“This album has been a long time coming and it’s very fulfilling to see a project, which was started a long time ago, finally nearing completion,” says a very relieved Age Of Taurus guitarist Toby Wright, fresh from the studio. We’re relieved too – it’s been three years since the then London-based doom mob released their demo ‘In The Days Of The Taurean Empire’. Part Candlemass, part Pentagram, part Sabbath and part Trouble, Age Of Taurus were doing doom the right way, but the demo was rough and ready and we at Iron Fist were eager to see what Toby, along with ex-Mourn guitarist Alastair Riddell, drummer Darius Claydon and bassist Richard Bruce could come up with once they had time, and a record deal, on their side. The wait is almost over with ‘Desperate Souls Of Tortured Times’ due out this Spring on Rise Above.

“The delay was mostly down to my relocation from London to Oslo in 2011,” Toby admits. “It definitely took me some time to readjust and also to find the best way for a pan-European AOT to work.” Three years is more than enough time for the band to hone their chops and find their sound, so … Read More

Just before December 31, as the world turned from 2012, a year that was meant to see humanity hurtling towards its prophetic end, into the unlucky 13, Black Oath, a band we have been feverishly evangelising, offered a new song to their most devoted disciples, and not only that but announced it featured guest guitars from Sebastian Ramstedt of Nifelheim/Necrophobic fame. We had to find out more…

“We met the Nifelheim freaks two years ago at Metal Magic Festival in Denmark,” the collective voice of the band tell us of this exciting partnership. “Some days after we received a message from Sebastian asking if we were interested to collaborate with him. At first, he was supposed to play an Alice Cooper cover with us at Hell’s Pleasure, but, due to time it wasn’t possible, so we asked him to play some guitar on the new record and the final result is now online.”

Wanting to know as much as possible about this forthcoming record we asked the band for more details, but they were typically cloak and dagger. The band told us that, “yes, that track will be on our next album [‘Ov Qliphoth And Darkness’]. We already played it live twice and … Read More

With the likes of Coffins and Abigail flying the Japanese flag in the underground scene, it was only a matter of time until more promising contemporary acts started to get the attention of the West. Darkcorpse’s black metal angst, fuelled by a DIY passion reminiscent of the punk era may have only started a couple of years ago, but the five-piece already have two demos up their sleeves. After playing in other bands and vocalist Kraahl setting up underground zine, the Japan Metal Guide, the band, now made up of Harbinger and Korvus (guitars), Marax (bass) and drummer Skuld, were able to gig around Yokohoma.

“Playing here has been an amazing experience. The sense of community within the scene is really strong and bands really look out for each other,” explains Skuld. “I suppose the only bad part is how expensive shows are here due to the prevailing pay-to-play system. Actually, this system has a seriously crippling effect on the bands, making it difficult for most bands to scrape together enough money for recording and touring.”

Despite this, Darkcorpse’s independent approach has created two misanthropic records, with a third already in the pipeline. “As a band we tend not to mull over … Read More

Angist are one of the most compelling bands to have catapulted into this writer’s ears in ages, and these chilly, jaded fingers don’t type that lightly. It’s all a matter of taste, to be sure, but man, have you heard this fucking band? If not, allow me to suggest that you put this magazine down, lovingly close its covers, and hop on over to your internet machine to look up the audio for their 2011 EP, ‘Circle of Suffering’. Drink that shit in, give it a good swish around in your mouth, then rumble back up to this article. We should be on the same page now. Their story is novel, to say the least – little band from Iceland makes good – but the quality of the music goes far beyond sheer gimmickry. Angist are a death metal band at heart, but like to mix things up with shades of black metal and thrash and moments of devilish melody. The vocals come howling out of the void, guttural, menacing, and pained; Edda Tegeder Óskarsdóttir is a force of nature.
That sounds all well and good, but the icing on the cake is the way they manipulate the lightless, gloomy and … Read More

It seems fitting that in the same issue that we celebrate the legacy of Voivod that we also delve deep into DECEPTOR, a power trio from London, England. Though not musically similar to the Quebecois maniacs, there is a direct line between Voivod’s dystopian vision and Deceptor’s. Newly signed to Shadow Kingdom and with a new album ‘CHAINS OF DELUSION’ ready to be unleashed onto an unsuspecting world, Sam Mackertich (guitars, vocals – with a scream to beat Halford’s!), James Ashbey (drums) and Paul Fulda (bass, vocals), are injecting new RAM into thrash’s overloaded motherboard.

 

Having formed in 2005, you pre-empted, supported and have now outlived the mini UK thrash boom. Do you miss the scene’s peak? James: “I miss the sense of community and the great times that were had amongst friends. The scene at large never had a huge amount to say musically, and those bands who were simply rehashing an already cloistered sound have predictably fizzled out, but I still value all the friendships that resulted from those years.”

You must be happy with, might we say excellent, new release ‘Chains Of Delusion’ and the Shadow Kingdom deal? Sam: “The stars really aligned for us, we managed to record the EP … Read More

It’s tough breaking into any scene, but for a fledgling British stoner band, you’ve not just got a rich history of bands that dominate the scene to contend with, you also have to tame those 20 tonne behemoths that they call riffs. Whilst even the most seasoned acts can buckle under the weight, newcomers Throne have taken to it like ducks to water, and they have a very simple method; “We just try to be honest about who we are and write the songs we want to hear,” William Michael admits. Some bands might find it all too easy to ignore those who have come before them, but for Throne it’s about bringing together the new and the old. “It’s like trying to strike a balance between honouring traditions and bringing something new,” the London-based bassist admits. Well, it’s an approach that is working well and 2013 looks set to be a big year as it will see them releasing their as-yet-untitled debut album as well as heading out to Texas for SXSW, “and we’ll have a go at the rest of Europe too, fuck it,” William laughs.

There’s a whole stack of reasons why Throne should be one of your … Read More

If you described Attic as a traditional heavy metal band from the famous Ruhr area (Kreator, Tankard, Sodom), obsessed with occultism and dripping in late 19th century gothic atmosphere, their guitar player and main composer Katte would be chuffed. Always a stronghold for any kind of back-to-basics subgenre, Germany has lately had an extremely healthy underground scene, where black/thrash (Desaster, Nocturnal, Cruel Force) and heavy metal (Iron Kobra, Alpha Tiger, Serpent) collide. But no matter how hard he tries to defend himself in the wake of their first European tour, opening for The Devil’s Blood, he knows too damn well about that gigantic elephant in the room.

The man knows all about the business of living in someone’s shadow: in 2006, he founded Erazor, which owed more than a large debt to Dissection. Around the same time, he briefly played in Warhammer, Germany’s answer to Hellhammer. Still, it seems impossible now not to have the names Attic and Mercyful Fate in the same sentence and Katte acknowledges it, even if he says that he’s always been more into “obscure heavy metal” the whole time and that he had a secret plan to form an occult band in this vein for a … Read More

 

That Cathedral mainman Lee Dorrian has a soft spot for hardcore, punk and grindcore is no secret. But on some downtime from writing the last ever Cathedral record he, guitarist Gaz Jennings, bassist Scott Carlson and producer Jaime Gomez Arellano picked up their weapons of choice and a new(ish) band was born. Miles Hackett finds out more…

Late last year, when it was announced that seminal grindcore legends Repulsion were making a rare trip onto UK soil in May there was a wave of excitement at IFHQ, but upon further inspection, who was this band Septic Tank billed as opening up? The press release spoke of Replusion’s own Scott Carlson being a member alongside Cathedral men Lee Dorrian and Garry Jennings alongside music producer Jaime Gomez Arellano. We had to speak to Lee to get the lowdown on this mysterious band that have been under our radar since 1994. Lee tells the story of how it came about: “Well, it dates back to the time that Cathedral were signed to Columbia, we had a lot of line up changes and due to the money we were receiving from the major, we took advantage and hired people from bands like Pentagram and … Read More

A mysterious and ancient curse resides in the bowels of Catalonia, or so it seems when listening to the putrid expulsions of 13th Moon. They sound like the dank, cobweb-infested halls of death; like a Lovecraftian nightmare. In a similar way to fellow countrymen Teitanblood, it appears that this band goes far beyond the act of simply “making music”. Little information can be garnered about this band, save what has recently been advertised online by Exitium Productions, who will be putting out their demo ‘The Pale Spectre Over The Worm’ on cassette in early February. All that can be sourced are a couple of tantalising videos comprised of murky found footage of catacombs, nocturnal witch cults and desolation. The available tracks show such promise that 13th Moon will no doubt become a feared name in the world’s underground scene. We tracked down main man Naashahas to talk about the impetus behind this horrid black/death hybrid, and to shed light on the future. He replied in a suitably obscure manner: “The chthonic call from the depths of the earth-mind.” Inspiration for the name derives from a wealth of interest/practice in the occult: “The Moon represents our dark mother Lilith-Hecate-Lamashtu-Kali… her most violent, dangerous and … Read More

Don’t you dare tell RS that Lie In Ruins and Desolate Shrine, the two bands he’s part of, are alike; “That’s total bullshit. The only link between those two is I’m doing the vocals for both, but I don’t have any lyrical nor musical responsibilities in the latter.” Ask Desolate Shrine’s ‘real’ boss LL what he thinks then and he’d agree that that, “the only link those two are our singer and the fact that we all know each other, share a rehearsal place, drink some beers now and then and operate the within the vast genre that is death metal, but even that’s a bit different.” Indeed, while Lie In Ruins’ 2009 ‘Swallowed The Void’ release was a classic yet solid throwback to the good old days of early ’90s Finnish death metal, Desolate Shrine’s 2011 debut ‘Tenebrous Towers’ and brand new ‘The Sanctum Of Human Madness’ album are different beasts altogether, two epic albums released only a year apart. Described by its creator as an album whose “lyrical, musical and graphic concept all revolves around the darkest corners of human mind – you can see it as a journey to the gates of hell if you will,” ‘Sanctum’ is … Read More