We take the rough with the smooth here at Iron Fist – you cannot have one without the other. And with every celebration there is an element of tragedy, or for the optimists there is a cause for celebration in every moment of sadness. We started Issue 5 of Iron Fist in a celebratory mood – one of metal’s most important albums – ‘Holy Diver – was about to turn 30, but in talking to lead guitarist Vivian Campbell we learned how miserable the making of that landmark record made him, spilling the beans of the well-documented fall-out between him and Ronnie James Dio.

We also wanted to celebrate the life and music of one of metal’s most important guitarists, Jeff Hanneman – Reign In Peace!

But most of all we wanted to celebrate tenacity and perseverance, a thread running through interviews with Hungary’s underground cult thrashers, Tormentor and underrated NWOBHM heroes, Pagan Altar, Satan and Virtue. While Tormentor, Pagan Altar and Virtue were noticed long after they’d called it quits, Satan journeyed through the hard times through many guises before reforming under their original name and making one of the albums of their career.

In this issue we also speak to lifelong … Read More

The thrash boom has moshed back to obscurity, but it’s separated the wheat from the chaff in terms of the bands worth giving the time of day. Yorkshire’s EVILE are now on album number four, and with a heavier, more Entombed influence, they tell LOUISE BROWN that they ain’t going anywhere…

The bubble has well and truly burst. And thank fuck, some of you might say. In the mid-2000s it was rad to wear hi-tops, chug beer bongs and sing about zombies. You couldn’t move at metal shows for freshly patched jackets and trucker caps with the flap riding high, but as the new decade dawned the Bay Area beatification died down and the metal labels stopped pecking at the carcass of thrash. Many of those bands hailed as the second-coming of Slayer have disappeared without a trace, drinking their own toxic kool-aid and Milano moshing back from whence they came. But some, like Yorkshire’s Evile have not only stood their ground, but have proven that, four albums in, they were never a novelty throwback thrash band in the first place. Forget the trends, Matt Drake, his guitarist brother Ol, Ben Carter and Joel Graham (who joined in 2009 after the tragic death … Read More

The neo-thrash trend fronted by the likes of Municipal Waste and Evile may be waning but there are still many clinging on to the roots of the genre and resurrecting it with equally ancient, scuffed up hi-tops. Cue Southampton’s Desolator, who despite only starting two years ago have made quite a name for themselves. The trio made up of Jamie Brooks (vocals/guitar), Felix Dock (bass) and Sam Talbot (drums) love playing fast and Brooks sums up their sound perfectly; “Speed thrash ‘n’ roll! Thrash for us should be unhinged and fun, stripped down with every instrument being pushed to excite!” Desolator’s consistent desire to party has done them favours, with a constant flow of gigs around the country, gathering a mental mass of followers. Their first gig was at one of the UK’s many thrash all-dayers back in 2011 and despite only having two songs written, the band invited eager ears. “We couldn’t believe our luck, it was an unbelievable way to start,” recalls Jamie. From then on there’ve been support slots with the likes of Cannabis Corpse, DRI and Sacred Reich, giving the three-piece more opportunity to showcase their energetically live shows. “Our recent show in Belgium at Thrash Till … Read More