Lace, chocolate, canals and beer-brewing-monks; Bruges has never been known as a hive of heavy metal activity, yet some 35 years ago a band came crashing through its medieval walls. Rubbing shoulders with Motörhead, Maiden and Manowar along the way, the quintet lived what some might consider to be the ultimate early ’80s hard rock fantasy, yet real success proved elusive and just five short years later, the group disbanded and added themselves to the endless list of metal’s might-have-beens. Now, three decades since their departure, all of ACIDs recorded output is being reissued again, proving that interest in the band is arguably stronger than ever. TOBY WRIGHT was fortunate enough to talk with singer KATE DE LOMBAERT and drummer GEERT ‘ANVILL’ RICQUIER about the pleasures and pitfalls of being in the wrong place at the right time.

“I think it was something magic,” says Kate thoughtfully, as we begin to discuss what gave Acid such cult status. “I don’t know what it was,” she continues, hesitating a little. “When we played together it was like a wall of sound. It was very, very special.” Geert, seemingly jovial at this evening’s trip down memory lane, is quick to confirm the vocalist’s … Read More

A lot of metal bands have an unconventional tale of how they began, but it’s fairly certain that Durham’s Winds of Genocide are the only group that can boast it being put into motion by a bang on a window. “We officially formed in early 2006, as a two-piece, but it took us until 2009 to find a drummer and begin actively rehearsing,” vocalist Kat Shevil tells us. “A Swedish guy called Linus, studying at the university here, drunkenly walked past my flat one night and saw the Skitsystem sticker on my bedroom window. He banged on my living room window and we ended up going to the local pub for a pint. We soon realised that we had not just a mutual love for crust punk but also for death and black metal; about four months later we were writing our first songs with him on drums!”

Linus has since departed the band, replaced by Ian Hunter and, in the last nine years, the four-piece have put out a demo and an EP, as well as two splits with Abigail and Firstblood, Diskelmä and Satellite. About to release their debut album ‘Usurping The Throne Of Disease’, Kat and co’s self-proclaimed … Read More