It’s been a difficult time for heavy metal of late. We knew he was sick but Ian Fraser Kilmister, with that indomitable spirit, wouldn’t let us, his fans, down. Recording albums and playing live right up until the end, it’s as if we knew the day would come but neither he, nor us, would accept that crushing fate.

For weeks there seemed like an outpouring of collective grief. Even when the godlike Bowie and then the rock of which so much of heavy metal is built, Jimmy Bain, passed away it all got caught up in this exhausting wave of despair.

Doing a new issue of Iron Fist felt meaningless; we were named after a Motörhead song and now Motörhead was no more. While every other magazine poured over the details of Lemmy’s life, we wanted to mourn the band as well as the man and through our haze turned to the only person we could think of, Jase Of Spades from the blog 366 Days Of Motörhead to help us both with our office playlists and tribute. In this issue he reminds us of the many albums, live recordings and rare tracks that the ‘Head have left as their … Read More

Purson welcomes you to ‘Desire’s Magic Theatre’, which according to the band is “A technicolour trip through the mind’s eye of songstress/vocalist/guitarist Rosalie Cunningham, whose signature approach to her craft stands boldly centre-stage, blending progressive dexterity and cabaret romp into a compelling, multi-faceted rock ‘n’ roll show.” Already one of our editor’s albums of 2016, ‘Desire’s Magic Theatre’ draws inspiration from the rock operas of the late ’60s and early ’70s; musically, visually and lyrically, it touches on a variety of realms, including folk, prog, psychedelic, gothic and classic rock, making telling use of classical instruments and complex arrangements, and fully exploring the outer limits of reel to reel tape.

Says Rosie: “’Desire’s Magic Theatre’ has turned out to be everything I’d imagined and more! My world has been so consumed by it that I’ve barely been able to reflect on what it has become: a technicolour variety show, a playful display of the musical whims only briefly hinted at in our previous work; a psychedelic rock opera dedicated to our good friends Sarge Pepper and Zig Stardust.”

The album is set for release in March 2016 through Spinefarm and Machine Elf and a UK tour will follow

UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES

MARCH WED 09          BRISTOL, THE LOUISIANA THU … Read More