“I see the light shining” sung TUDOR SHELDON on Virtue’s 1987 demo ‘FOOLS GOLD’, but it’s us that sees the light now, shining bright from that most sought-after yellow cover. Seek (and destroy) no more, No Remorse from Germany have made VIRTUE readily available and DAVE SHERWOOD tracked down the band to ask if we’ll ever get to see them live… and to give the only mention of Skindred that will ever appear in our pages.

At Iron Fist we are fascinated with the weird and wonderful; from knowing about Phil Lynott’s guest appearance on Heavy Load’s ‘Free’, to discovering Slayer’s first ultra-rare release: ‘Satan Laughing As You Eternally Rot’ which simplifies to SLAYER. So we were ecstatic when we discovered an official re-issue of Oxford’s unsung heavy metal heroes: Virtue. They were active towards the back end of the NWOBHM prime time but were pushed into never ending pit of trend-influenced bands. It has only been in the last four years that their 1985 ‘We Stand to Fight’ single has gone viral in the metal community; and so with its original release (costly and pressed to a minimal number) it was only a matter of time until a label were wanting … 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