Danish sinister hard rockers Demon Head are about to unleash their second full-length album ‘Thunder On The Fields’ via The Sign Records and Caligari Records (it will also be available via Crypt Of The Wizard in London!). Their sound is a marvellously memorable mix of rockin’ riffing, Danzig-esque vocals and heady hooks, which will embed themselves into your memory, plus there’s an occult, organic nod to the past without sounding like a retro throwback. Their upcoming album has already caught the attention of Darkthrone drummer Fenriz, who recently made them a band of the week, and they’re set to turn more heads. We caught up with the band to find out more about this still quite mysterious musical entity.

You have a new album due out soon, what’s up with that? B.G.N (guitar): You can expect a very generous and honest record that mostly take use of guitars, bass, drums, voice and words as instruments of expression. M.S.F (bass): Real music for real people.

Are you chuffed with the end result?. M.F.L (vocals): Yes, as Birk says it has been a lot of hard work; recording it ourselves, making the artwork (luckily with help for the final layout part). We are perfectionists about the songwriting and … 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

Italian masters of occult horror doom metal Abysmal Grief, who formed in 1996, have reissued their latest album ‘Strange Rites Of Evil’ on cassette via Horror Records and after seeing them at Roadburn Festival where they stole the crown “band of the weekend” (according to our editor, Louise) we needed to interrogate them about the album and their future plans. Known for their dark, occult imagery and lyrics, Kat Gillham caught up with guitarist Regen Graves to get his take on the band’s themes and the state of modern doom. 

Your excellent new album ‘Strange Rites Of Evil’ was unleashed upon mankind recently, please tell the readers what they can expect from it in your words.  The new album was released on digipack CD by Terror From Hell Records on November 2, while the LP was unleashed by Horror Records on Christmas eve and just now on cassette. Yes, we’re satisfied with the whole work, and I can say this is exactly what Abysmal Grief look like today: a punch in the face of positiveness and life.

Please tell us a bit about the lyrical concepts on this album, what initially made you so interested in such dark and esoteric subjects? This album is quite different … Read More

Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Free, The Faces, “but, at the same time Donny Hathaway, Howlin’ Wolf, Dina Washington, Big Mama Thornton and Muddy Waters. Those are the one who taught me a lot of things about music.” That is the leap-off point into discussing ‘The Vision’, the debut album by Italian doominatrix Virginia Monti and her band Psychedelic Witchcraft. Fronted by the bewitching Monti, the only one in the band that “isn’t classically trained”, this Florence-based blues rock group were only formed a year ago but have already played with the likes of The Vintage Caravan and Dead Lord and have been snapped up by Soulseller Records (Spectral Haze/Demon Eye) for their debut album.

“I started alone, just for fun, posting a song on YouTube,” says Monti of how the band begun. “I wouldn’t have ever imagined the reaction the metal community had. I had so many people asking for more! It took me almost six months to find my bandmates because I was looking for guys that shared the vision of style and music I had in mind. I found was my guitar player [Jacopo Fallai]in my hometown, then I met Riccardo [Giuffrè, bass] in Milan and he moved … Read More

Ketzer have made a drastic change in musical direction on their new album ‘Starless’. What inspired such a shift from the rabid thrash aggression to a more dark hard rock style? Was it just a case of evolving naturally or wanting to experiment outside of the restrictive confines of black-thrash? Guitarist Sinner responds; “Actually, we did not even intentionally step away from what you called the ‘confines of black-thrash’. That ‘evolving naturally’ phrase might sound like a cliché but in the end it’s the easiest way to describe it. It started about three years ago, when Marius [aka bass player Necroculto] had an idea for a song that would later become ‘Shaman’s Dance’. We changed the song but it didn’t really feel right until we just jammed together and suddenly the parts all fell together naturally. So this was the moment we noticed that it works really well for us to write songs together by jamming and seeing what happens, which is a very organic way of creating music. The outcome is different than before, but to my ears the expressions and vibes that are being created are still very similar to our other two albums. I especially experience that … Read More

On repeat on the Iron Fist HQ stereo, the new album from Finland’s Jess & The Ancient Ones (‘Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes’, Svart Records) is out today. You can read about it in the newest issue of Iron Fist, but back in February 2013, just before they were about to tread the boards at the hallowed Roadburn Festival, we asked Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin to grill them alongside their comrades, Seremonia. 

Since The Devil’s Blood arrived on the scene in 2006 there has been a steady flow of priestess-fronted occult rock bands following their path. Jess & The Ancient Ones and Seremonia, both from Finland and both with female singers, have been tarred with this association, despite sounding very different from each other. How do you feel about that? And have you had the chance to meet and play together? Thomas Corpse, Jess & The Ancients Ones: “No, not yet. I do have a feeling that we will meet though. I don’t believe that either one wants to belong to any scene. We just want to storm our own way, and forge our own true identity. It’s not our fault that people tend to drop everything in the same box.” Ville Pirenen, … Read More

Another band that ranks high in the kvlt stakes, the name Death SS evokes an aura of darkness, of classic metal, of a band whose legendary period is of a time when little was recorded and even less released. I’m sure that mentioning the very name of the band to you, the Fist readership, brings about the sort of reverential talk normally reserved for the most sacred of acts, quickly qualified by a statement along the lines of “well, up until their first demo/single/album” [delete as appropriate].

Even the briefest of internet trawls for reviews of ‘Resurrection’, Death SS’ latest album, generates an opinion that is overwhelmingly negative, most notably from newbies wondering what all the fuss is about and for whom the 2013 incarnation is their fist encounter with Steve Sylvester [born Stefano Silvestri] and his occult-fuelled outfit. Many comparisons are made between the Italians’ latest and Morbid Angel’s ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’, seemingly by virtue of the industrial overtones of both albums providing a common link more than anything else. While it is true to say that ‘Resurrection’ is several miles removed from the likes of ‘Heavy Demons’ in many respects, at the same time it certainly isn’t the car … Read More

There have not been so many wicked women bewitching the heavy rock world as there is now. Jinx herself must be so proud. But the high priestess of them all is most certainly the majestic JEX THOTH. With a new EP and album out this summer, KIM KELLY comes listen to her sermon

Jex Thoth is a busy woman. Fawned over and fetishised as one of occult rock’s true High Priestesses and a devilishly talented musician in her own right, she is a quiet enigma floating airily through a thicket of over-sharers. There isn’t a ton of information about her out there, and this wilful silence has led many to style her as a mystical entity, or at the very least, one that likes to keep people guessing. That’s how she likes it, too, telling Iron Fist, “Jex Thoth is the most personal to me of all my projects and too much tampering with how I relate to my own experience will most certainly have an effect on the music over time.” Right now, her ambient ‘Circle’ EP’s still cooling gently on the windowsill while Jex preps for the release of her next full-length, ‘Blood Moon Rise’ (on I Hate Records). … Read More