Iron Fist Magazine

AUTOPSY INTERVIEW: “THERE’S ENOUGH DEATH METAL IN THERE TO CHOKE A ZOMBIE’S UNCLE”

California’s legendary pioneers of sick and twisted death metal Autopsy released a platter of splatter late last year via Peaceville Records, the first of which was ‘After The Cutting’, a monster of a collector’s release that will feature four discs worth of material. We got in touch with vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert to get more of an insight into these releases…

What? Autopsy sneaked out two new releases in 2015, why are you being so kind to us gore junkies? “Well getting right down to it, Peaceville approached us and said they were wanting to do an Autopsy box set. Sounded great to us, especially since we got to pick out the whole track listing, which is spread out over four discs; 82 songs and five hours, that is! There’s enough death metal in there to choke a zombie’s uncle, enticed yet? This rotten puppy has studio cuts from all of the albums and EPs, the original ’80s demos, unheard live and rehearsal stuff, a rare track by the very obscure Grave Violators, and to top it off, the new EP, ‘Skull Grinder’. And there’s a full-length book in there written by Dennis Dread with tons of pics, memorabilia, and all kinds of … Read More

INTO BATTLE: KETZER

Ketzer have made a drastic change in musical direction on their new album ‘Starless’. What inspired such a shift from the rabid thrash aggression to a more dark hard rock style? Was it just a case of evolving naturally or wanting to experiment outside of the restrictive confines of black-thrash? Guitarist Sinner responds; “Actually, we did not even intentionally step away from what you called the ‘confines of black-thrash’. That ‘evolving naturally’ phrase might sound like a cliché but in the end it’s the easiest way to describe it. It started about three years ago, when Marius [aka bass player Necroculto] had an idea for a song that would later become ‘Shaman’s Dance’. We changed the song but it didn’t really feel right until we just jammed together and suddenly the parts all fell together naturally. So this was the moment we noticed that it works really well for us to write songs together by jamming and seeing what happens, which is a very organic way of creating music. The outcome is different than before, but to my ears the expressions and vibes that are being created are still very similar to our other two albums. I especially experience that … Read More

INTO BATTLE: HORRIFIED

North-East England-based death metallers Horrified are about to have their second album ‘Of Despair’ released on CD by Stormspell Records. It’s an album that sees the band shifting musical direction and fully embracing their Swedish influences, taking the listener back to the mid-’90s evoking the atmosphere of albums such as ‘Far Away From The Sun’ by Sacramentum and the sophomore albums by Dissection and Necrophobic. Even the album cover – by Raul Gonzalez – looks like it could have been drawn circa 1994. Dan Alderson, the band’s frontman and lead guitarist was interrogated about his band’s walk down the left-hand path.

You have just recorded your second album, what can the readers expect from it? “It’s dynamic, melodic and ripping death metal which is equally as savage as it’s emotionally involving. The earlier material for Horrified was wrote when I was quite younger, I think as we grow up our musical taste also evolves and changes, which was one element which inspired the evolution on this album. I also wanted to make the album a lot more impactful. “Edge Of Sanity has been my favourite band for a long time, so melodic death metal has always been one of my favourite styles, this just seemed to … Read More

MORGOTH AND INCANTATION TOUR EUROPE IN APRIL

German death metal pioneers Morgoth, who returned to the scene with last year’s comeback album ‘Ungod’ have confirmed they will be touring throughout Europe with Incantation in April.

This coincides with the recent news that Century Media have re-released their first two MLPs, ‘Resurrection Absurd’ from 1989 and ‘The Eternal Fall’ from 1990, as well as their debut album ‘Cursed’ from 1991, which is hailed as a milestone in the career of the band and doubtlessly among some of the best Teutonic death metal ever.

Now mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel and his Temple Of Disharmony (who has twiddled knobs for Massacra, Grave and Possessed), the two MLPs and the debut return with new layouts that give more than a nerdy nod to the original releases.

As well as being back on black, they will also come in limited edition colour vinyl with ‘Resurrection Absurd’ on lilac limited to 100 and clear vinyl limited to 100. ‘The Eternal Fall will come on red and clear (both limited to 100). ‘Cursed’ is printed on transparent green and clear. Get them all as well as other Morgoth releases from CM Distro.

The dates of the tour for Europe are: 12.04.2016 Vienna (Austria) – Viper Room 13.04.2016 Poznan (Poland) – … Read More

AMORPHIS INTERVIEW: “We got fed up with the idea of just playing death metal”

Finnish death metal godfathers Amorphis have recently given us the opportunity of seeing them perform material recorded right back in 1994, looking back to their second album ‘Tales Of A Thousand Lakes’ on its 20th Anniversary. Lead guitarist and founding member Esa Holopainen has been there all along and one has to wonder if they have everything down to an easily workable formula now that they have finalised their 12th studio album ‘Under The Red Cloud’? How do the road dogs even find the time to record, perhaps they write the material on the back of the tour bus between shows? Esa makes it quite clear that this is simply not an option. “I think it’s an impossible idea. It’s such an uninspiring environment when you are on the tour bus. I don’t know how any musician can do that. Usually what happens is, when we have done enough touring, we start little by little to write new music. In the week we are at home and can concentrate on writing. That’s the way of the business though; you have to be on tour if you want to make a living out of it.”

INTO BATTLE: MAVETH

The Colorado-based Excommunion were one of the too many unsung heroes of the underground ‘dark’ death metal scene. MIA after only one monstrous full-length, ‘Superion’ in 2001, their vocalist Christopher ‘Christbutcher’ Clark moved to Finland in January 2007 after a tentative reunion with his first proper band Dethroned fell apart. But in no way did this mean he gave up completely.

“I started looking the very day we had set it in stone that we were emigrating. I emailed like-minded musicians who were in the area and eventually put together our first line-up, although it seemed at first that the north Savonia region in the middle of Finland was the wrong place to play death metal!”

Even if it took Maveth three years to come up with their first EP (‘Of Serpent And Shadow’), that recording and its follow-up ‘Impious Servant’ proved to be of such high-level that they soon got re-released together on one single CD by Nuclear Winter Records in 2011. And with their now first proper full-length, ‘Coils Of The Black Earth’, ready to hit the stores later this year through Dark Descent, Christbutcher feels he’s come full circle.

“At first, I made a conscious decision to use all the … Read More

INTO BATTLE: NIGHTFELL

“When you look at death from death’s perspective, you realise the pettiness of humanity. death cares not for your grievances or troubles, it comes to take you when you least expect. It is the power that supersedes our human creations: religion, politics, philosophy,” offers Todd Burdette, he of Tragedy/His Hero Is Gone fame and now one half of Nighfell, the band he formed two years ago with Tim Call (Aldebaran, The Howling Wind). The power of death casts a grim shadow over Nightfell’s stunning debut for Southern Lord, ‘The Living Ever Mourn’. “Envisioned and executed in a period of grief, delirium, and loss of life,” according to Burdette the creation of ‘The Living Ever Mourn’ was a cathartic experience, telling us “Catharsis is the primary force, death is close behind. We lament the lost, but we still breathe.” This defiant statement defines their debut album in its entirety, as even though death is laid bare in all its stark reality, there is hope and strength to be taken from ‘The Living Ever Mourn’. In terms of sound, it is an open-ended album, one which spans doom, death and black metal – but not exclusively so, as there’s plenty of punk aggression, … Read More

INTO BATTLE: RUDE

When your vocalist sounds like a young Martin Van Drunen and you ask legendary designer Dan Seagrave to do the artwork for your debut album, the message is pretty clear, isn’t it? Try to tickle Rude’s guitarist and frontman Yusef Wallace by stating that their debut album ‘Soul Recall’ is “a classic death metal sounding record stuck in 1991” and he’ll answer: “I guess that’s a compliment. I’d have to say most anything from 1995 onward, until the last couple of years, sounds like crap, so I’d rather be on the good side of things.” Formed in 2008, initially Rude had a thrashier vibe and even switched monikers to suit their more straight-forward and primitive sound, calling themselves Forsaker. But after one self-titled demo, they turned back to both their initial name and a more death metal direction. “We still have that thrash aspect in our music but with a different second guitar player and we’re now tuned down half a step,” Yusef admits. “I like that genre still, not the corny stuff though, but I don’t think it’s what makes us different. I’m leaning more towards us playing death metal in E flat. I do like listening to bands in … Read More

INTO BATTLE: QUESTION

Those youngsters love to cover their tracks don’t they? Not only have they chosen an, erm, questionable moniker but despite their Mexican passport and young age, Question are playing an unpolished yet mournful form of death metal that seems to have crawled out of the Tico-Tico studio circa 1991. “Indeed, we have certain affinity for the Finnish rottenness,” admits their 24-year-old bass player, Héctor. “But you can easily find that element in many of the old Mexican bands so it’s all connected. We are big fans of metal in general, and I think lots of styles are present in our music, not only Finnish death metal. The early ’90s scene is special to us because of its naivety though. If later on, the genre became jaded, back then it was still young, fresh and dared exploring many different areas.”

The band is based in Querétaro, 200 km North-West of Mexico City and where Disgorge or Hacavitz are also from. It was put together in the spring of 2010 by Héctor and guitar player Rodrigo: “The scene over here got boring lately, the new generation doesn’t have any ideas, nor dedication besides being ‘cool’. At least we have some good punk gigs … Read More

INTO BATTLE: JUST BEFORE DAWN

Having helped form Amon Amarth in 1992 and played on their debut EP and album, Anders Biazzi nevertheless chose to leave in ’98 to focus on his personal life. Only ten years later did the guitarist resurface, first with the gloriously old-school Blood Mortized and now with Just Before Dawn, a studio-project à la Probot. The formula is simple: first, a basic line-up – consisted of Biazzi, his BM compadre Gustav Myrin and Puteraeon’s Jonas Lindblood – record in his own studio what his creator calls with a wink “Streamroller death metal songs” about that immortal topic called war (“Mostly from the darkest times in the WWII but also from the future. We sometimes focus on a specific event, like the battle of the Bulge on the song ‘Bastogne’ or about the U-boats in the Atlantic with ‘As Death Breaks the Surface’ too.”) Then, various guest singers and drummers, “contacted through mutual friends or social networks”, pitch in, adding their own two cents to the recipe. With a total of twenty four (!) musicians involved, their second album ‘The Aftermath’ is an even more ambitious undertaking than its predecessor, ‘Precis Innan Gryningen’. It feels like a high-school reunion with Rick … Read More

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