!) trading off against
Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
FORGOTTEN TOMB
‘...And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil’
AGONIA
There are plenty of ways to lose oneself
in this tomb, in fact it is, if anything, a
veritable labyrinth of lamentation. The
journey meanders in heart-rending
fashion from black swaggers to
Katatonian shimmering riffs and in the
case of ‘Cold Summer’ an almost Frostian
doom-tinged stomp. More accessible
melodies have seeped into the Italian
band’s work of late, the snappy snarl of
‘Let’s Torture Each Other’ particularly
getting its talons out. The problem is there
is a bit too much wandering in the dark
through this catacomb of despair and
immediacy gets a bit lost as the candle’s
snuffed out. This is well worth venturing
into for fans of Woods Of Ypres and
Shining just don’t expect to find the exit
sign too easily.
BUTCH CARLIN
THE GARDNERZ
‘It All Fades’
ABYSS
Weighing in with a meaty 36 minutes, the
new EP from this Swedish bunch (plus one
Chilean transferee), following a promising
debut last year, will alas most likely be
remembered for only one of its six tracks.
And it’s not even theirs. Granted, the way
these doomsters have completely turned
Darkthrone’s ‘necro’ hymn ‘Transilvanian
Hunger’ into a bittersweet ballad sung
by a fragile female vocalist and devoid
of any drums and distortion is their
biggest achievement yet, like Fairport
Convention crossing the Styx. Too bad
the same can’t be said about their own
songs; even if they play doom from a
death metal perspective, hence its extra
crunch, they end up shooting themselves
in the foot with their lacklustre songwriting
and mediocre scattered melodic vocals
lines.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
GENOCIDE SHRINES
‘Devanation Monumentemples’
CYCLOPEAN EYE
As some were quick to point out, in
the end, this debut EP includes only
four tracks and less than 15 minutes of
actual music. But dismissing ‘Devanation
Monumentemples’ interludes and non-
metal moments would mean denying its
overall strong ritualistic aspect and thus,
totally missing the point. At their core,
these Sri Lankans are pounding the kind
of bestial mix of black and death metal
DEATHSPELL OMEGA
‘Drought’
SEASON OF MIST
UFO? Excuse me? Anyway in some
ideal, utopian world Graveyard would
be bringing this to the masses in a way
the Black Keys are right now. Jack
White may have opened the door for
the blues back into the mainstream
and even recorded a Pentagram
cover but none of this has had a knock
on effect to our scene. Back in the
day it would have been very possible
that Graveyard would have had some
crossover appeal but in 2012 the door
seems firmly shut. Play your hand in the
metal scene, regardless of the fact
you would have shifted millions in 1972,
90 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
that would make Proclamation and
Archgoat fans instantly salivate, even if
they lean a tad more towards the latter
à la Necro Christos, and with an added
low-end to die for. But taken as a whole,
with their striking artwork where the divine
meets nuclear warfare and general sense
of oddness, Genocide Shrines prove
to quickly surpass the exotic factor to
become the kind of utterly ‘out there’
and unique band that the true supporter
of the extreme could easily become
obsessed with.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
GOD SEED
‘I Begin’
INDIE
Gaahl and King, two of black metal’s
most notorious, reunite and return with
‘I Begin’, an album three years in the
making that accomplishes the odd feat
of being nostalgic for two reasons. Firstly
due to its strong ties to their previous
output in Gorgoroth, and secondly
with the introduction of the Jon Lord-
esque keys of Geir Bratland, which gives
their black metal a ‘70s tint with an
accompanying warm production; within
which riffs occasionally drown in fuzz. The
new/old twist works well on tracks like
‘Hinstu Dagar’, but fails when it all gets
a bit too Rick Wakeman, as on ‘Lit’. It is
within familiar blast-battered territory that
‘I Begin’ delivers. ‘This From The Past’ and
‘The Wound’ are satisfyingly frostbitten,
stormy passages, but, as on ‘Alt Liv’,
when the band slow their pace, the songs
lose focus. Enslaved, Ihsahn and other
artists of their ilk have taken successful
experimental strides along hitherto
untrodden paths, but God Seed have
some way to go before their musical
alchemy accomplishes similar feats. For
now, it is best considered a tentative first
step.
TOM O’BOYLE
GOUGE
‘Doomed To Death’
HELLS HEADBANGERS
Autopsy really have a lot to answer when
it comes to vomiting forth clones but one
cannot argue with the influential brilliance
that was their early output. Gouge have a
style somewhere between Necrophagia’s
‘Season Of The Dead’ and Autopsy’s
demos. Messy, deliberately sloppy, low-fi
death metal from Norway is what Gouge
are about. It is the type of music that is
evocative of teenagers in a basement
drinking, getting stoned, watching ‘Evil
with a bit of luck, and at least in the
UK, US and most of Europe, this is where
you will stay. Sweden on the other
hand pushed ‘Lights Out’ to number
two in the charts. So what’s wrong with
the rest of the world? Go figure.
Graveyard have reached back
into the ‘60s, beyond the spectre of
Sabbath to the first UK blues explosion
(this is as much Clapton as it is Iommi).
Yet there is a grit under the fingernails
to ‘Lights Out’ that was born under the
watchful eye of the urban wastelands
and belching smokestacks of Iommi
and Blackmore’s Northern England
that cannot be denied. It is when
they take their feet off the pedal as
on ‘Slow Motion Countdown’ that
the soul of the band shines through. A
sumptuously gorgeous song that sends
shivers down the spine that showcases
how far and wide the modern metal
scene can stretch its muscle while all
the time living in the shadows. This is
our lot, stunning.
ALAN AVERILL
ENSLAVED
‘RIITIIR’
NUCLEAR BLAST
Historically Enslaved have been a
band who are as creative as they
are prolific. Whether it is their innate
ability to move effortlessly between
the extreme and the majestic, or the
intrinsic dynamism with which they
move from a complex, polyrhythmic
pattern into a simple, powerful riff,
they are masters of their craft. So it is
then to this, their 12th album proper.
A daunting prospect for any band,
particularly when you consider that
their ‘difficult second album’ was ten
albums ago! Opening confidently with
the off-kilter, doom-laden cacophony
of ‘Thoughts Like Hammers’; a slightly
odd opener due to its mid-paced
feel, but one that shows the depth of
writing within the band. At the heart
of the album is a progression from
their two previous efforts, a flowing
body of songs that drawn on what is
Dead’ and listening to traded tapes whilst
making a racket of their own, which they
too hope to send out in a trade.
DARRAGH O’LEARY
GROAN
‘The Divine Right of Kings’
SOULSELLER
Before one even gets beyond the Dave
Patchett and Hieronymus Bosch-inspired
cover art for this, the second full-length
from England’s Groan, it’s evident that
these lads are enjoying themselves. Song
titles like ‘How Black Was Our Sabbath’
and ‘Let’s Have A Pint At The Crooked
Cock’ more than hint at that. ‘The Divine
Right Of Kings’ picks up where last year’s
split with Vinum Sabbatum left off, with
its musical equivalent of a beer-soaked,
spliffy and red-eyed rainy Sunday
afternoon. This is riff-driven, sometimes
psychedelic, with nasal one-dimensional
vocals and an attitude borrowed from
the school of Witchfinder General and
Cathedral. Now two full-lengths and the
aforementioned split into their legacy,
Groan need to do better than this. Much
of it passes by as something previously
done by countless others many times,
and often with more commitment. There
is potential there for sure, and some of the
riffs are as catchy as herpes, but for now
Groan must settle for their place in the
second tier of current stoner bands.
MÁIRTÍN MAC CORMAIC
HEAVY CROSS
‘Street Wolf’
HELLS HEADBANGERS
Heavy Cross are the latest project from Mr
Werwolf and far more in the obscure early
‘80s European heavy metal vein than the
mid ‘80s Americanisms of his other project
Armour. The title track is reminiscent in
parts of Swedes Helevetets Port with
a killer chorus and wolf howls galore,
whereas b-side ‘Red Light Woman’ is far
more in the Status Quo and Thin Lizzy vein
with its tale of a lady of the night and a
chorus that sounds like it could be sung by
Bad News! Rousing stuff.
JEREMY MILLER
great about the modern, progressive
elements of Enslaved’s songwriting.
The melodies are still strong and the
riffs still draw you into their grooving
intricacies, but what brings this one
home is the increasing prevalence
of the clean vocal elements. Ever
since Herbrand Larsen came into the
Enslaved fold, the use of his vocals
have added a new angle to the
output of the band. On ‘RIITIIR’ he has
really come into his own, taking a front
running position on many songs and
adding a wholly different dynamic
to the album. It’s not easy to keep
building on what you do and shining
light into the dark corners of your
song craft, but Enslaved seem to do it
with ease. Testament to the longevity
and quality of their output, ‘RIITIIR’ is
a welcome addition to one of the
strongest back catalogues in extreme
metal.
CHRIS NAUGHTON
HELLBRINGER
‘Dominion Of Darkness’
HIGH ROLLER
Hailing from Australia, Hellbringer are
well-versed in their nation’s blackened
thrash heritage. Taking their cues from
Destroyer 666, Armoured Angel and the
mighty Hobbs Angel Of Death, it comes
as no surprise that from the opening
bars of title track ‘Dominion Of Darkness’
they mean business. As much as they
worship their Aussie contemporaries, they
clearly take their cues from the current
crop of German thrashers too, with the
band uncannily sounding like Nocturnal
and Cruel Force at times, but despite
the similarities they have enough songs
the quality of ‘Satanic Destructor’ and
‘Hellbringer’, which certainly get that
head banging and fist pumping. There is
nothing in particular to make Hellbringer
stand out from the current crop, but they
are enjoyable enough and can happily
take their place alongside their peers.
JEREMY MILLER
KARNARIUM
‘Otapamo Pralaja’
NUCLEAR WINTER
One of Europe’s prime retailers of primitive
black/death one minute and avant
garde, psychotic, drug-fuelled weirdos
the next, Karnarium are hard fuckers
to pin down. And if indeed their earlier
releases focused with more or less success
on the former, their second proper full-
length in more than 12 years smoothly
switches from one to another with such
malign simplicity that it only underlines
the madness at its core. Midway through
‘Otapamo Pralaja’, all of a sudden,
decides to slow things down only to
twist things around even more with a
doom-laden epic (‘Travelling All Through
Spheres Of Thoughts’) before a Voivodish
instrumental (‘Yoga Of Tamas’) almost
seems logical after repeated spins, even
if their lyrics will forever be read like the
delirious ranting of a madman who’s lost
it by looking too much into Nyarlathotep’s
eyes. The best part is that apart from
Pan.Thy.Monium or Carbonized nobody
sounds like Karnarium. But then again,
maybe it’s just that nobody is as cuckoo
as Karnarium.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
INCANTATION
‘Vanquish In Vengeance’
LISTENABLE
Standard-bearers of the USDM scene,
Incantation have been blasting since
1990, but it’s been six long years
since we last saw the veterans back
in full-blown action. ‘Vanquish In
Vengeance’ is the uncompromising
comeback and boy, it delivers. Not
sure what’s they’re vengeful about
exactly, but with death metal being
KHORS
‘Wisdom Of Centuries’
CANDLELIGHT
Comprising ex-members of Astrofaes,
Hate Forest and Thunderkraft, Khors have
been nestling in the seething, incestuous
Ukrainian underbelly since 2004. They
have accumulated four previous albums
and a couple of DVDs before stepping
up to Candlelight’s ever growing empire
and more widespread recognition. With
plenty to prove ‘Wisdom’ is a frustrating
listen with only four real, albeit epic,
numbers amidst another four somewhat
superfluous instrumentals. When they
get into their groove they hit the pagan
furrow admirably, forging bravado and
atmospheres bristling with heathen might.
However this has the feeling of a hastily
constructed affair, which considering
their peers, past acts and achievements
could have really have delivered so
much more and solidified their position
further rather than just garnering them
with a somewhat lacklustre thumbs up.
PETE WOODS
KOLDBRANN
‘Totalt Sjelelig Bankerott’
SEASON OF MIST
True Norwegian black metal band in
single and video clip shocker! It may
have been frowned upon back in the
day but Koldbrann (it means gangrene,
not Norse for breakfast cereal) have
not had an album out since ‘Moribund’
in 2006. This is sharp, thorny and oozes
class and precision instrumentally.
Mannevond, busy of late in Djevel
and Nettlecarrier, accompanies with
a festering vocal performance littered
with beefy death grunts and there’s a
sinuous spoken sermon from guest Erland
Hjelvik (Kvelertak) for good measure. The
pounding feudal pace is suitably neck-
cracking and on strength of these two
tracks that forthcoming album should
slay.
PETE WOODS
KRYPTOS
‘The Coils Of Apollyon’
AFM
Sticking “pioneers of heavy metal
from India” as the cover line to your
debut international release raises some
eyebrows, but Kryptos are certainly
putting their riffs where their mouths are.
‘The Coils Of Apollyon’ might have been
conceived 5,000 miles away in Bangalore,
but its sound is deeply rooted in the heavy
metal sounds of the UK circa’82. Kryptos
don’t necessarily bring anything new
to the table; but reliable music is hard
to come by these days. Taking a fast
and harmonised approach to the riffs,
92 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
owned by the new school (Degial,
Maveth, Grave Miasma) and the old
school putting out rave remix albums,
plus the fact that Incantation leader
John’s label Ibex Moon going tits
up thanks to the current state of the
music industry, we’re guessing they’ve
got a lot to vent about. There’s all
the blasphemous, blasting ferocity
trademarks here and coupled with a
bludgeoning production it feels as if
Incantation, who are joined by Alex
Bouks from Goreaphopbia trading off
some pedigree riffs here with John,
are reinvigorated. Okay, so the riffs
remain the same and there’s not a
whole lot of variety, but ‘Vanquish...’
is so pounding that you forget to look
for the peaks and troughs and just take
the beating.
LOUISE BROWN
interjected with a splash of Priest-meets-
thrash, and you’ll quickly find yourself
in a world of musical bliss. Channelling
a heavy dose of Mille Petrozza through
the vocals breaks up the flow, and when
it comes down to it, Kryptos are offering
50 minutes of suitably headbang-ready
music. Sometimes that’s all you can ask
for.
JOSH WEST
LASTER
‘Wijsgeer & Narreman’
DUNKELHEIT
Dark, dreary, depressive and decrepit are
all words perfect to describe this debut
from Dutch duo Laster. These three tracks
are suitably limited in release and were
originally demo recordings first committed
to tape, now getting CD treatment for
those who want to dwell in the group’s
dark grip. With a stygian and cavernous
production, which suits the musical
textures perfectly, this grim and grimy
moribund trip is a fuzz laden assault torn
asunder with arcane and necromaniacal
screeches, horribly spreading dreadful
atmosphere. With narrative inspired by
Faust, the tortured sounds wrung out here
are a perfect pact of the damned. Don’t
approach looking for any semblance of
polish or shine though, these razor blades
are rank and rusty.
PETE WOODS
LORD FIST
‘Spark For The Night’
SELF-RELEASED
Setting the internet aflutter within
minutes of posting their first songs,
Finland’s Lord Fist, with their ‘Spark For
The Night’ demo, certainly justify the
hype. Opening track ‘Supersailor’ sets
the standard, with its uptempo killer
harmonies, leads and the vocals of singer
Perttu Koivunen, which thankfully add
much to the overall sound. ‘Chains Of
Steel’ is a more mid-paced song allowing
for the rhythm section to shine through,
before the pace picks up again with a
breakneck solo opening ‘Master Of The
Witches’. The simple, catchy riffs and solo
of the title track are filled with the spirit
of the ‘80s without ever sounding like a
mere clone. Music this good deserves
to be heard, and thankfully despite
originally being limited to a mere 100
copies, a repress on both cassette and
cd is imminent.
JEREMY MILLER
LOUDNESS
‘Eve To Dawn’
FROSTBYTE
Oi Roudness (sorry I had to) no, no, no…
we don’t want a modern updated version
after 30 years. Why, oh why, have you
downtuned and started to sound like
mid-’90s thrash metal played by men
old enough to know better? We want
the classic rock Loudness of 1982. You
know, like Dokken understood for their
excellent comeback album ‘Lightning
Strikes Again’. Just like we didn’t want
them playing grunge we don’t want
you to downtune. I understand the
conundrum, as men of a certain vintage
with memories of the early ‘80s still vivid,
you wonder what you can do to capture
the hearts of youth again. Sad fact is it’s
not going to happen, so best to revert to
what you know best. ‘Eve To Dawn’ is a
confusing album from start to finish. From
the abysmal, future “worst album art ever”
cover to the macho, aggressive tone of
the vocals to the overbearing, triggered,
blazing pedal drums you almost have to
check the CD again to make sure it is
Loudness. Odd to say the least
ALAN AVERILL
MASACHIST
‘Scorned’
SELFMADEGOD
As one great man must have said one
day, democracy is for suckers. And
that goes with ‘supergroups’ as well.
Look at Masachist: on paper, it boasts
an impressive line-up that includes
Decapitated’s first growler Sauron,
current Dimmu Borgir skinbasher Daray
and Vesania four-stringer Heinrich. But
in the end, it’s first and foremost former
Yattering and Azarath guitarist Thrufel’s
show as he’s responsible of 99 percent of
the music here. And it looks like he’s more
than willing to have his slice of the pie
as with ‘Scorned’ he’s having his shot at
a more thrashy and kinda ‘mainstream’
(in a Polish death metal way) style. And
that’s both the blessing and the curse
of this second full-length. Thanks to its
participants, this is indeed one well-
oiled war machine. But apart from few
Voivod-ish bizarre riffs hidden here and
there, it simply tries too hard to steal
Decapitated and Behemoth’s thunder to
fully convince.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
MASTER’S HAMMER
‘Transgalaktický Řezník’
SELF-RELEASED
Opening with mysterious keyboard
driven sounds interspersed between riffs,
‘Transgalaktický Řezník’ (Transgalactic
Butcher) throws the listener, before the
instantly recognisable (although a little
deeper) vocals of Franta Storm kick in.
The two tracks on offer are both really
well-produced and written, and with their
melodies, riffs and strange arrangements,
not forgetting the trademark Tympans,
meaning that even when slightly
unfamiliar elements occur, such as the
singing of the chorus of second track
‘Barva Kosmu’ (Colour Of Space), no
matter what, it still remains completely
Master’s Hammer.
JEREMY MILLER
MENACE RUINE
‘Alight In Ashes’
PROFOUND LORE
Paradoxically, the unsavoury nature
and uneasiness of ‘Alight In Ashes’ is
what makes it such fantastic listening.
The album, the fourth full-length from
Canada’s drone aficionados, takes you
on a sonic journey; the ethereal vocals
being your guiding voice, steering you
through the ghastly unknown. As albums
like this go, this is by far one of the more
approachable drone albums you’ll
find; not to say that it is a paltry, radio-
friendly, tame version, just that the way
this duo have manipulated their talents
creates something that transcends what
a lot of other acts are doing. Be warned
whilst listening, what may seem like mere
seconds, or minutes, may in fact be hours
or days; such is their rhythmic, hypnotic
power.
SAM MCKAVANAGH
MIDNIGHT
‘Complete And Total Hell’
HELLS HEADBANGERS
Break out the bullets, bust out the blow
and for Lucifer’s sake bang those bitches,
for Midnight strikes once more with a
new release of nasty, hot rockin’ tracks
straight from Route 666. ‘New’ might be
a bit of a misnomer, as ‘Complete And
Total Hell’ is actually a compilation of old
Midnight rarities, released on CD, double
LP and cassette, featuring their entire
back catalogue, minus some rehearsal
cover songs, dating before 2011’s
‘Satanic Royalty’ LP. Regardless, this is a
superb collection of blackened speed
metal that tosses Venom and Motörhead
references around like used condoms,
and amounts to 21 unholy and rotten
tracks of blackened rock ‘n’ roll that are
as infectious as they are hellraising. Stand-
out songs include ‘Vomit Queen’, ‘All Hail
Hell’, ‘Screams of Blasphemy’ and ‘Long
Live Death’, though there isn’t a single
track on the compilation that doesn’t
kick ass. The formula might not be so
fresh but the sleazy songs are played with
such Satanic abandon, and a killer black
metal-meets-punk tone and attitude, that
it doesn’t matter.
Besides, what ain’t broke shouldn’t
be fixed, so turn up the Hell, and get stuck
in!
JIM YOUNG
MONGREL’S CROSS
‘The Sins Of Aquarius’
HELLS HEADBANGERS
Since forming in 2009, Brisbane’s black
thrash bastards Mongrel’s Cross have
unleashed a demo, an EP and a split
(with fellow Aussies Innsmouth), and
now, adding another bullet to their belt
of releases, they’ve gone and done
their debut full-length proper. ‘The Sins of
Aquarius’ is an intriguing mix of primarily
black and thrash metal, with some death
metal creeping in here and there too.
That said, it’s still fairly standard stuff, and
there’s nothing too amazing going on
throughout the album. Songs like ‘Indulge
The Temple’ and ‘Rabid Inception’
feature some interesting moments
and display a lot of potential, while
‘Lead Them From The Promised Land’
and ‘Hunters Of The Born Again’ have
undeniable lead work, but some of the
songs feel like they go on longer than they
should. ‘The Sins of Aquarius’ definitely
attacks – the production and sound is
very good, with all instruments melding
together malevolently, the guitar tone
suitably abrasive and drums thundering
away. But something is missing. Mongrel’s
Cross don’t live up to expectations of
their Aussie origins and the promises of
devastation in their band name; there’s
room for much more thrashing bestiality.
After all, you can pillage all you like, but
without the raping where would you be?
You can’t doubt Mongrel’s Cross’ abilities
or their conviction, and there’s nothing
bad on this album – perhaps the songs
really come into their element live, on the
battlefield. But on record they’re not too
remarkable.
JIM YOUNG
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Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
NDINGIR
‘Greatest Of Deceivers’
INDIE
Ndingir’s pedigree is undeniable,
featuring ex and current members of
Mayhem, Dodheimsgard and 1349, as
well as being this month’s second album
featuring an ex-member of Gorgoroth, in
this case guitarist Teloch. The pedigree
shows. Simply, this is a record that does not
fuck about. Opening gambit ‘Greatest Of
Deceiver’s’ strangulating blasts morph
quickly into a predatory riff that only
ups the levels of cold-hearted animosity
contained within vocalist El.Cpt.Estrella
Grasa’s throaty bark. Their blending of
black and death with a no frills, Anders
Møller helmed production perfectly
suits the unashamedly blunt delivery. In
between the dissonant pummeling of
the record’s fourth track ‘The Balances’
and its penultimate ravager ‘Mother Of
Abominations,’ Ndingir broaden their
musical pallette, ‘Rags Upon A Beggar’,
for example, is black ‘n’ roll at its core,
delivered with a sense of urgency that
prevents it sounding as affected as
Nachtmystium or latter day Satyricon
have at times, and serves as a solid
example of how a band can expand their
musical horizons whilst still remembering
to kick your arse. All in all a focussed
and accomplished piece of blackened
nastiness that bellows for your attention.
TOM O’BOYLE
NINE COVENS
‘On The Dawning Of Light’
CANDLELIGHT
It is very easy to say that a black metal
band sounds furious, angry, aggressive or
all other manner things that connote evil,
or general nastiness, but whilst such words
and descriptions are generally used in a
flavourful way of describing bog standard
black metal, which is more noisy than
aggressive or more screamy than angry,
it seems that this mysterious British coven
can translate the attitude into music; the
screamed vocals carrying a weight of
pained anger and frustration that hangs
heavy in the singer’s voice; the guitars,
instead of brash are a fiery pit of noise,
slowly burning through. They know what
they’re doing and they’re doing it well, a
shining example of how you don’t have
to be from Norway to be able to do black
metal right.
SAM MCKAVANAGH
NOMINON
‘The Cleansing’
DEATHGASM
Those almost 20 year veterans have gone
though so many stylistic changes – from
pure early ‘90s Scandinavian black metal
INDESINENCE
“Vessels of Light & Decay”
PROFOUND LORE
After what feels like an eternity
since 2006’s stellar ‘Noctambulism’,
Indesinence have finally returned
with a brand new album. The burning
question for many will be as to
whether or not it will deliver after so
long away? As soon as the pounding
riff of ‘Paradigms’ hits this question is
answered, with bells on. Sumptuously
heavy chords resonate with a real
sense of purpose amidst a battery
of solid rhythm, to really drive home
the intent of a band with something
94 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
to Swedeath and everything in between
– and so many line-up changes that they
somehow always fell under the radar. Yet,
despite another recent turnover in the
musician department that saw the arrival
of two new boys (including Henke Skoog
from Eviscerated on vocals), they’ve
been on a roll since ‘Terra Necrosis’ in
2007. ‘The Cleansing’ may not break
new grounds but they’re delivering their
typically late ‘90s Swedish mix of thrash
and death metal, with more than a hint
of black metal as well for good measure,
with a passion that is hard to be ignored.
Per Karlsson (ex-Suffer, In Aeterneum, Die
Hard) is making sure things are being
kept in the red on the drums and ‘The
Cleansing’ fully embraces underground
aesthetics down to its gruesome B&W
artwork, Those missing the days of long-
lost, B-series Swedish thrash/death soldiers
like Inverted or Serpent Obscene are
strongly advice to jump on board.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
OKKULTOKRATI
‘Snakereigns’
FYSISK FORMAT
There’s a song on this, the second album
from Norse punk cretins, Okkultokrati
called ‘We So Heavy’. Yeah, that’s about
the sum of it. Some may call hipster foul,
but if you can’t play black metal in a
Black Flag t-shirt in this day and age of
incestuous scene fucking then we give
up. The Black Hole crew are as much
Annihilation Time as they are Aura Noir
and that’s no bad thing as this album
takes in everything from Darkthrone to
Turbonegro to Zeke. It’s like a party where
one of you shows up with coke, the other
with some ket and the other with acid
and you think what the hell, let’s drop it all
and see what happens. There are seven
minute mind-bending freak outs and two
minute biker punk speed fests and all of
it executed with a fuck-you attitude that
makes you realise that the kids are gonna
be alright.
LOUISE BROWN
RAGE NUCLÉAIRE
‘Unrelenting Fucking Hatred’
SEASON OF MIST
Having a well-known name is always
going to help propel you into the limelight
but for a band like Rage Nucléaire, their
signing to the great Season Of Mist seems
undeserving. Fronted by ex-Crytopsy’s
Lord Worm, this debut album, which
took 12 years to make, is a shambles.
‘Unrelentless Fucking Hatred’ is a poor
man’s Anaal Nathrakh and by poor,
we mean living on the streets with no
underwear. Whilst their influences use
charm and technicality, Rage Nucléaire
to prove after a lengthy time away.
What Indesinence have always
done well is to use this power and
heaviness alongside a command of
riffs that somehow manages to bend
your perception of space and time;
making 15 minute songs seem like
no time at all. Where the band have
positively developed from their last
album is in the wider use of peak/
trough dynamics within the songs,
adding a new level maturation to
their established framework. Allied
to that is a branching out into more
of the death/doom elements, which
are a welcome addition. Occasional
touches of Celtic Frost-esque
‘Ooooohhs’ really seal the deal. It
could be quite comfortably stated that
there has been a stagnation of ideas
within this type of doom for a while
now, and on ‘Vessels’ Indesinence
have laid down the gauntlet to their
peers to up their game.
CHRIS NAUGHTON
JUDAS PRIEST glorious days where rock and metal
‘Screaming For Vengeance’ strode the world like a colossus from
SONY stadium to stadium, life was a bit less
Really? Another teenage fantasy complicated and rock radio was life
come true. I used to write long-winded and death. Those days may be gone
adolescent reviews for albums in class but for those of us who keep the faith
time and put them in ye olde vinyls to the bitter end this is manna from the
back in the day. Either that or I’m good lord below.
confusing my addled memory with ALAN AVERILL
a Twisted Sister or Keel video? Or my
whole life has been snatches of ‘80s
metal videos, either way you air guitar
to the start of ‘Hellion/Electric Eye’
right? You air drum the intro to ‘Riding
On The Wind’ right? You know every
word to heart right? That’s all a given
and ‘Screaming For Vengeance’ is
one of the greatest albums of all time
and if you don’t know that then it’s
too easy for me to puncture holes in
your metal cred and a cheap shot
to say you shouldn’t be reading Iron
Fist. Yeah, yeah, whatever typical
hyperbole you want, but after 30 years
this is still as vital and vibrant as the
day it came out. If In Solitude have
been your gateway drug and you
are a young ‘un then welcome to the
overdose.
So, we all want to know is
the bonus worth it? The live show
recording is from a festival in San
Bernadino from ‘83, yeah the one that
appears to have about a quarter of
a million people at it and it will send
shivers down your spine. Back to the
is a messy affair of blastbeats, random metal that delivers the goods at the
keyboard sections and bizarre vocal most primal of levels. There are no frills,
effects that sound out of time with the no trends and no ‘cores’ about this, just
totally punishing riffs, battering drums and
generic riffing. An attempt at brutality
a groove even Bolt Thrower would be
is shadowed by a lack of connection
proud of. Masterminded by key members
between instruments and drums so
of Hate Forest, Drudkh and Blood Of
triggered it’s painful to make it to the
Kingu, this is a sincere take on a genre you
tenth and final track. The Worm should
crawl back in to the soil of Cryptopsy and would not automatically associate with its
creators, but one they switch into with
stay there, as this will not be allowed past
complete style and ease. Imagine if you
the gates of Valhalla.
will the powerful, mid-paced riffage of
LILY RANDALL
Bolt Thrower or Necros Christos and add
into it a slightly Winter-esque death/doom
RAGNAROK
element and you will probably come
‘Malediction’
somewhere close to what this record is
AGONIA
“I am Satan and I am suffering,” spits
trying to achieve. Gnarling guitar riffs and
a punchy back bone bring forward some
out singer HansFyrste on ‘The Elevenfold
Seal’ with venomous scorn at the
great riffs with a desire to pay tribute to
Christian scum that the band have
proper death metal. It’s all here and its
been tormenting now for seven albums.
hard hitting.
CHRIS NAUGHTON
Amidst these distempered snarls the
drums batter furiously and guitars scythe
RUINS
in an unrelenting whiplashing onslaught.
‘Place of No Pity’
It’s very much business as usual for the LISTENABLE
Norwegian horde and as ever they Australia continues to produce frosty
play everything at two speeds, fast and blackened metal despite its climate, this
bastard faster. You could have summed time in the form of Tasmanian duo Ruins
up this album pretty much before even and album number four seems destined
pressing play; there is no real deviation to finally push them into the spotlight.
in anything that Ragnarok do and their ‘Place Of No Pity’ starts off as icy as any
hammer and nails brand of black metal other second wave record, however
is akin to having the washing machine it is soon apparent that this is not your
on full spin cycle for 45 minutes. Luckily, standard repetitive blastbeat, riff fest, as
despite all this, they do manage to instead, Ruins incorporate music more
succeed with some impetuously catchy,
black ‘n’ roll. Psycroptic drummer Dave
dynamic melodies within the seething Haley brings a touch of technicality,
pit of their misanthropic barrage and it whilst Alex Pope’s audible lyrics refuse to
is hard not to give them the credit due follow the blackened trend of raw shrills.
rather than say that you may as well Every riff is as catchy as the bubonic
move along here; nothing particularly plague, with groovy thrash elements one
minute and deathly chugs the next. This
unexpected or new to hear.
BUTCH CARLIN modern touch is helped along further
by a squeaky clean production without
RATTENFÄNGER losing the Tasmanian devils’ bite. Closing
‘Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum’ with the speedy ‘Merciless’ is a perfect
conclusion to this promising release as the
DARK ESSENCE
perfect adjective to summarise such a
You know sometimes you want to just put
promising release.
a record on for the first time and have it
LILY RANDALL
completely rip your face off? Well, this is
it! A total wet dream of old school death
Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
HELL MILITIA
‘Jacob’s Ladder’
SEASON OF MIST
The French troupe (containing
members of Mütiilation, Arkhon
Infaustus and Vorkreist) return with
their “third mass”. It’s as dangerous
and unmistakably French as their
previous releases but this time they
show they can really walk with the
big boys. Samples from the movie
‘Bad Lieutenant’ set the mood then
the title track explodes in a vortex of
blastbeats that spiral like a bad trip,
dragging you down in to their world.
Be afraid. This is Hell Militia at their most
colossal. ‘Sternenfall’ is a particular
highlight with its goosebump-inducing
old school opening riff – sounding
like something Watain would have
been proud of in their ‘Casus Luciferi’
days. In fact, the whole track is a
collection of killer riffs that evoke an
SALUTE/OCCVLTA
‘Split’
DOOMENTIA
A split release between Fenriz tipped
Germans Occvlta and Brits Salute who
like to shout ‘OOGH’ a lot. Occvlta’s two
songs, ‘Return To The House I Once Lived
In’ and ‘The Killer’ sound like outtakes
left off the last few Darkthrone releases
for not making the grade, such is their
black punkish vibe mixed with plenty of
Hellhammer. It is Salute’s two songs that
stand out, with their granite and whisky-
soaked vocals over a heavy blend of
Motörhead, Discharge and Celtic Frost
riffs, especially on ‘Iron River, Iron Rites’
with its heavy riffing, and they even throw
in a curve ball in the shape of some
sung hymn-like vocals in their second
song ‘Holy Blood’, before an (almost
trademark) ‘OOGH’ pick things up for a
furious finish.
JEREMY MILLER
SEAMOUNT
‘Earthmother’
THE CHURCH WITHIN
Out of all the bands Hour Of 13’s vocalist
Phil Swanson has been, or is still a part
of, the closest Seamount comes to is
Upwards Of Endtime. Just like that now-
defunct act from Connecticut, this
not-so-new adventure has seen him
teaming up with a backing band of
German musicians and is his most open-
minded project yet, with a wide range
of influences ranging from metal to
classic and even progressive rock and a
lyrical content that he himself presents as
“positive”. Still, call us biased or whatever,
but it’s only when Swanson and his
buddies tackle vintage Ozzy (‘Surrender’,
‘Just For Fantasy’) or step onto doomish
territories the reminds of his ‘regular’ job
(like ‘Earthmother’, an echo of Sabbath’s
own ‘Megalomania’) that the boys truly
deliver. When they wander off into more
mainstream hard rock lands Swanson has
to save the day ‘cos their music simply
doesn’t have the chops nor the bite it
requires to live up to their promises.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
SKELETAL REMAINS
‘Beyond The Flesh’
FDA REKOTZ
Since it’s been now a couple of moons
since the old school revival swing had
been monopolised by the Swedish school,
it may be about time some other early
‘90s sub-scenes get the chance to be
re-evaluated and Skeletal Remains are
gladly volunteering. Surfing on the wave
created by their debut demo earlier this
year (of which two songs have been re-
recorded here), besides a frontman who
uncannily sounds like Martin Van Drunen
96 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
apocalyptic feeling. The stars are
truly falling. Depraved and drugged,
as per usual, but tighter than ever
with clear production courtesy of
Germany’s SOS studio (Secrets Of The
Moon, Ascension), ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ is
gigantic.
The atmosphere has changed
noticeably across the three
albums, going from the blast fest of
‘Canonisation Of The Foul Spirit’ to
the heroin-veined murk of the ‘Last
Station On The Road To Death’. This
third revelation is the perfect blend
of elements from the preceding
albums. Track ‘Death Worship’ is great
example of this with its bare bones
structure and trudging riffs. There’s also
a definite Arkhon vibe. Willie’s vocals
aren’t as distinctly ‘him’ as on previous
albums – there isn’t that ‘on the edge
of vomiting’ sound they had in the
past. He has one of the sickest voices
in the French scene, so to standardise
them a little is a shame. But ‘Jacob’s
Ladder’ is like a drug-induced religious
experience, exactly as Hell Militia
should be. It seems they have finally
achieved a sound many believed they
should have had from the beginning,
though fans of the original sound may
believe it to be too clean.
JACK WELCH
during his ‘Consuming Impulse’ days in
Pestilence, those Californians are paying
a vivid tribute to the former glory of the
Morrisound studio’s legendary muffled
sound. Yet, while another valid parallel
would be ‘Spiritual Healing’, with its
sharp almost techno-thrash edge and
superb lead works, ‘Beyond The Flesh’
nevertheless has a mind on its own. And
this eight-tracker (nine is you go for the
vinyl version that has a Gorguts cover
as a bonus) has such an already stellar
musicianship and manic drive for a band
formed only last year that it might well just
be one of the year’s most surprising – and
best – debuts of the year.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
SPIDERS
‘Flashpoint’
CRUSHER
Officially, even if all is cool between
Witchcraft’s leader Magnus Pelander
and his former lead guitarist John Hoyles,
it’s hard not to see the latter’s new bands
both releasing their debut full-lengths in
the wake of the somewhat disappointing
‘Legend’. Still, whereas Troubled Horse
is clearly heavily stepping on the same
ground covered by the ‘craft’s earliest
recordings, Spiders are altogether a
different beast, though still rooted in
the past. On this short (28 minutes) yet
relentless debut, Hoyles and co are
obviously having a blast leading those
ten two-minute-and-a-half nuggets with
the assistance of the leather-clad Ann-
Sofie Hoyles and the kind of punk rock
energy you could have expected from
the Hellacopters or MC5. Yep, you’ve
heard it all before but if you fancy big
cars and no frills rock ‘n’ roll ‘Flashpoint’
is hard to resist.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
‘LONG Live Heavy Metal’
CENTURY MEDIA
Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before. Listen
fella, the Beherit demo came out before
you were born and you know what? It
wasn’t that great. Sure didn’t he make
a dance electro album and become a
suit and tie guy? And while I’m at it Heavy
Load isn’t ‘that’ fucking good neither.
Let’s cut straight to the point, if Enforcer
had made some of these songs the
‘80s moustache underground would be
falling over themselves to hail them but
instead we snort into our morning coffee
in derision at the thought of 3 Inches Of
Blood writing a good heavy metal record
right?
Okay, so the production is modern,
perhaps a touch too modern and it could
do with a touch of character in the amp
inputs and Cam could bring the vocal
pitch down a notch or two now and
again as it is just ‘too’ white knuckle for
its own good. 3IOB have been unfairly
pilloried for supposedly coming from the
wrong scene (whatever that means) and
playing with the wrong bands or simply
not being skinny Swedish boys with high
cheekbones but I defy anyone to play
‘4000 Torches’ or the foot-stomping Dio
tribute ‘Look Out’ and not be moved to
bang a head, raise a fist or catch yourself
grinning from ear to ear. It won’t change
your life but you know what? It’s pretty
damn good heavy metal. None more.
ALAN AVERILL
TIAMAT
‘The Scarred People’
NAPALM
Although somewhat revered for their ‘90s
output, Swedish Sumerian worshippers
Tiamat never retained the impetus of
the period, despite popping up every
few years with an album and tour. Their
brand of gothic rock has certainly been
consistent, even if without a gentle
prod now and again you could forget
the band were still active. ‘The Scarred
People’ sees them on album number ten
and after a few spins it is evident that this
is another fine collection of songs with
memorable melodies wrapped around
Johan Edlund’s soporific and hypnotic
voice. Numbers veer from that rocky
chug perfected on ‘Floodland’-era
Sisters Of Mercy and the tenebrous and
wispy Floydian weave of airy tripped-out,
ambient breaks. The whimsical ‘Messinian
Letter’, in particular, throws a Roger
Waters brick through the wall; a stadium
lighters out finger burner of a song. The
Americana twang of ‘The Sun Also Rises’
deserves to see Edlund getting the sort of
praise heaped upon the likes of Nick Cave
but sadly this is likely to be overlooked by
all except the loyal actively seeking it out.
BUTCH CARLIN
TOOTH AND NAIL
‘Slave To The Empire’
RATPAK
Your mother always gave out to you
when you were a kid telling you to grow
up. Then you grow up and realise your
grandmother still bitches about the same
woman she bitched about in class when
she was nine years old. We don’t grow
up, we just find new words to paint our
arguments and paint people into corners.
A couple of years ago the original line up
of Dokken were seemingly offered the
support slot for the final Scorpions world
tour; one last throw of the dice to stop
playing country fairs and club shows to
100 people and they put their left foot
in and then took it out and repeated
the exercise until those of us who were
interested shook our heads and forgot it.
Point is with one last shot at the stadiums
MOTÖRHEAD
‘The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 2’
EMI
Sleep-when-you’re-dead rockers
Motörhead return with a second
instalment of live recordings from
their near-ceaseless The Wörld Is
Yours tour. The follow-up to 2011’s
‘… Vol 1 – Everywhere Further Than
Everyplace Else’ clocks in at over two
hours with footage including the boys’
headlining Wacken appearance
as well as highlights taken from
Sonisphere and Rock in Rio. The video
and audio quality is generally great,
though Lemmy is a bit lacklustre;
his voice wavering at times and his
there was too much water under the
bridge to work it out and the realisation
that as men of a certain vintage this was
the last train leaving the station.
Maybe it’s being slightly unfair as
the acrimony between Don Dokken
and George Lynch seems to still be as
red hot as when they split for the last
time in 1995, in the middle of the grunge
drought. Time has moved slowly round in
Dokken’s favour though, slowly but surely
word of mouth has ushered in quiet tones
the greatness of the trio of ‘80s albums
‘Tooth And Nail’, ‘Under Lock And key’
and ‘Back For The attack’ and even I got
less roundly mocked for my Dokken shirt
in 2012 as I did in 2010. So what the hell is
T&N? It’s the three other original members
of Dokken without Dokken re-recording
old classics with the likes of Doug Pinnick
and singers for hire, Tim Owens and
Sebastian Bach lending their chords
mixed in with some ok-ish new songs. It
leaves me in a reviewer’s quandary as
despite that the whole thing seems like
a millionaire’s, or at the very least, an
‘80s rock star folly, it is utterly pointless.
We wanted Dokken on that stadium tour
with Scorpions one last time, we wanted
them at Hellfest between Lizzy and UFO
on a lazy Saturday evening to plaster shit-
eating grins on our faces one last time to
‘It’s not Love’. Bury the hatchet.
for the classics
for the new tunes
for the rationale
ALAN AVERILL
TROUBLED HORSE
‘Step Inside’
RISE ABOVE
While we learned above that John Hoyles
is playing at garage punk in Spiders,
he’s also exhausting his post-Witchcraft
tension in a band much more up the
‘Craft’s street, Troubled Horse. But while
Witchcraft seemed to have lost their
mojo the Horse is keeping on with that
retro sound that made his old band
stand out and forge the Orebro scene
that would also give us the addictive
Graveyard. John is the master of the
bluesy rock lick, but the shining star of
‘Step Inside’ is without a doubt the lungs
of Martin Heppich, who takes us back a
few decades or so reminding the listener
of Humble Pie or Spooky Tooth. There’s a
real ‘60s King’s Road vibe on this record
and that’s hammered home on the
fantastic ‘Sleep In Your Head’, which is
a brilliant tribute to The Animals. Riff-fests
like ‘Shireen’ and the Procol Harum-esque
‘All Your Fears’ make this a right, rolicking
knees up. John, Marianne and Mick
wanna invite you around for a cuppa
later, if you’re up for it.
LOUISE BROWN
once-defiant stance resembling more
a posture of discomfort. But still, it’s
fuckin’ Motörhead and they shit on
you and everything you do, especially
with the absolute powerhouse behind
the kit that is Mikkey Dee, who really
owns these performances. The set list
features many of the classics, with
the Wacken and Sonisphere shows
tastefully opening with the namesake
of this magazine, and some cuts off
the latest album, all building up to the
ultimate closer ‘Overkill’, which, like
a hangover beer binge, still gives a
great, if not familiar, rush.
JIM YOUNG
Reviews.Praise.Mutilation
VAMPIRE
‘Vampire’
TO THE DEATH
Satan only knows if the buzz will last very
long, especially in the current climate
of ‘old school overkill’. Still, it’s quite
amazing to see how much attention this
mysterious lot – they’re going all Ghost
on us by refusing to reveal their identity,
although one suspects you have to look
somewhere in between Gothenburg and
Kristiansand to find the guilty ones – has
gained so much attention solely based
on this. Like more and more these days,
this lo-fi three tracker (released originally
on tape of course in only 200 copies with
perfectly suited B&W artwork courtesy
of Mattias Frisk from Vanhelgd and now
available on 7”) takes back death metal
to its early and primitive state, like some
kind of rotten Death Breath that hadn’t
got past the Master demos. Except that
its pitch-perfect analogue production
and full embracing of everything that
made the genre so enthralling back in
1988 holds too many great promises to
be ignored.
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
VEKTOR
‘Outer Isolation’
EARACHE
Another gem in the Heavy Artillery
catalogue that is receiving the dusting
down and re-issue treatment by Earache
Records is sci-fi thrash quartet Vektor.
Following on from where their 2009
debut ‘Black Future’ left off this eight
track monster begins its sonic journey
with the monstrous ‘Cosmic Vortex’, a
ten minute trip through an aural black
hole the likes of which Voivod would be
proud. The laser blast, dual guitar attack
twists with an intricate wrath alongside
the pounding, sporadic blastbeats. As
the album progresses songs like the re-
worked ‘Venus Project’ fuses the jazzy
time changes that were Watchtower’s
signature with the tech thrashisms
that made Coroner so great. Vektor’s
bleak, futuristic prophecies make for
fresh subject matter whilst shying away
from the cheesiness of Agent Steel in
turn producing a thought-provoking
and neck-snapping record. It’s time to
embrace your future.
MILES HACKETT
VOID MOON
‘On The Blackest Of Nights’
CRUZ DEL SUR
Entitled ‘On The Blackest Of Nights’,
don’t expect any happy sing-along hits.
SONNE ADAM
‘Messengers of Desolate Ways’
CENTURY MEDIA
Israel’s Sonne Adam arguably set the
bar for dark, occult death metal with
debut album ‘Transformation’ in 2011.
Presented here is the journey the band
has pursued since, compiling two EPs,
the latest MLP and some extras. New
MLP ‘Doctrines Of Dark Devotion’
begins proceedings. Immediately,
one is struck by the change in sound.
While the album was notably dry and
stood on the quality and creativity of
the songs themselves, we now find
excessive reverb creates a distant
sound that takes priority over the
music. While one could say it adds
to the atmosphere, it seems like a
substantial step backwards, reducing
the distance between Sonne Adam
98 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
Pale-faced candle lovers are in for an
overdose of gloom-laden depression
to contemplate life over. It’s the kind of
album you’d imagine a 16-year-old kid
with dyed black hair listening to in his
darkened room. It would seem Void Moon
have become completely self-absorbed
in the making of this release and a lot of
cups of tea are needed in order to grasp
it. Well thought out harmonies become
prominent but is drowned in down-tuned
mourning guitars and weeping acoustic
instrumentals. They have clearly picked
up a Solitude Aeturnus obsession but a
spice of originality does whiff through.
Jonas Gustavsson’s vocals are far more
harsh than early Void Moon releases.
Unfortunately this has diminished their
previous ‘90s doom approach. Several
songs have been re-recorded from their
demos, including the once catchy ‘The
World And The Abyss’. However, they
have been flattened through a timid
production and made less original to tie
up with their new sound. For newbies to
Void Moon though this is something you’ll
dig.
DAVE SHERWOOD
VON
‘Satanic Blood’
SELF-RELEASED
Following the unanimously negative
reaction to the Armageddon Festival
appearance in 2010, bassist Venien has
persisted in continuing Von’s confusing
recent history. Comprising predominately
of re-recorded old songs, there is no
escaping inevitable comparisons with
the original material. Hearing the tracks
backed with computerised drums, a
poorly processed – and mildly irritating
– guitar tone along with an unimposing
vocal performance provide an impression
of a series of poorly executed cover
versions. Whilst this formula is passable
for slow passages or ‘Veadtuck’, the
result is a characterless mess. Three new
compositions convolutedly and aimlessly
labour the same uninspired ideas,
containing minimal conviction. Without
the nuances of the primal and energetic
forces that commanded the 1990s
recordings, there is little redeemable
here. Relevant, if only to serve as an
hour-long reminder of how much more
engaging the original recordings are.
YONI BEN-HAIM
WHITE MEDAL
‘Yorkshire Steel’
SKULL/ MASTER OF ALL EVIL
‘Yorkshire Steel’ (limited to 100 copies
and their contemporaries instead
of building on the band’s strengths.
When the MLP finishes and leads into
a cover of Thorns’s ‘Funeral Marches
To The Grave’, it seems perfectly in
place. In fact, it’s the darkest and most
captivating track so far.
The following material brings us
back to more familiar ground, with
the music taking the fore once again.
Previously unreleased ‘No Blood
Flow’ bizarrely sounds like a tribute to
Dismember, although it bridges the
gap nicely into the material from 2012’s
‘The Sun Is Dead’ EP, which seems to
incorporate a distinct Swedish twist to
the band’s own sound.
With inconsistencies in sound
and style, the main constant here is
regression rather than progression.
Make no mistake: this is still incredibly
solid material that rivals the best of
the current crowd, only now it’s far
less atypical. It sounds like material
that should have come before the
album, the sum of all parts developing
into something unique, whereas
what we have seems to be the band
deconstructing their own sound and
presenting the separate components
for all to hear.
ADAM WILKINSON
OFERMOD
‘Thaumiel’
SPINEFARM
Well this is a promising start. An eerie,
hair-raising throat chant dedicated to
Kali opens the ceremony and already
it sounds better than 2008’s rather limp
‘Tiamatu’. Where previous Ofermod
releases have failed, this album
succeeds. It’s as arcane and profane
as its predecessor, in fact it delves
deeper and seems more in tune with
some sinister force. First off Michaya’s
vocal dexterity is commendable,
because even with obvious nods to
Attila Csihar it sounds like a number of
ghouls are trying to escape his throat
naturally) is the 12” release of the demo
of the same name by this Yorkshire horde.
With its distorted buzz and raw production,
the title track sets the scene for what
follows, and ‘Abrigg’ with its mournful
intro set over rhythmic marching drums
swathes the listener in darkness before
the pace picks up. ‘Agait Back T’ooam’
starts with a bleak piano intro crawling like
mist before a guttural roar brings things to
a fast, yet melodic, conclusion. Forget
their ‘gimmick’ of singing in their Yorkshire
dialect (it’s not as if you can distinctly
hear the vocals anyway!), but what they
do possess is the ability to bring the murky
atmosphere of the moors into their music,
and with the UK’s legacy of black metal
remaining so poor, White Medal are
leading the revival.
JEREMY MILLER
WINDS OF GENOCIDE/ABIGAIL
‘Satanik Apokalyptic Kamikaze
Kommandos’
WITCHHAMMER
Durham’s deathcrust dirt bags Winds Of
Genocide meet street metal warriors
Abigail in one helluva deadly split that
rages harder than full-blown AIDs. No time
is wasted as Winds Of Genocide devastate
the first side of the split with seven tracks of
totally feral vocals, relentlessly pounding
drumming, and searing guitars that
plough their way through the mounds
of doomsday corpses. Led by unholy
screams and forewarning growls, the songs
are shitstorm-dark in atmosphere and
apocalyptic in nature, with enough chaos
to keep things exciting. There’s also a tinge
of black metal, as well as doomy sections
in there too, which spices things up nicely.
One of the nastiest moments of WoG’s
contribution is without doubt ‘Murderous
Bloodthirst’, an absolutely lethal track
(though, best title goes to ‘Wardogs Of The
Wastelands’) that cements these songs as
a serious step up from the 2010 EP, ‘The
Arrival Of Apokalyptic Armageddon’.
Abigail’s side only comprises three tracks,
but if these fuckers don’t make you wanna
party ‘til death, you either don’t have a
drinking problem or aren’t a metalhead
– either way, YOU’RE NO FRIEND OF MINE!
Unreal vocals accompany deliciously
primitive black/thrash madness as the
most evil band in Japan get all up in
your shit worse than Fukushima, seething
evil on ‘Black Fire Of Darkness’ and ‘Hell
Of Destruction’, whilst ‘Suicidal Warfare’
sounds like Hellhammer on meth. TOTAL
OVERKILL OF DEATH! A great split, with
fucking awesome cover art, too. It’s just a
shame there couldn’t be more songs from
Abigail’s side.
JIM YOUNG
at any one time. Vocal melody is used
to create a sacrilegious and fevered
atmosphere – like they tethered and
recorded the speech of a possessed
monk. Cleanly sung passages
are used to great effect, adding
dynamics when needed. There are
some harmonized, almost straight
heavy metal guitar leads that make a
welcome appearance.
Overall it sounds a lot less one-
dimensional than ‘Tiamatu’. This has
the in-depth lyrical concepts, put
across with abject conviction as we
have come to expect but this time it
has the music to support it. Ofermod
are such competent musicians and
this especially comes through on
tracks like ‘Prayers Unto Warpen
Eternities’ – the riffing is catchy and
technical, the drumming tighter than
a nun’s proverbial and it even includes
a punky group shout-along. This is
Ofermod as they should sound – fast,
tight, occult and loud!
JACK WELCH
YEAR OF THE GOAT
‘Angels’ Necropolis’
VÁN
Once you’ve managed to shake off that
dirty lasting impression of hearing Matt
Bellamy from Muse having a shot at the
left hand path and make peace with
the fact that once stripped off its Satanic
clothing, ‘Angels’ Necropolis’ reveals its
true, purely musical charms. Truth is, just
like Sabbath Assembly, without its Horned-
One-obsessed concept it wouldn’t be
as darkly seductive and might not even
be mentioned in this very magazine,
as at the heart of this debut full-length,
is in fact a late ‘60s/early ‘70s proto-
progressive band pierced by flashes of
Scandinavian folk, as if Ånglagard had
learned to follow a straight road. But
highlighted by a very analogue stripped-
down production, discreet yet soothing
and ominous Mellotron soundscapes and
smart arrangements, there’s something
extremely pernicious and thus fascinating
about a record that is far more complex
and perverted than meets the eye – and
the ear. Crossing the Styx never felt so
charming…
OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN
YELLOWTOOTH
‘Disgust’
ORCHESTRATED MISERY
Listening to the first few moments of
opening track ‘Wizard Dust’ will give you
a rock solid idea of what ‘Disgust’ has to
offer: sludge metal at its most generic
and fun. Understand that in this context
‘generic’ is not a slur against Yellowtooth,
who join the rank and file of many other
musically unadventurous yet wholly
enjoyable bands that fill out metal’s
multitudinous sub-genres. Their self-
admitted modus operandi in this respect
is to write music that riff-worshipping folk
can drink beer and have a laugh to. Live,
you can be guaranteed of a great time.
‘Disgust’ is chock full of ‘NOLA’ era Down
riffs, and crushes just as much, with the
odd Southern rock refrain thrown in for
good measure. The delivery is altogether
something darker however, with a bone
dry, rasping vocal that surely must have
taken a heroic amount of liquor and
cigarettes to accomplish. If the lyrical
content is anything to go by it is quite the
feat to sing like that when your tongue
is seemingly stapled to your cheek.
Yellowtooth have a whole lot of balls
and just enough brains to make them an
entertaining listen.
TOM O’BOYLE
 “We have these record fairs in
Helsinki, you always have to wrestle
with big fat Finnish men who’ve
been out all night drinking”

MAT ‘KVHOST’ MCNERNEY

HEXVESSEL
Our editor’s favourite album of the year, it could be
argued, isn’t metal at all. But the mastermind behind
HEXVESSEL’s ‘No Holier Temple’ is the ultimate metal and
vinyl nerd. This rummage through his collection is the result of a long
night destroying the juke box at The Crobar in London and discovering just
how obsessed this musical genius is
My favourite artwork is…
Nuclear Death’s 1990 ‘Bride Of Insect’
LP and 1991 ‘Carrion For Worm’ LP. I
picked these two albums up from a
second-hand store in Amsterdam
when I was living there. There is
almost nothing heavy metal about
Holland and especially Amsterdam.
No offence to the Dutch, but the
country is very far from the heavy
metal music-collecting-heaven that
it probably once was, despite the
heroic and genius efforts of festivals like
Roadburn to turn the tide. Someone
explained to me that a lot of the
European LP pressing plants used to
be in Holland and I guess Phillips was
a Dutch company? It’s hard to find
anything good in the last few records
stores there and you have to be
sharp and go to the record fairs
or regularly snoop the second-hand
stores. I found these two records in a
junk place and nearly went through
the roof. I could hardly contain my
excitement. Weird thing is that the
owner used to be a Finn and his details
are printed inside the sleeves! Records
sometimes have a weird way of going
around the world on a life-journey!
Photo: Maija Lahtinen

100 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 “The album drawings have been
plundered again and again by lesser artists
who seek to mimic the child-like serial
killer scrawl of Nuclear Death guitarist Phil
Hampson, who is responsible for those two
covers. These covers really make you feel
a bit uneasy. They have that total demo-
tape feel but hint at something else. Totally
the way death metal album covers should
look – as opposed to the fantasy board-
game Dan Seagrave stuff. I want the music
to represent the images that the artwork
conjures up and in this case the album
is beautifully represented. It’s clear that
in these first two albums Nuclear Death
perfectly portrayed and visualised their
perverted and horrific universe. Many bands
have tried to come close since but will fail.”
The record that I say is mine but is actually
(my wife and co-conspirator in Hexvessel
and vinyl hunting) Marja’s is…
“Ice Cross from Iceland’s debut LP. It’s
from 1973 and a total heavy metal classic.
The LP is in astounding condition and the
origins are a little bit mysterious, she found
it unexpectedly in a record fair amongst a
lot of un-related records (which is always
the most fun when seeking out true metal
gems). We have these great record fairs
in Helsinki and you always have to wrestle
with big fat sweaty, glasses-wearing Finnish
men, who’ve been out all night drinking,
breathing loudly through their nostrils and
stinking of days-old booze. It can get quite
aggressive – especially when you find
something like this.
“Anyway Marja owns this record and
should rightfully lay claim to that victory,
snaring it over the other vinyl maniacs at
that fair and paying a ridiculously fair price
for it. I think it’s a ‘90s repress but it’s very
faithful and in perfect condition and there’s
not really anywhere to see that it’s not an
original pressing. One could, at drunken
listening sessions, very easily fall into the trap
of claiming that it’s an original pressing and
that it was actually you who had found it
and brought it home. . . ahem! This record is
an underrated total gem and if you haven’t
already heard it then you have to check
out the track and lyrics to ‘Jesus Freaks’ –
they’re words to live by!”
The record I paid the most for is…
“Probably the Trunk Records issue of ‘The
Wicker Man’ soundtrack. I think I paid £50
each for four of them. I gave a couple to
friends as presents and kept two copies.
It’s a rare record but not as rare now that
the soundtrack was properly repressed on
LP. It’s not a good version to be honest but
I am still happy to own it since I am such a
fan of this soundtrack. It’s defined a whole
generation.
Hugely influential
across many genres of music, not least all the
metal songs, creepy intros and atmospheric
samples it has inspired!”
The record I searched everywhere for and finally
found is…
“Grotesque’s ‘Incantation’ LP from 1990. I had
it when I was a teenager but lost it somewhere
– probably at a friend’s place when I brought it
over to trace the logo. We had so many sessions
like that and even today some of my Darkthrone
LPs still have the pencil welts in them where I’ve
been tracing and retracing them again and
again. We used to paint our jackets with logos
and paint over them the next week and paint
a new one. I really wish I could get one of those
leather jackets back again. I nearly weep when I
think about them!
“This record is such a prized classic and I was
happy to pay the stupid price to get it back
again. It’s one of those I can’t live without. I used
to be a bit frightened by it when I was a kid. It
was an LP that sounded dangerous along with
the first Deicide LP. That was a good feeling and
a rare one you knew a good band by.”
The record that was a brilliant gift is…
“Teitanblood’s ‘Seven Chalices’ LP from Timo
Ketola, the cover artist. This is a strictly limited
edition, which has been covered in blood! I don’t
know what kind of blood it is (and I didn’t dare
ask), but it’s sticky and saturated. It feels powerful.
“I am a great fan of Timo’s work and own a few
originals and prints of his that grace our grubby
walls. He’s a very fastidious artist but also
the real McCoy. You always know that
when you work with him you are getting
as scrupulous an artist as you are about
the music. This particular edition of the
LP was very limited to his closest friends
and associates and is hand-made/hand-
drenched.
I can immediately get an ominous and
disturbing vibe from the record when I
see it glinting out in the record shelf – and
I can see why he originally intended it to
look and be this way. If there is an album
that deserves to be dipped in blood then it
is this one. There’s probably nothing more
frightening than the music of Teitanblood.”
The record that has the best photo is…
“Flower Travellin Band’s ‘Anywhere’ from
1970. The band is riding motorbikes,
naked, down the highway. Enough
said!”
The record I would never get rid of is…
“‘Never Turn Your Back On A Friend’,
made in 1973 by Budgie. Actually I am
a really massive Budgie fan and collect/
own all the LPs. I have everything now
but am still searching out rarities and 7”s.
They’re a stupendously underrated band
and Burke Shelley is one of my all time favourite
vocalists. His voice is just so nostalgic and
diverse. He’s like Paul McCartney. He’s able to
kill it with soft dreamy romantic songs and then
kick some serious rock ‘n’ roll ass with his furious
bluesy range. He just has his own style and
nobody can touch that. He was never afraid to
sound genuine and fragile. That’s a real man
right there!
“On that particular record someone put the
song ‘Parents’ on a tape cassette for me when
I was living at home – still a teenager – and it
really changed my life. One of those tracks that
moves in with you, like it’s always been there.
That song felt like it had always been playing
in my mind. It totally defined my childhood
and I connect with it now like an old friend.
The album title is just so true and righteous and
justified that it just quite easily shifts from being a
great album into almost biblical to me.”
The record the reminds me of growing up is...
“‘Projections Of A Stained Mind’ compilation LP
from 1991. The whole thing just brings me back
– the same as the ‘Grindcrusher’ compilation
from Earache (which I regrettably only have on
tape). Nothing compares to the early releases
of the Swedish death metal scene or those first
records on Earache for that matter. It was a
golden time and has lead into a life-long love
and appreciation for metal.”
‘No Holier Temple’ by Hexvessel on vinyl
from Svart should be in YOUR collection!
www.Hexvessel.Tumblr.com
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 101
 NUCLEAR WAR
NOW! FESTIVAL III
BERLIN POSTBAHNHOF-FRITZCLUB
a name many were unfamiliar with until recently, but with
the release of their first album they have been lapped DAY 2
up by many, and rightly so. These Chileans create such Feeling as rough as can be, the legions slowly sift their way

DAY 1 a demented cacophony of sound and they perform

with this same darkness in Berlin. On the note of NWN!
back in for day two, hoping to procure an antidote for the
night’s antics. A smash in the face from Poland seems to
So here we were, apostles at the altars of madness. And
mainstays, Morbosidad have been on the label’s roster work suitably well for most, as Bestial Raids storm through
thanks to a queue snaking the building’s length, Knelt
from the start and have been churning out their South an absolutely ferocious set. Adorior take that flame and
Rote are missed by most. Anatomia quickly make up for
American styled black/death for just about a century. This burnt it even brighter, setting the day truly in motion with
any loss and summon a good start to the festival with
experience is evident as Tomas Stench controls the crowd a fierce bite, violently catching the crowd off guard.
their deathly doom. These Japanese magicians have
and whips them into frenzy for a cover of Archgoat’s Despite an early slot for such an established band, they
a great sound for so early on and put on an impressive
‘Hammer Of Satan’ with none other than Angelslayer on perform like headliners with power and determination.
display, knocking out last night’s pre-show cobwebs.
vox. And now, for the final invocations, we are transported Embrace Of Thorns are a band that improve with every
Pseudogod’s unholy black death calls the masses once
to Hellas. It’s a surprise the building is still standing after step, and today is no different. Their sound is crushing and
again, but dogged by sound problems from the start,
Dead Congregation’s show here two years ago for the band themselves have never sounded tighter. [CBS]
they fail to recover and are plagued until the end with
NWN! #1, yet the biggest miracle is how it’s foundations Black Witchery cast their arcane spell and it’s
a high end sound, which is inaudible from certain parts
aren’t shattered after what can only be described as a mesmerising. Why is this band so evocative? Because they
of the venue, and no doubt the stage. A real shame,
bulldozer repeatedly rolling over your face. Dead Con, truly live what they believe, they’re pure unadulterated
as they are one of the bands with high anticipation
armed with the best sound of the weekend, absolutely maniacal intensity!
surrounding them. Onwards we march, into the shadows,
decimate all with their brand of thundering death metal. Ares Kingdom are a band with a superior wisdom
as Antediluvian take us further down into hell. Their
With a set list of now classics, a couple of new songs and few artists possess, they tear into Slaughter Lord’s ‘Die By
ominous sound reverberates from the walls like a swarm,
a perfectly executed cover of Lunatic Of God’s ‘Creation Power’, then ‘Descent Of Man’ from the masterpiece
surrounding everything within their dark veil. Clad all in
By Deicide’, they put on what could well be the best ‘Incendiary’ caresses us with original sin. ‘Act Dead’,
black, their presence is akin to their sound; one of the
performance of the weekend. [CBS] originally by Mefisto, from the forthcoming ‘Veneration’
weekend’s most crushing performances. As the day
Once the bombs begin to fall, they don’t stop. After is given the Chuck Keller solo treatment and gets us
becomes more chaotic, so does the music and the
Dead Congregation level the joint, Rotting Christ stride pumped! After giving our ears a good ravaging they wrap
Italians in Blasphemophagher deliver it by the truckload.
onstage to crown the evening with thorns, drawing up their set with ‘Iron Clad’ [fuck, I love that solo] and
Their frantic black/thrash gets the biggest reception from
liberally from ‘Thy Mighty Contract’ as well as showcasing we ‘live to fight another day’. AK has more talent and
the audience so far, causing the centre of the crowd
a few more obscure gems. Sakis’ bombastic stage banter prestige in their piss than an army of lesser men HAIL! [MG]
to erupt in a drunken, flailing mass of arms, hair and
urges the crowd along, and for the most part, they Proclamation are the bread and butter of NWN, they
beer. With a chorus of “Black Witchery, Goat Semen,
comply. These Greek OGs may have dulled their edge a do what they say on the tin, and do that very well. They
Blasphemy!” being bellowed by the crowd, they are
bit over the years, but tonight they make it clear that their execute their sound well and get a big response without
without a doubt mainstays of the festival. Wrathprayer is
roots remain as bloody as they ever were. Non serviam! any hiccups to mention; a solid show. Sabbat are a band

ROTTING CHRIST
BLACK WITCHERY
DEAD CONGREGATION

SABBAT

Photos: Ester Segarra

102 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 BLASPHEMY

a huge majority of people are waiting for, and the wait

is well worth it. Despite having an off drum sound for their
style, they rip through their set with absolute passion, both
band and crowd feeding off each other’s enthusiasm.
At the sets end and at the peak of the crowd’s hysteria,
Gezol takes his guitar and smashes it to pieces, pushing
the whole performance over the edge. [CBS]
There is an intensity to Revenge’s performance
tonight that is frightening. The menacing build up of ‘Us &
Them’ leaves us in no doubt of the power that is to come.
‘Banner Degradation’ is the perfect choice to lead us into
their violent cover of ‘War’ by Bathory! Some say Revenge
is a band that you have to be in the mood for live, well I’m
always in the mood! Their ferocious speed and immense
talent is mind blowing to watch. ‘Blood Of My Blood’
summons a red mist the colour of battle rage that clings to
the air as these warriors storm off the stage… Unholy Fuck!
By now my blood is boiling, there are shivers running down
my spine as Black Winds kicks open the fucking gates
of Hell and out strides Blasphemy. The War Command is
called! Having ‘Goddess’ lead straight into ‘Weltering’,
then ‘Blasphemy’, then ‘Fallen Angel...’ is almost too
much for my heart to bear. I remember banging to
‘Demoniac’ and looking around to the glorious sight of
wild abandon around me. By the final ‘Ritual’ the same
words are burning in my heart and won’t stop burning!

Blasphemy from the beginning

Blasphemy in my heart now
Blasphemy til the end of time...
Changing of the tide... Black Moon will Rise!

There is no band in the world that makes me feel more

alive, more free and that fateful night at NWN, I reckon
I wasn’t alone. Some are born of wild fire and we made
IOR
magick this weekend in Berlin... for whenever the pack is ADOR

together the world will bleed and the world will burn! [MG]
CALLUM BROWNSON-SMITH & MELISSA GRAY

BORN OF WI
LD FIRE

IRON FIST MAGAZINE 103

 DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2012
Photos: Antony Roberts
ELECTRIC WIZARD
I
t’s that time of year again. The leaves have
browned and drifted, bare branches have
begun their futile reach for a darkening sky,
and retreating deep into the warmth of one’s
couch, coupled with a glass of Scotch and
wooly socks, has begun looking more and more
attractive. However chilly and grim the outside
world becomes, though (and lord knows it’s
only going to get worse), the show must go on,
especially if said show is one of the UK’s finest.
Leeds has been the site of Damnation Fest since
2007, and five years down the line, we’ve just
borne witness to its strongest incarnation yet,
with the kind of lineup that sees your broke-ass
buddies calling you up trying to cash in favours in
hopes of scrounging up ticket (and beer) money.
Pitting dual headliners Electric Wizard and Pig
Destroyer against one another seemed a bit cruel
(to the backline if not just the fans themselves)
and there are a few other clashing set times
that has us clutching our metaphorical pearls in
dismay, but overall, anyone who is fleet of foot
and sound of memory (useful when navigating
the labyrinthine halls of U of Leeds’ student union)
shouldn’t have much trouble soaking in as much
extremity as they desire. Your intrepid Iron Fist
reporters brave wind, rain, and the harsh glare of
morning (still regretting that 8am coach ride up
104 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
LEEDS STUDENT UNION
WITCHSO
RROW
THRONE
WODENS
from London, ugh) to get there bright and early than make do on the Eyesore stage. The rousing
and bring you the goods. atmospherics of their music are enthusiastically
Hang The Bastard are the first to catch our received; another UK black metal band to be
eye, armed as they are with the sort of sludgy, proud of. [TOB]
grinding hardcore that makes you
wish Crowbar had gotten around to
recording a ‘Scum’ cover and a manic
frontman whose earnest between-song
thank-yous stand in diametric opposition
to his intimidating, arm-flailing onstage
demeanour. Their domination of the
Eyesore Merch stage raises the bar up
nice and high. [KK]
Witchsorrow serve as a premonition
of today’s roster of doom-laden things
to come, looking and sounding for
all intents and purposes like a callow
Electric Wizard. They’re kind of like
the muppet babies of Doom, but
there is nothing puerile about the
aplomb with which they pull off a low
ended summoning, which set heads
banging. Wodensthrone follow and
pack the room to an uncomfortable
degree. With a turn out like this their
backwards-looking forwards brand of
black metal majesty surely deserves
a main stage slot, but they more
Given their stature and forceful live presence,
Winterfylleth should’ve been on the main stage
too but, as it stands, are shoehorned onto the
second stage alongside a passel of excitable
fans. With festival sets being as they are, these
Manchester lads only have enough time for
four tunes, but they choose well, and end on a
triumphant high note with the title track from their
breakout album, 2008’s ‘The Ghost Of Heritage.’
In a palate-cleansing “And now for something
completely different” moment, English crusty
grind OGs Extreme Noise Terror barrell onstage,
seven men strong, and proceede to tear that shit
UP in one of the day’s most energetic, magnetic
and kinetic sets. In grind we crust, indeed. [KK]
In the main hall, Gama Bomb’s energetic
thrash attack lightens the mood, attributable in
no small way to frontman Philly Byrne’s effusive
and engaging personality. He reads out a
recent review of the band describing their music
as ‘redundant’. Philly’s ensuing cry of ‘lets get
redundant!’ gets the biggest laugh of the day,
thus proving that a good time is never redundant.
Over on the second stage Aura Noir drag thrash
metal kicking and screaming down to a darker,
altogether nastier level, defeating the muddy PA
with choice cuts from ‘Hades Rise’ and killer new
disc ‘Out To Die’. Their blackened thrash focuses
less on the technicality of BM and more upon
the attitude and muscular drive of the music and
is all the better for it. They wow a rabid crowd
of acolytes that will have surely grown to larger
numbers after such a horrid set. [TOB]
As the festival begins gearing down, the
choices become harder to make. UK doom
‘n’ gloom merchants 40 Watt Sun, or Celtic
tigers Primordial? Both, duh. After soaking in
a gorgeously depressed set of near-acoustic
cuts from Patrick Walker and co (muffled and
muddied by the sound – those kick drums are
murderous – but still lovely), it’s time to hightail it
over to the Jager dome to catch the second half
of Primordial. As per usual, they prove themselves
to be one of the absolute best live bands going,
propelled by frontman Alan Averill’s commanding
stage presence. Even if you don’t like Primordial,
you’ll love them by the time they stalk offstage.
[KK]
My Dying Bride seem a little out of sorts, but
perhaps that is to be expected from a band
with a 21 year history of deifying the dismal.
The dedicated following in attendance lap up
sombre offerings as ‘Kneel Til Doomsday’ and
‘The Poorest Waltz’, but everyone else is left a little
cold by frontman Aaron Stainthorpe’s reticence.
A bit of a downer, but what did you expect?
[TOB]
Belphegor’s Satanic leather-daddy aesthetic
and decent-enough brutal black/death is
a bit of fun before the main event and gets
the ol’ eardrums ready for some more abuse
from America’s strangest grindcore band. A
quick pre-PD detour into the upstairs stage for
Belgium’s finest, Amenra is a wonderful surprise,
and a massive festival highlight, thanks to their
juxtaposition of diabolical heaviness and angelic
melodies, all conjured up beneath green light
and projected chaos. Like many of the day’s
bands, Pig Destroyer are plagued by sub-par
sound, but more or less ignore it, creating a
formidable wall of extreme noise that holds up
despite the band’s less-than-stoked demeanoor.
Wake up, boys; this is supposed to be fun! [KK]
In a day permeated by doom it is only fitting
that the high priests of ‘70s occult revivalism
Electric Wizard take their rightful place as master
of ceremonies. ‘Supercoven’ is met with palpably
feverish glee from the gathering of the faithful.
‘The Nightchild’ sounds as huge as it should, and
as the smell of certain restricted substances snake
their way throughout the venue Electric Wizard’s
transgressive rites steal everyone away to a
creepier, happier place; ‘Funeralopolis’ rightfully
providing the final nail in the coffin of a great day.
[TOB]
KIM KELLY + TOM O’BOYLE
AURA NOIR
IRON FIST MAGAZINE 105

ANGEL WITCH + ENFORCER + AGE OF TAURUS
BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE
ANGEL WITCH
Photos: Antony Roberts
T
hey say Birmingham is the home of metal.
It did give the world Black Sabbath, Judas
Priest, Led Zeppelin, that’s true enough.
But surely the home of metal could show a
little more excitement for the first regional
tour of the reformed NWOBHM legends Angel
Witch. It’s been almost four years to the day since
they were added to the Orange Goblin Christmas
show and what followed was a reinvigorated
onslaught from band leader Kevin Heybourne
and his new lineup that culminated in the recent
‘As Above, So Below’ album and this tour was
meant to take what London and the festival
circuit have been treated to out to the suburbs.
But the suburbs, it seems, are uninterested in one
of England’s reigning throwbacks to the glory
sounds of early heavy metal. But screw ‘em, the
band’s playing tonight’s cosy Temple Bar don’t
care, and nor does the sparse crowd who have
turned out. Apathy be damned.
First up are Angel Witch’s labelmates Age
Of Taurus. The new band may feature axeman
Al Riddell, who played in old school doomsters
Mourn, but it’s a group of relative newcomers
who all met on the hardcore punk circuit. Their
dedication, however, to true roots of doom are
unquestionable. They keep close to the blueprint
laid down by Sabbath, Trouble, Pagan Altar and
PENTAGRAM + GENTLEMEN’S PISTOLS
LONDON GARAGE
Photo: Oran Tarjan
106 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
ANGEL WITCH
ENFORCER
a wee bit of Slough Feg. Frontman Toby has a
great set of pipes on him as he bellows songs like
‘Unborn Destroyer’ and ‘The Bull And The Bear’,
like a big, ginger Brian Blessed. Their forthcoming
debut is sure to be one of 2013’s doom highlights
alongside Atlantean Kodex and the long-awaited
new Solstice.
We need someone to pick up the pace
and that’s exactly what Enforcer do. Last time
Enforcer were in the UK was with Bullet and
they were a man down. Adam Zaars [now Iron
Fist’s over-worked art director] had left and the
second guitar role was taken on by frontman
Olof Wikstrand. Back then it was hard to accept
the transition and Olof looked uncomfortable in
his new role. But fucking hell, what a difference
18 months makes. Now it’s hard to imagine
Olof without a guitar in his hand [sorry Adam!]
as he strides the stage, echoing lead guitarist
Joseph Tholl’s signature swagger. You almost
wish Enforcer would slow it down a touch, such
is their breakneck speed. Wrongly lumped into
the NWOBHM pack the only hint you get of them
getting even close to that sound is with bands
like Raven, Enforcer are way more American, yet
play like a Hallow’s Eve LP at 45rpm. It’s fucking
exhausting and fucking brilliant. There is no let
up and bassist Tobias tell us afterwards that they
T
he Gentlemen’s Pistols, visually, are
as distinct as you can be. Redneck
wife-beaters, big glasses and classy
moustaches, but it’s the acid-laden
rock ‘n’ roll grooves they bring to the
fold that do the talking. Twisting and turning
through their ‘70s mind trip, they have the
audience baying for more tonight as they
open up for Pentagram. They’re a British
band destined for World domination.
To be seeing Pentagram for the second
time on these shores, within the short space
of a year is a real treat, especially when
you consider the fact
that it took them
damn near 40
years to make it
over here in the
first place. And
this celebration
AGE OF TAURUS
decided to play as if the world was ending. It
takes balls to play to 30 people but act like you’re
playing for 30,000 but that’s Enforcer all over and
they don’t do things by halves.
As the crowd thickens and more latecomers
join the party Angel Witch take the stage. Even
with Kevin’s admission of a sore throat they are
flawless. Kevin’s twin guitars with newest addition
Bill Steer (who looks so much more at home in the
Witch than in Carcass) are perfectly executed
and as they stroll effortlessly through ‘White Witch’
and ‘Baphomet’ the crowd make up for their
lack in numbers with rousing applause. Songs like
‘Sorceress’ and ‘Free Man’ stand out, probably
because their mid-paced excellence glide in
comparison to the previous band’s breakneck
speed and new tracks ‘Into The Dark’, for which
this tour is named, and ‘Guillotine’ prove there is
life in the old boys yet. As the band come back
on stage for a deserved encore with personal
favourite ‘Gorgon’ and the obvious eponymous
anthem it proves that Birmingham is missing out
with their no-show attitude and next time they
moan about good bands only ever playing
London they should feel very ashamed for not
supporting one of the best shows of the year on
their own doorstep.
JIM YOUNG
is certainly met by a rabid crowd, throwing
their weight around like dogs at the chase the
moment these Washington veterans arrive on
stage. And despite one small technical mishap,
the set flows from one classic to the next with
ease. Kicking straight into ‘Death Row’ and that
timeless “Alright!”, it’s very clear it’s Bobby Leibling
that is the star of the show. His serpentine figure
creeps around the stage, tongue slipping in and
out in bursts, claws scratching like a ghoul of the
night. And despite all the drug-fuelled controversy
surrounding him a couple of years back, he
appears to be in better shape than ever,
hypnotizing the crowd with his coiled movements.
This is also one of the last shows with Victor Griffin
on guitars for this incarnation of Pentagram.
Having joined again a few years ago, he’s been
one of the biggest driving forces behind the band
since their birth and it’s a sad sight to see him go.
Ending with a crushing encore of ‘Dying World’
and an almost too fitting ‘Relentless’, Pentagram
once again prove why they were, and still are the
gods of doom.
CALLUM BROWNSON-SMITH
 good things happen for a reason and the
monumental double-attack of Jameson Raid
and Desolation Angels is fully savage.
Warming up the stage are the relative babies
of the bill, Asomvel. The heavy metal rock ‘n’
rollers play simple, energetic and venomous
songs. If it’s Motörhead worship you’re after then
look no further. They bring a spark to the sparse
venue and fill the empty space with distorted
fury. Fans are fist pumping at the front and the
JAMESON RAID
JAMESON RAID ++ Desolation Angels are foot tapping at the back.
DESOLATION ANGELS ++
DESOLATION ANGELS It’s old news that East Londoners Deep
Of The Deep’ after an insanely atmospheric
introduction. The five-piece stick to old material
but play a few new bangers too. Despite only
the twin-axe attack Keith Sharp and Robin
Brancher remaining in the band, the new guys
absolutely slay. And so to proto-NWOBHM
headliners Jameson Raid. Despite playing at the
Heavy Metal Maniacs festival in Germany the
night before, they are full of spirit and ready to
rumble. Although a slightly different line up to the
original, which initially reformed in 2010, they still
rock hard and ride free. Vocalist Terry Dark clearly

DEEP MACHINE ++ ASOMVEL

DEEP MACHINE ASOMVEL Machine have reformed and they never
disappoint. As usual, ‘Demon Preacher’ and
understands that fans only want to hear old
material but he needn’t worry as the new songs

F
LONDON BULL AND GATE
ull steam ahead for grassroots heavy
metal! Those unaware of the recent Russ
North and Cloven Hoof shenanigans
would have been disappointed by their
cancellation prior to tonight’s bill. All
the self-titled track are the highlights of their set.
Check out their long-awaited EP (simply titled
‘Deep Machine’) which has just been released.
The venue is now packed in preparation for
Desolation Angels. Considering this is their first
performance in 25 years they slam into ‘Spirit
hold up well. Although their set is cut slightly short,
they still perform the inevitable and excellent
‘Seven Days Of Splendor’ and ‘The Raid’. A night
of strong and unpretentious music.
DAVE SHERWOOD

ORANGE GOBLIN

FULL MOON DOG FESTIVAL

our account and, as one of the
most promising UK newcomers
of recent years, they do not fail
to deliver. Decked out in some
choice old-school clobber and armed
with a luridly-hued and suitably spiky selection
of vintage axes, they launch into a scintillating
set of heavy/power somewhere between the
NWOBHM and the European trad scene of the
same era. There are touches of contemporary
power metal too, but they steer well clear of
anything hardened DragonForce devotees
would “dig”.
LEEDS COCKPIT
have been allowed to pass away with him and no
doubt he’s looking on with pride.
If you wanna get a party started, start it with
Orange Goblin. The leadweight London crew
are always a guaranteed good time, but tonight
they’re off the cliff. Whether doling out the stoner
vibes of their earlier tunes or dealing fistfuls of
purest steel, it’s the perfect end to a triumphant
celebration of Great British metal.
DAMIEN
ASOMVEL

Photos: Pete Woods

Roaming the zone where trad metal and
thrash collide, Welsh five-piece Triaxis kick
up quite a storm. Think Priest, Annihilator,
Megadeth and Testament, woven through
with buckets of melody and topped off
by frontwoman Krissie’s soaring vocals. A
powerful performance.
It’s back to basics with Lancaster’s
Eliminator who dish up a tasty stew of
‘80s metal and ‘70s hard rock. If Dark
Forest are meat ‘n’ potatoes metal,
Eliminator are pork scratchings and a
pint; rougher, readier and with a bit
more spit ‘n’ sawdust about ‘em.

O
nce again held in memory of
Asomvel founder and frontman
Jay-Jay Winter, the second
annual Full Moon Dog Festival
also honours the spirit of the ‘80s,
or as the organisers themselves put it: “The days
when hordes of metal fans would cram into local
venues to see their favourite bands for a meagre
couple of quid and ‘social networking’ meant
actually getting off your backside and leaving
the house!” I’m sure we all raise an iron fist to that.
In what’s a less than ideal start to the day,
last-minute ‘logistical difficulties’ prevent your
humble correspondent from witnessing either
Mercenary or Screaming Eagles in what was
surely their unfettered glory. It falls instead to
West Midlands trad metallers Dark Forest to open
From Yorkshire via New York,
local louts Stiletto Farm make for
a marked change of pace, their glammy punk/
STUKA SQUADRON
metal hybrid at times recalling the likes of The
New York Dolls, The Dead Boys and The Dictators.
Even at their most effervescent, however, they
simply can’t compete with the splendour of Stuka
Squadron and their ludicrous but loveable Nazi
Vampire shtick. Behind all the blood and battle,
the fearsome fivesome are rapidly developing
into a seriously good ‘proper’ metal band and
theirs is one of the top showings of the entire
event.
With their Motörhead-fuelled, heavy-as-
hammers bludgeon, Asomvel were only ever
going to kill and kill they do. Fired by the passion
of the occasion, they stage a truly crushing
display that would have made the late Jay-Jay
extremely proud. His band are far too good to

108 IRON FIST MAGAZINE

 PAGAN ALTAR
T
rends are funny. A few years ago labels
were scrambling to sign over-produced
guitar wankfests, symphonic score metal
and bands in fur signing about Odin and
ale. And geographically that all hailed
from Finland, but now their neighbours are reaping
all the attention with the tide turned in favour of
old school blues rock, old school death and old
school classic metal. Tonight Sweden’s leading
perpetrators of the latter two open up for British
occult veterans Pagan Altar at the incredibly
swish Nalen Theatre in Stockholm. Degial, who
are a rowdy bunch of miscreants from Uppsala,
kick off proceedings like brattish hooligans who
just love to get in that first cracking sucker punch.
Those gathered to watch the elderly statesmen of
traditional doom metal reel back in terror as the
louts howl through songs from their latest album
‘Death’s Striking Wings’, but a mixed bill serves a
Stockholm crowd well with most in attendance
hungry for an early Morbid Angel thrashing
as much as they are Terry Jones’ top hatted
grandiosity. Grand this ain’t. Degial are furious and
that is stepped up when they invite Watain’s Set
Teitan on stage to cover Angel Corpse’s ‘Wolflust’,
Photos: Ester Segarra
who proves to be an even more sinister frontman
than his cohort Danielsson. His is a brutal strand of
sinister whereas next up In Solitude deal in a more
devilish dose of foreboding malevolence. Starting
VOIVOD + DOOM
LONDON GARAGE
T
onight is all about surprises. Special
guests Doom surprise by delivering a
digestible set. Firmly crust – they lack the
necessary graft and craft to be grind
– it’s nonetheless obvious why these
British veterans influenced so many. Loud and
explosive, a battering attack of dreadlocks,
black and white newspaper cuttings and walls of
guitar noise regularly overloading into feedback,
Doom are one noise, one moment in time
regurgitated for remembrance. Our headliners
are something else. Their creative endeavours
now span four decades and still they surprise.
Opening with the primal scream of ‘Voivod’,
they begin on a chronological path, pulling out
rarely aired numbers ‘Ripping Headaches’ and
‘Forgotten In Space’ early, before unveiling
the title track to the forthcoming ‘Target
Earth’ and later strumming out the recently
unleashed ‘Mechanical Mind’. Snake is in fine
voice, perhaps his finest since rejoining Voivod
a decade ago. ‘The Prow’ (from 1991’s divisive
‘Angel Rat’) evidences this early, but it is after he
announces, “We have a surprise for you,” that
things really get incredible.
110 IRON FIST MAGAZINE
PAGAN
PAGAN ALTAR
ALTAR ++ IN
IN SOLITUDE
SOLITUDE ++ DEGIAL
DEGIAL
STOCKHOLM NALEN
DEGIAL
with ‘We Were Never Here’ serves them well as
they pave the way for the Pagans with a punkish
slant to their arcane art. Utterly bewitching they
defy the viewer to cast their eyes elsewhere, with
a shoddy but seductive slashing of songs from
both their must-hear albums and a Samhain cover
of ‘Mother Of Mercy’. They’re one of the greatest
live bands playing today and with a new album
out in 2013 it’s only going to get more terrifying
for fans of these youths gone wild.
Coming onstage with funereal desolation
the long-serving English eccentric Terry Jones
strides on stage slowly and surely and hands
his signature pallbearer’s hat to new bassist
Liam Gallagher (no, not that one). Apart from
guitarist Alan Jones, Liam, drummer Dean
Alexander and guitarist Vince Hempstead (with
the ugliest guitar Iron Fist has ever seen) are
relative new boys and don’t look like they quite
fit with the Altar’s modus operandi of proto-
doom but they don’t disappoint on the sonic
front, Liam in particular bringing a real bluesy flair
to the band. up to songs from their 2007 split with Jex Thoth.
With a confusing output of releases that are They are truly one of the most exciting re-amped
more out of chronological sync than Channel bands from the original pre-metal era and end a
4’s airing of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Pagan Altar triumphant night that proves all is well with both
whip through the whole run from their eponymous the old guard and the new upstarts of the metal
song off their 1982 demo to the unearthed magic sphere.
of ‘Black Mass’ from 1978’s ‘Time Lord’ EP right LOUISE BROWN
An air of mystery lingers, Snake bows his head
– and for a minute, it’s as if Voivod have decided
to go drone. Then it hits. They’re doing ‘Jack
Luminous’. There is half an hour left until curfew
and Voivod are airing a 17-minute concept
piece, which until this year had never been heard
live. It is stunning, as our editor exclaims in awe
at the finish. Storming renditions of classics like
‘Overreaction’ and ‘Tribal Convictions’ don’t top
it and absent staples like ‘Ravenous Medicine’
are not missed. Indeed, it’s wonderful that the
only given in Voivod setlist is now its closer – Pink
Floyd’s ‘Astronomy Domine’, “for Piggy” and
with Snake leading chants of “Pi-Ggy! Pi-Ggy!”
at beginning and end. As at Hole in the Sky
three years ago, it just about brings one to fits of
sobbing – and the sight of so much empty space
on the floor of the Garage doesn’t seem to offer
any hope. Yet tonight is uplifting, a demonstration
of how Away/Chewy/Snake/Blacky have
become Voivod: there is no imitation. A riff on the
lyrics to ‘Jack Luminous’ perhaps puts it best. One
day they will understand. The future is here. And
how.
PAUL SCHWARZ
 2013

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