Nuclear Blast have just announced the signing of Little Rock, Arkansas progressive doom quartet Pallbearer. They commented on the signing: “We are very excited to be working with Nuclear Blast on this record, as so many of the bands that have helped to shape our own artistic pathways have before us.”

Monte Conner, Nuclear Blast Entertainment president adds: “Pallbearer continue to evolve and scale new creative and sonic heights with ‘Heartless’. I am very honoured to be working hand-in-hand with the band, Profound Lore and Oblique Artist Management, and look forward to Nuclear Blast playing a key role in exposing new fans to this incredible band.”

Pallbearer can also reveal today that their highly anticipated forthcoming third record titled ‘Heartless’ is due for release on 24th March 2017. It will be released via Nuclear Blast for the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and via Profound Lore in North America.

Pallbearer commented on ‘Heartless’: “This album finds us exploring new territories; instead of staring into to the void – both above and within – ‘Heartless’ concentrates its power on a grim reality. Our lives, our homes and our world are all plumbing the depths of utter darkness, as we seek to find any … Read More

German doom rockers Naevus came back this summer with a new album via Bandcamp (and Meta Matter Records), their first since their debut album ‘Sun Meditation’ was released on Lee Dorrian’s Rise Above Records 17 years ago. We got in touch with frontman Uwe Groebel to find out about the new album and what happened to cause the band to split up soon after the release of the debut.

Hi Uwe, Naevus is back with a new album, please tell the readers a bit about your new recording? “Since the release in August we’ve been very pleased with reactions. People seem to like it a lot. It’s a very strong doom metal/rock album, maybe with a slight pop appeal, if I might say that. Some times very melodic. Each song is different in structure and we tried to be creative on this. All in all, it felt so good to write and record as four friends who were together again after so many years. We had a lot of fun.”

This is your first album since the 1998 debut, what are your feelings about that album looking back? “On my side I couldn’t listen to the album for a very long … Read More

It may seem like aeons since our last issue but we’re back and raring to go and continue our indulgence in all things denim, leather and everything in between! Heavy metal will never die! Patience is a virtue and we hope you’ll be rewarded with the enjoyment everything in these 100 pages will bring.

The Queen of metal, Doro graces our cover to celebrate her 30th anniversary in service. And as well as our chat with Ms Pesch, this issue features some of the most revered bands including the ultimate power trio Budgie, the UK’s longest serving thrash band Onslaught, a retrospective look at one of Germany’s best metal labels, Noise Records and a welcome return to Aussie underdog Hobbs Angel Of Death. Staying Down Under, we talk to the notorious Destroyer 666 about how wildfire is needed to create a new underground and Annick Giroux heads beneath the Southern Cross in her regular World Downfall column. We also launch a brand new regular section, Pictured Life, that casts a well -deserved spotlight on some of the great cover art artists from the world of heavy metal, kicking off with a close look at the latest coffee table book featuring art from Timo … Read More

Two decades of doom dealing could easily take its toll on lesser bands, but Dorset’s ELECTRIC WIZARD have taken all that misanthropy, occult leanings and horror fanaticism and weaved it into an eighth album of dreary, but omnipotent intent. Back in 2014 line-up and label woes, paranoia and over-indulgence were been thrown into the cauldron and the result, ‘TIME TO DIE’ made the band never sound more alive. Jim Martin spoke to JUS ORBORN for Iron Fist back in Issue 12 and we’ve dug it out of the archives in time for their headline slot at tomorrow’s DAMNATION FESTIVAL in Leeds…

The tranquil sound of a mountain stream drifting through a forest. Not something one would naturally associate with Electric Wizard, but this is how their new album, the intimidating ‘Time To Die’ kicks off, and in such a fashion that one could be forgiven for assuming they’ve purchased the wrong record. That is, until the distinct strains of a Hammer-style Hammond, ’60s garage drumming, and sampled news reports concerning Satanism drift into view through the ether, and the rural paradise proves short-lived. “On one level it reminds people that we’re from Dorset, just to get people back to our frame of mind … Read More

NYC noise duo Uniform have gotten into the Halloween spirit by trick or treating (depending on where you stand on their take on the Gods) us with a cover of Sabbath’s ‘Symptom Of The Universe’. Taken from their brand new 12″ ‘Ghosthouse’, out via Sacred Bones Records, their version is a tad more bleaker than the “summer skies of love” of the lyrics. 

Sabbath are no strangers to having their catalogue covered; it’s a standard go-to for almost all burgeoning bands jamming in garages around the world, and most covers tend to stick pretty close to the original. We here at Iron Fist want to tip our cap to the brave and downright blasphemous, like Uniform, who take the blueprint laid down by Iommi and co, and fuck with it. Here are a few of our favourite shocking takes on the Sabs from over the years…

LISTEN TO UNIFORM’S ‘SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE’:

Ghosthouse by Uniform

GONGA – BLACK SABBETH – FEATURING BETH GIBBONS Black Sabbeth by GONGA This one came out of the leftfield, as who knew trip hop chanteuse Beth Gibbons from Portishead would lend her ethereal charm to Sabbath’s self-titled classic so flawlessly. But back in 2014, Bristol-based doom trio Gonga not only … Read More

Leif’s a busy guy. Which is surprising since he promised us all he needed a break from his main vehicle of doom, Candlemass. While he’s stepped away from performing with the three-decade-old gloom godfathers, he still had time to record an EP with them this year (‘Death Thy Lover’, Napalm Records), finish Avatarium‘s second album late last year (‘The Girl With The Raven Mask’, Nuclear Blast) and form a new band, The Doomsday Kingdom.

The band’s demo EP ‘Never Machine’ will be out on November 25 via Nuclear Blast marking Leif’s new reign of doom metal.

“I’m so happy that things are moving in the right direction,” Leif comments. “I’ve been putting my heart and soul into the new EP and album for about two and a half years now. So it’s very relieving to finally see an end to all the work. Soon the world will hear the sound of the catacombs coming to life! “I’m currently doing the final touches to the album. It is recorded, mixed and mastered, and has come out absolutely fantastic! Just a few graphic things left with photos, booklet etc. and then it will be ready. I’m very proud of this album! It sounds so good, therefore the visual aspect … Read More

Devil horns, Satanic rituals, and a 45-year-old debut album that became a benchmark for what has since become known as occult rock – in darkened circles COVEN – and their album ‘Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Soul’s – legacy is of paramount importance. At the tail-end of 2013, a new album, entitled ‘JINX’ was released marking a new era for the pioneering troupe. JINX DAWSON – High Priestess and the original wicked woman– spoke to Iron Fist about its creation and the legacy that she and her band has created. Now as the band prepare to perform a brand new ritual at ROABURN FESTIVAL we present that interview once more in its entirety

Tell us about the creative process of the new album… Was it a continuous process or has it been carried out over a longer period with breaks? “In some ways, this album has been over 40 years in the making. But summer of 2013 was when I decided it was time for a new Coven album. One must always close the circle, so I starting mixing together a wicked brew of olde and new. There were a few songs back in the day that were never finished or considered too bizarre and … Read More

When not sticking to a good ‘ol cuppa at Europe’s most psychedelic festival, Patrick Walker is 40 Watt Sun, Britain’s most evocative doom band since, well, Warning. In Iron Fist #10 Sarah Kitteringham spoke to him about musical catharsis, influences and a potential new album…

Two years on and that album is here. To mark the release of ‘Pictures’ (scroll down for a sneak preview), a new song from the forthcoming ‘Wider than the Sky’ (out on October 14 on the band’s own label Radiance Records) we are re-publishing that article in its entirety. Welcome back Mr Walker.

Guitarist and vocalist Patrick Walker was just 17-years-old when he formed Warning. The band, and the project that followed in the wake of their final breakup in 2009 – the luminous 40 Watt Sun – inspire flagrant emotional hyperbolic description that seem entirely out of place within the realms of metal. This is music that gives you the “feels”.

Emotive descriptors aside, 40 Watt Sun’s music is slow and dense with dynamic Sabbathian bass lines and reverb soaked percussion; the cymbal work gives the music light and shade, bouncing alongside Walker’s simple, cascading riffs. The vocals are expressive and clean; in contrast the guitar tones are beefy and … Read More

Back in Iron Fist #11 (Summer 2014) Paul Schwarz met with Bong’s Mike Vest to find out about the beast that was 11 Paranoias. Now back with their latest report from the frontiers of heavy psychedelic rock, the trio of Adam Richardson (Ramesses), Mike Vest (Bong) and Nathan Perrier (Satan’s Wrath) have once more aroused gargantuan riffs from ancient slumber, mustered intangible streams of irradiated noise, and arranged them to form an impressive, overdriven creation that shall see the light of day on October 28 via Ritual Productions. In the run-up to the release of their fourth release ‘Reliquary For A Dreamed Of World’, and with the honour of unveiling a brand new video, we present that interview once again in full.

“When you’re in a band with such inspirational people, you don’t need to tanalyse things too much. Adam and I are always discussing dimensional possibilities, surrealist ideas, music and artwork; out-there concepts and nightmare situations of drug induced states. Our mindset is always strung out beyond the rim.”

Originally a side-project which saw Ramesses bandmates Adam Richardson and Mark Greening team up with guitarist Mike Vest (best known for his work with the droning Bong), 11paranoias have been in flux for two years, have, to date, played five gigs … Read More

“We were formed after a wild halloween party in late 2011. Karlsson [vocals/guitar] had a couple of songs recorded that I thought sounded cool and suggested that we rehearsed them to see how it all sounded with a full band. We met at a garage the next day hungover as hell and that’s it.” Tobias Augustsson is explaining how garage rock, horror punk, biker exploitation movie, booze hounds The Dahmers came into being. Last year’s debut ‘Demons’ twists The Stooges, Misfits, Thin Lizzy and Motörhead with fellow Swedes The Hellacopters.

“We have always listened to a lot of different music so we never decided that we should stick to one kind of genre or try to sound just like a specific band,” Tobias says of their pick ‘n’ mix punk rock sound. “The basic idea was to play loud and have a good time while doing so. We find inspiration in everything from old punk and ’70s rock to ’60s pop songs and much more. “There has always been bands around that aim towards sounding old school and that’s usually fine and we dig a lot of them as most of our favourite bands are old bands,” he continues of his homeland’s revolving … Read More