New York thrash icons Anthrax release their latest album ‘For All Kings’ today via Nuclear Blast and for the band who formed in 1981 and have pushed out 12 of these bad boys, not to mention countless EPs, live albums and singles, they’re well aware of the changing tides when it comes to picking up your favourite band’s new record.

But reflecting their ol’ pals Metallica’s support for Record Store Day, founding axeman Scott Ian has some words to say about people’s attitude towards buying new music. He says in a video shot this week in London, that “Shouldn’t ten or eleven new songs by your favourite band be enough?” He also says that he “stills loves going to record stores” and that he’s worried it’s “an experience that [future] generations will never understand”.

“It’s like pushing your little bird, your little baby, out of your nest,” bassist Frank Bello tells Iron Fist’s Martin Popoff, on making new albums. “You nurture it to this point and then you start doing interviews, people hear it, and hopefully everybody likes it as much as we do. We’re just psyched, honestly, to be at this level in our 30-something year career. People have a real nice buzz … Read More

IRON MAIDEN FORT LAUDERDALE BB&T CENTER Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the members of Iron Maiden are in their late 50s-early 60s. However, compared to the majority of their contemporaries, the band still has plenty of energy, which is especially evident here, on the first show of their massive The Book Of Souls World tour. The band get the audience pumped up by playing AC/DC’s ‘Powerage’ over the PA, but when the ‘Strangers In The Night’ cut of ‘Doctor Doctor’ starts up fans know exactly what’s coming. A new CGI animation that sees Ed Force One marooned in a Mayan desert, only to be rescued by the hand of Eddie, is followed by the opening strains of ‘If Eternity Should Fail’. The excitement gets the blood boiling; you might recall how ‘Satellite 15’ had the same vibe when the ‘Final Frontier’ tour begun. From the moment the band comes on stage they command it. Each of the guitarists nail their parts, and share that famous chemistry with each other, and the rhythm section is still heavy metal’s finest. Steve Harris’ gallops rarely steal from the shredding, but he always holds his place, as Nicko hammers every beat down perfectly. Bruce Dickinson is undoubtably the night’s VIP. He allows a quick joke with … Read More

American doom/death dealers Temple Of Void recently had their debut album ‘Of Terror And The Supernatural’ re-released by the mighty and far-reaching Shadow Kingdom (originally released in 2014 on the small underground label Saw Her Ghost Records). And it deserves it, as this album should appeal to fans of Hooded Menace and the like and when vocalist Michael Erdody is asked to describe their debut he replies; “The album is very dense, yet atmospheric; bludgeoning, yet gripping. It’s an attempt to create doom-influenced death metal in the strictest denotation that we could. Hopefully the listener is left with a collection memorable songs that tastefully encompasses all the elements of doom/death that we all mutually love. Sometimes the songs end up more on the death side of the spectrum, and other times they lean more towards the doom side.”

How did the reissue with Shadow Kingdom come about? He must be happy about the album getting released to a wider audience so soon. “The SKR signing was very happenstance,” he says. “We were approached directly by [label boss] Tim as a fan of the band. We were already picking up steam rather autonomously, but self-promotion can only go so far. SKR just … Read More

California’s legendary pioneers of sick and twisted death metal Autopsy released a platter of splatter late last year via Peaceville Records, the first of which was ‘After The Cutting’, a monster of a collector’s release that will feature four discs worth of material. We got in touch with vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert to get more of an insight into these releases…

What? Autopsy sneaked out two new releases in 2015, why are you being so kind to us gore junkies? “Well getting right down to it, Peaceville approached us and said they were wanting to do an Autopsy box set. Sounded great to us, especially since we got to pick out the whole track listing, which is spread out over four discs; 82 songs and five hours, that is! There’s enough death metal in there to choke a zombie’s uncle, enticed yet? This rotten puppy has studio cuts from all of the albums and EPs, the original ’80s demos, unheard live and rehearsal stuff, a rare track by the very obscure Grave Violators, and to top it off, the new EP, ‘Skull Grinder’. And there’s a full-length book in there written by Dennis Dread with tons of pics, memorabilia, and all kinds of … Read More

A South American band with a Belgian singer, King Heavy have a story as inspiring as their doom-drenched heavy metal. That the four-piece assembled in one place for the first time back in 2014 to tour Chile, Peru and Ecuador – vocals and music for both 2012’s ‘Horror Absoluto’ EP and their self-titled full-length, released by Cruz Del Sur last year, were recorded on separate continents, synthesized with the aid of the internet – is not even that story’s most inspiring aspect. It is the passion which they have equally for the music that is, of necessity, only a part-time part of their lives and for their children – the band’s two lynchpins, Chilean bassist Daniel Pere’z Saa (ex-Procession) and vocalist Luther ‘Luce’ Veldmark (Hooded Priest, Witchsmeller Pursuviant) each have two – which really strikes a chord. “I have two ladies evil. They are the light of my life,” says Daniel when asked if Luce, the band’s eldest member by a margin, is the only one with offspring. (Note: drummer Miguel Canessa became a father in January, after this correspondence took place). “Isi, who is seven-years-old, sings very good, and Fran, she is very much a true rocker. She loves … Read More

Weaving opulent soundscapes through the kaleidoscopic lens of epic doom and maudlin post-rock, Spirit Adrift, a secretive three-piece project released through Prosthetic Records, has sent the Iron Fist crew into horrific depths of despair and lifted them with shimmering hope with their first video for debut EP ‘Behind – Beyond’. After us badgering the label for any information about this crushing yet masterful release, they finally succumbed and let us stream this brand new video for our readers.

Conjuring the shades cast by Warning/40 Watt Sun and the masters of the heavy riffs from Black Sabbath to Pelican, ‘Behind – Beyond’ is a two-song EP crafted by musicians with a meticulous adoration of the more otherworldly aspects of doom metal’s 46 year reign. “The ideas behind Spirit Adrift, and the songs themselves, materialised on their own,” explains vocalist/guitarist, JK. “Our lives had become disastrous in the years leading up to the formation of the band. “Not to sound too melodramatic, but the discovery of these songs truly coincided with our own self-discovery and healing. The writing process was natural, maybe even unavoidable. Many of our biggest artistic influences, Tony Iommi for example, have claimed that they aren’t responsible for creating their art, they are simply unearthing … Read More

‘Holy Diver’, ‘The Last In Line’ and ‘Sacred Heart’ are regulars on the Iron Fist HQ turntable and while Dio’s passing in 2010 means that as a band Dio will never reform, however LAST IN LINE are as close as we’ll get. Formed in 2011 to play the songs they wrote between 1982 and 1985, Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell – the original Dio band – got together after 25 years along with Lynch Mob frontman Andrew Freeman to simply play the “hits”. But in 2013 they were offered a record deal that changed the way they viewed their future. Heading for the studio, the making of ‘Heavy Crown’ was to be the project to spur bassist Jimmy Bain into battling his substance abuse demons. Writing while in rehab he won and had been sober for over a year. But fate was the deal another card, as the band prepared to release the album they’d been working on for three years Jimmy Bain passed away. Devastated by the news, and wanting to STAND UP AND SHOUT that Last In Line are a band that deserve to be celebrated, we caught up with guitarist VIVIAN CAMPBELL to ask him what lies ahead for this … Read More

Chicago is rarely thought of as a celestial otherwordly plain, but with the roots of soul and gospel buried in its very foundations, perhaps a band like Dead Feathers were inevitable. Tony Wold and the psychedelically named Shaggy Shadric (guitars), Rob Rodak (bass), Jose Bernal (drums) and the bluesy lungs of Marissa Allen came together to create a sound that harks back to the ’60s explorative rock of bands like Procol Harum, Pink Floyd and 13th Floor Elevators while sitting easy on the ears of fans of Jex Thoth, Blood Ceremony and Royal Thunder. Conjuring perfect wintery moods in the Iron Fist office while we dive headlong into another stressful deadline, we caught up the band to ask them how they weaved such magic and thanked them for honouring us with a stream of their stunning new EP…

Your new self-titled EP (out this month on HeviSike Records) is crushingly beautiful, where the hell did you come from? Tony Wold: “Thank you. The band was started by myself and the bassist, Rob Rodak. We started it in high school and were looking around for a drummer who then got us in touch with our second guitarist, who ended up knowing Marissa, our lead singer. … 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

North-East England-based death metallers Horrified are about to have their second album ‘Of Despair’ released on CD by Stormspell Records. It’s an album that sees the band shifting musical direction and fully embracing their Swedish influences, taking the listener back to the mid-’90s evoking the atmosphere of albums such as ‘Far Away From The Sun’ by Sacramentum and the sophomore albums by Dissection and Necrophobic. Even the album cover – by Raul Gonzalez – looks like it could have been drawn circa 1994. Dan Alderson, the band’s frontman and lead guitarist was interrogated about his band’s walk down the left-hand path.

You have just recorded your second album, what can the readers expect from it? “It’s dynamic, melodic and ripping death metal which is equally as savage as it’s emotionally involving. The earlier material for Horrified was wrote when I was quite younger, I think as we grow up our musical taste also evolves and changes, which was one element which inspired the evolution on this album. I also wanted to make the album a lot more impactful. “Edge Of Sanity has been my favourite band for a long time, so melodic death metal has always been one of my favourite styles, this just seemed to … Read More