Comprised of four London-based devils, namely Peter Benjamin, David Gray, Samuel Loynes and Dan Abela, Voices set out to become “a diverse and experimental black metal band,” so says bassist Pete, although he now admits that “there is no telling where we may end up musically speaking.” These are names you might recognise; David and Peter played together in gentlemanly black metal outfit, Akercocke, while Dan has played with Cradle Of Filth minx Sara Jezebel Deva on her solo work and Samuel jammed with Peter in Diminished Fifth. But this is no supergroup. “We don’t want to be restricted creatively by any scene or genre of music,” scolds Peter. “We want to create cold, unusual and extreme music. From initially just jamming, we quickly moved into a deeply intense improvisational stance within the rehearsal space and then began to piece songs together, which happened naturally.” Elsewhere in this issue of Iron Fist we describe 2012 as a banner year for British black metal; bands like Fen, Winterfylleth, A Forest Of Stars and Wodensthrone breathed life into a scene that had been on its deathbed since, well, Akercocke. So how do Voices feel to be joining this band of blackened brothers? “There seems to … Read More

 

English black metal band WINTERFYLLETH have returned with their third album in as many years, but determined to step away from the shadows that have followed them since their formation, CHRIS NAUGHTON tells Louise Brown how British metal is back in black.

 

“The idea of a ‘threnody’ is that of a deathly ode, poem or lament to those who you have lost and is a way of honouring their memory,” explains Chris Naughton of Northern England black metal collective Winterfylleth. New album ‘Threnody Of Triumph’ is, well, a triumph, continuing their uncompromising attack on Britain’s less than stellar black metal output, frontman and guitarist Chris and his colleagues, Nick Wallwork (bass), Mark Wood (guitars) and Simon Lucas (drums), have been driven to unleash three full-lengths in as many years, all more accomplished and ambitious than the last. Gaining critical acclaim, front cover status and live bookings galore (as well as the odd left-wing bashing, more on that later) Winterfylleth are a beacon of black metal Britannia.

“The album is based around the idea of how our forebears viewed spirituality in terms of how the soul and the body were linked and how the transitions through death worked,” Chris continues, explaining the themes … Read More