Ever since Scorpions released special editions of ‘Taken By Force’, ‘Tokyo Tapes’, ‘Lovedrive’, ‘Animal Magnetism’, ‘Blackout’, ‘Love At First Sting’, ‘World Wide Live’ and ‘Savage Amusement’ earlier this month, we’ve had very little on the turntables over at Iron Fist HQ. From blues jams to unreleased live tracks and raw demo versions of much-loved songs the bonus material is worth re-buying these classics alone, but the fact that the albums are available again on CD and LP for a new generation has made guitarist Matthias Jabs – who joined the band in 1979 for the ‘Lovedrive’ album – a very happy chap. We spoke to him about listening to LPs until they were scratched, almost working with Andy Warhol and how a duck was nearly the star of the artwork for ‘Blackout‘…

The last time we talked was in the run-up to the release of 2013’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ album and back then you talked so excitedly about plans for the band’s 50th Anniversary, which seemed like ages away. Now we’re almost at the end of the celebrations, where did the time go? “Isn’t it like that in general? Time flies when you’re having fun. So many things have happened since then, … Read More

Demona may be a one-woman entity but the passion and fight Tanza Speed has is as powerful as the music she creates. Starting out at 17, Tanza started her project in Chile, where she was met with criticism from the elitist South American crowd, despite her thrash metal following in the tracks of Sarcofago and Vulcano. Seven years later, she has relocated to Canada and released her fourth EP via Hells Headbangers. Tanza explains how her two-track EP, ‘2015’ was influenced by the recent changes in her life and the challenges she had to face. “Shortly after my comeback as a solo project again, Rockstakk Records invited me to play in Japan. This was a breath of fresh air and a sign to let me know that I shouldn’t quit under any circumstance, and even when my job denied me the permission to go, I quit and went to Osaka,” Tanza explains. “In the same year, the Metalucifer/Sabbat guys invited me to a show they were making in Chicago. I was broke at the time but it was here that I met my Hells Headbangers friends and everything changed. That was actually what ‘Allura Red’ was about, my Japan experience and … Read More

When we last spoke to black metal solo artist, Myrkur, it was towards the end of last year and she’d just released her self-titled debut. In that time the secret identity behind the music has created a whirlwind of controversy, while the songs themselves have divided opinion across the metal community, citing likenesses in everything from Xasthur to Dissection. Less than a year later the Danish musician is set to bestow sophomore effort ‘M’ upon the world, with Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) at the helm of production. “We have a lot in common and he mentored me a lot,” reflects Myrkur. “It was very much a collaboration. It’s exciting for me to work with that level of talent and we share the same vision.” Myrkur’s collaboration with Rygg isn’t the only thing stirring up excitement about this record; the artist is lifting the shroud of mystery surrounding her identity and finally letting the world glimpse her face. “Sometimes I feel like I’m being forced to show more than I really want to,” she sighs, “but it’s also nice to have the freedom to be open about who I am and speak freely about what I want, and to connect with people.” And … Read More

Even if their main composer and guitar player Ola Blomqvist – former head honcho of Sweden’s I Hate Records – strongly affirms this is no public relations masterplan, because ever since their inception back in 2004 the epic doom defenders of Griftegård (old Swedish word for ‘graveyard’) have been cultivating a certain aura of mystery around them with only a handful and carefully selected number of shows and even fewer releases. With Thomas Eriksson from Year Of The Goat fronting, they got started right after the premature demise of the greatly promising yet desperately short-lived The Doomsday Cult with whom they initially shared three members. “It’s funny you’re mentioning this because these days, people rarely mention the two bands in the same sentence and if it happens, it is old school people like yourself,” Blomqvist shrugs. “Now, would Griftegård have existed if TDC continued? The answer is yes, simply, because I needed to express that specific concept.” Heavily mystical in its lyrical approach, their 2009 debut album ‘Solemn. Sacred. Severe’ was sometimes mistaken by some as Christian metal while as Blomqvist clarifies that it’s true he’s “truly fascinated by the religious aesthetics and their inherent effect on the human psyche/soul and … Read More

Any Judas Priest gig is special but when the defenders of the faith announce a show in their native county of the West Midlands, England, you know the air is going to be charged that wee bit more. Tonight, Wolverhampton Civic Hall gets the honour of hosting the Metal Gods, and there’s a lot to live up to with the memory of 2011’s stellar appearance in the same venue still fresh in this scribe’s mind. However, we have to question how long the old gods can realistically rage on, but while they are still here they continue to bring new meaning to Halford’s own words: “You realise you’re getting old and no one seems to care”. The fans are out in force tonight and they are certainly not put off by the fact that Halford and co. are pushing nearly 70 years old. Priest are sharing the road with Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock on this tour, and even though the group is made up of Scorpions/UFO alumni they appear at first to serve as a backdrop to chatting and beer-ordering with little interaction or even acknowledgment from the crowd. But as their set rolls on and as the sound improves, … Read More

Back in 2012, when working on the very first issue of Iron Fist, we interviewed Peter Stjarnvind about his then new band Black Trip. Now having just released their second full-length ‘Shadowline’ we thought we would re-print the entire article as his passion for his band and for heavy metal has not changed. Vocalist Joseph Tholl is interviewed in the latest issue of the magazine, out on December 7

“You can laugh at me but don’t you ever make jokes about heavy metal. It’s my religion.” Peter Stjarnvind is deadly serious. You can hear it in his voice as he spits his manifesto down the crackly phone line. The former Entombed, Krux and Nifelheim drummer has a passion and it’s that word that sums up our 50 minute conversation. And it’s a passion for traditional, true, authentic heavy metal, so much so that it’s lead to new band, Black Trip. Don’t for one second presume that in the wake of the Swedish revivalists (Enforcer, Portrait, In Solitude et al) that our gallant stickmaster decided to jump on a bandwagon. Peter’s been an advocate of heavy metal since the late ’70s, and while his erstwhile Nifelheim bandmates have morphed into the comedic brothers of Maiden fandom, … Read More

Heavy metal has a long and colourful history with fearsome feats and sideshow spectacles, the extremity often trying to match or outdo that of the music itself. The most popular of circus tricks that springs to mind when pondering the correlation between stunts and the Devil’s music is of course fire breathing. A suggested originator of this deadly looking pastime is Swedish black metal band Bathory. Pre-1988, frontman Quorthon was photographed by Tony Mottram with fire erupting several feet up into the air from his mouth. Quorthon ceased his fiery spectacles when he believed them to be gaining more attention than the music Bathory were creating, however, since then the trend has expanded; as the ’90s second wave of black metal took off, so did the fire arts. Immortal’s ‘Call Of The Wintermoon’ and Satyricon’s ‘Mother North’ videos both feature fire stunts, but these aren’t exclusive to black metal alone. For over 40 years now, Gene Simmons’ ‘The Demon’ has incorporated fire breathing into the live shows of KISS, having learned the art-form from a magician known simply as ‘Amaze-O’.

When 20th Century Fox invited Iron Fist to a day of fire eating and breathing lessons at The Fire School in … Read More

“Motörhead will keep on as they are until one of us drops dead” PHIL TAYLOR, 1981

In Issue #2 of Iron Fist we interviewed Motörhead, the inspiration behind our name and most of heavy fucking metal since 1975 if we’re honest. As part of that feature we got veteran journalist Gary Bushell to remember his hedonistic days as one of the road crew. In honour of Philthy’s untimely passing we will re-publish this whole article again on our website and raise a glass to this legendary hellraiser

It’s one the most surreal nights of my life. Iron Fist regularly gets to take over nights at The Alibi, a punk rock dive bar in East London, and tonight is one such night where I’m DJing between hard rock karaoke (it’s more fun than it sounds – promise). But earlier that day we had a phone call from Motörhead’s UK PR asking if we’d like to speak to the man, the legend, the one who gave us our magazine’s name, that night at 10pm. You don’t say no to an opportunity like that. So before I’m set to DJ, while they’re playing the film ‘Robocop’ REALLY LOUD in the bar, I camp … Read More

To kick off a series of top ten lists from artists and musicians that we’ve, well, hassled into submission Jason Decay of Toronto traditionalists Cauldron has given us his top ten tracks to get him in the mood for All Hallows Eve.

10. Halloween by Helloween “I suppose this one’s a bit tedious, but remains a classic where I’m from.”

9. Trick Or Treat by Fastway “A nice wintry track about the festive season.”

8. Halloween by Ostrogoth “This is a summer record for me, but this particular tune tends to carry over into October.”

7. Drive To Santa Mira by John Carpenter “Essential.”

6. Children Of The Witches by Halloween “The masters.”

5. Halloween by King Diamond “King knows best and so would you if every night was Halloween.”

4. Halloween by Seduce “The original!”

3. Halloween Night by Halloween “One of my fave tracks! Find this one.”

2. Halloween by Misfits “Dead cats hanging from poles and candy apples with razor blades, that’s how I remember Halloween too… Scary.”

1. Halloween by 220 Volt “What Halloween is like in Sweden. Pretty similar to Halloween in America from what I gather… My favourite Halloween song these last few years, up there with Misfits.”

Forming in 2006, six years after the dissolution of the Swedish hard rock band, Norrsken (who also featured Magnus Pelander of Witchcraft), Graveyard have been on the forefront of the classic rock revival. Four albums in – with the most recent entitled ‘Innocence & Decadence’, perhaps a titular nod to the era of music they heartily worship – the band made up of Joakim Nilsson (guitar/vocals), Jonathan Ramm (guitar), Truls Mörck (bass) and Axel Sjöberg (drums) may have been part of the force behind the current resurgence in rock roots but, as Joakim tells us over a pint, there’s no chance of them slowing down. “We have a lot to do still,” he insists, getting riled at the idea that the band may have lost some of that innocence bands have when they form. “When we started out, we were naive and didn’t know what we were doing, and that can be a really good thing. That’s why there are so many great first records but at the same time, you can get that feeling back.”

That’s what the band have done on their latest album but there is one stand-out track, ‘The Apple & The Tree’, that deviates from their … Read More