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

“Everything’s good, everything’s fine” so sang Ian Gillan in 1971. And everything’s still good if North Carolinian, dark riffing, blue collar, horror novel rockers Demon Eye are anything to go by. Taking their name from that Deep Purple song, Paul Walz (bass), Bill Eagen (drums), Larry Burlison (guitars) and Erik Sugg (guitars, vocals) play laid-back, bluesy hard rock with more than a nod to their forebears, putting them alongside Orchid and Danava in today’s contemporary scene.

“I was playing with a high energy, MC5 inspired band called the Dragstrip Syndicate. After that I played with some similar styled bands, always tending to borrow from ‘60s Detroit rock or heavy psych groups like Blue Cheer,” explains Erik of how Demon Eye came to be. “When I first met Larry and Bill they were playing with Richard Bacchus from the old New York City rock band, D-generation. Demon Eye was born after the four of us got together to play in a ‘70s rock cover band called Corvette Summer. After about a year of playing tunes by groups like Budgie, UFO and Humble Pie we started writing our own music.

“There are many things that attract me to this music,” he continues of why … Read More

“Don’t be worried, new material is on the way.” Phew! That’s in response to our constant harassing of Jack MacMichael, lead guitarist with Lancaster bombers, Eliminator, who have only put out one single and a split since their EP ‘We Rule The Night’ in 2011. The five-piece are set to rule the night once again, as they’ve been hand-picked by Brofest to represent the UK’s new tribe of traditional heavy metal heathens. “We’re currently putting the finishing touches to an album’s worth of new songs, which we’re currently rehearsing with a view to record as soon as possible! We’ve been taking a lot of time with this, as we had a line up change early in 2013. It’s been tricky finding the time to get the new material penned, we also don’t want to release a load of crap just for the sake of getting a release out quickly. We require your patience, the end result will be worth it. You’ll hear a few of these new numbers at Brofest.

“We’re happy to be playing Brofest,” Jack continues of the golden ticket he was handed by Stu Bartlett and the Bro boys. “A couple of us attended last year’s edition and … Read More

Formed only a year ago by singer/guitarist Víctor M de la Chica of melodic metallers Moonlight Fear, this Andalusian powerhouse strip things back to an early heavy metal vibe on their recent EP ‘Return To The Witches Castle’ so it’s no surprise that Brofest came a-calling to book them to represent the new breed at a fest dominated by reunions and special one-off performances from the veterans of the old school. Telling us the band was the result of “an idea rattling round in my head for a few years”, Witchtower, who also feature Jesus on bass, Edu on drums and Chinchilla on guitars, are “totally influenced” by heavy metal from the late ’70s and early ’80s, with a strong influence from Angel Witch, Diamond Head and Tygers Of Pang Tang

Victor can’t wait to touch down on British soil, especially playing alongside his heroes. “This is a really big chance for us,” he says. “We are very glad for this opportunity, from here we say ‘thank you’ to all the Brofest crew. I did Witchtower based in that classic sound, most of the bands on the bill influenced my rock ‘n’ roll way.”

He goes on to reveal that, “we are … Read More