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

A love for hard rock and heavy metal convinced two school friends, and the singer’s younger sister, aged just nine at the time, to form a band. That band would go on to win them support slots with the likes of Iron Maiden, front covers of Kerrang! and record deals with major labels. And now they’re back! GREG MOFFIT meets ROCK GODDESS and discovers that LOVE LINGERS STILL

Formed in Wandsworth, south London in 1977, Rock Goddess were one of the few all-girl rock bands of their era. The original line-up of sisters Jody (guitar/vocals) and Julie Turner (drums) alongside bassist and school friend Tracey Lamb released just two albums at the height of their fame, but they remain one of the most memorable acts from the NWOBHM, and not just as members of the fairer sex. In ’77, Jody and Tracey were a mere thirteen – that’s one three – years old, while Julie was – wait for it – just nine. They may have still been several years away from gigging or recording, but their sheer fresh-faced innocence places them none too far from the likes of The Jackson Five in terms of diaper-to-stage career curves.

Casual observers might baulk … Read More

Following on from her interview with the one and only Lita Ford we unleashed our metal maiden on THE metal maiden DORO PESCH to talk about her new 2-disc DVD ‘Strong And Proud’, her fans, her soul, smoking a pack of cigarettes in an hour with Lemmy and never doing karaoke!

Doro Pesch is all she is! 30 years on she reigns ‘Strong And Proud’, weaving her metal magik throughout the lands. She rules with a very metal but kind heart! In fact, it actually felt more like we were talking through a dream catcher than a phone line. I felt captured by her warrior spirit, innate positivity and wisdom; only Doro is real!

So how in the hell does this Teutonic maiden manage to keep on doing it or ‘’rockin’ zie haus” as she calls it?!? Hot rockin’ vocals, hot rockin’ headbangin’, martial arts, her commitment as an animal activist and UBER ALLES, her fans sure as hell have something to do with! (I guess you’ll have to watch the movie to find out…)

So who RSVP’d for the extensive one year ‘Strong And Proud’ tour party and where else but Wacken would be more apt for Doro to start spreading her unholy love? … Read More

Lace, chocolate, canals and beer-brewing-monks; Bruges has never been known as a hive of heavy metal activity, yet some 35 years ago a band came crashing through its medieval walls. Rubbing shoulders with Motörhead, Maiden and Manowar along the way, the quintet lived what some might consider to be the ultimate early ’80s hard rock fantasy, yet real success proved elusive and just five short years later, the group disbanded and added themselves to the endless list of metal’s might-have-beens. Now, three decades since their departure, all of ACIDs recorded output is being reissued again, proving that interest in the band is arguably stronger than ever. TOBY WRIGHT was fortunate enough to talk with singer KATE DE LOMBAERT and drummer GEERT ‘ANVILL’ RICQUIER about the pleasures and pitfalls of being in the wrong place at the right time.

“I think it was something magic,” says Kate thoughtfully, as we begin to discuss what gave Acid such cult status. “I don’t know what it was,” she continues, hesitating a little. “When we played together it was like a wall of sound. It was very, very special.” Geert, seemingly jovial at this evening’s trip down memory lane, is quick to confirm the vocalist’s … Read More

Making it to three decades for any band is a rarity, but when you’ve had to overcome near-death experiences, small-town bullying and worse of all, the grunge boom, 30 years is most definitely something to celebrate. Louise Brown talks to the queen of survival about how there’s 30 more years in her yet

When did you first discover your passion for music? Doro: “I was three-years-old. The first real experience that totally got me hooked was Little Richard’s ‘Lucille’. That song was so high energy. When I listened to it I thought, ‘I want to do that, I want to sing’. Later I had some contact with some older boys. They had posters of Alice Cooper, Sweet, Slade, T-Rex. I was always singing along to their hard rock records and they thought it was very funny. I was screaming my heart out, I could really yell. They were shocked, they said, ‘Wow, how can a little girl make that noise?’. I was fascinated with all the guys with long hair, like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the glam rock. And then there was Suzi Quatro, the first girl I heard, I loved her. Metal didn’t exist and when I was 15 then … Read More

Blazing a burning path in the ‘80s, LEATHER LEONE fronted bands like Rude Girl, Malibu Barbi and the mighty CHASTAIN. But after a 12 year break, where she felt side-lined by the over-sexualised music industry, she’s back with a vengeance and SARAH KITTERINGHAM finds out that the reign of Leather is still going strong…

Chastain could have been, but sure as shit should not be, one of those bands consigned to the “who the hell is that?” bin. Lead by guitarist, songwriter and “guitar god” David T Chastain, they blasted through the ‘80s, combining classic heavy metal with the driving, melodic, anthem qualities of power metal. Fronted by the snarling Leather Leone – whose style is oddly comparable to Metal Church’s David Wayne – the band lost their footing in the early ‘90s. Tired of working her ass off and not seeing results, Leone departed. The band’s bassist and drummer followed suit. Although new members rounded out the lineup, the magic was gone and over the next two decades, Chastain releases were sadly sub-standard.

Then something changed, and Chastain has now returned in a classic guise: Leather is back from her self-imposed musical exile, bassist Mike Skimmerhorn has returned, and Mr David … Read More

After launching in September we were so inspired by all the killer feedback we got for issue one, that we forged right ahead and here’s issue two of the ULTIMATE UNDERGROUND BIBLE to get your ‘head around.

With the ‘Head on tour around Europe at the moment, we caught up with Lemmy in 2012 AND Lemmy in 1981 (courtesy of the memory of veteran journo Garry Bushell) for our cover story and also delved into the past with FIRST EVER Finnish heavy metal band SARCOFAGUS, Metal Queen DORO, the label that launched Metallica and Slayer METAL BLADE and look at the first TIAMAT album and the legacy of INCANTATION!

Not one to discard the future though we also chat to FUNERAL THRONE, RUINS, DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT, HEXVESSEL, NECROS CHRISTOS, NECROCURSE, VAMPIRE, VEKTOR, WEAPON and much, much more

You 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 – 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 … Read More