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Iron Fist Magazine

March of the Saint

Neither thrash nor part of the nascent Hollywood glam scene, five Pasadena lads raised on Iron Maiden, Saxon and Motörhead formed one of the most out-there heavy metal bands of the 1980s. JIMMY MARTIN talks to ARMORED SAINT’s JOEY VERA and JOHN BUSH about doing things their way, and their way only.

If one band neatly sum up the quandary and identity crises that traditional metal endured as the ‘80s wore on, it would have to be Armored Saint. The credentials of their debut, 1984’s ‘March Of The Saint’ scarcely need calling into question. Hell, not only does said platter boast a sleeve effectively portraying the band’s members as knights in shining armour in front a mighty castle on the hill, but the band even had the common decency to make a video for its lead track ‘Can U Deliver’ that depicted them as motorbike-riding future warriors pulling a sword beamed down from the heavens from a rock, Excalibur-style. Yet perhaps more importantly, the contents stand proud 30 plus years on as a mighty testimony to the power of unpretentious and gritty metal action. Yet, as the decade wore on, the Californian troupe began to feel increasingly like a band out … Read More

Favour The Bold – TRIBULATION

Accuse us of nepotism all you want, but that we view TRIBULATION’s latest journey into the unknown pleasures of heavy metal exploration has little bearing on the fact that guitarist ADAM ZAARS is closely involved with Iron Fist. ‘THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT’ is so beautifully conceived, both bold and beautiful, that we forgive him all that time off touring America, where he met up with JOHN MINCEMOYER in ISSUE FIFTEEN to discuss the mysteries within this stunning.

Initially, this interview with Tribulation guitarist Adam Zaars started out as an email interview. For example, one of the questions posed to Adam dealt with the new album’s title,‘The Children Of The Night’. He responded, “It came to us quite late and we had the working title ‘In Illo Tempore’ (In That Time), a term that we translated as a longing for a return to a golden age, a return to paradise. We knew that it wouldn’t work in the end so we had to find something else. ‘The Children…’ came to us when we were looking for cover choices for the album recording and we thought about doing the KISS song ‘Creatures Of The Night’. In all honesty, I think it’s a … Read More

ISSUE 22 – DON’T CAST YOUR SPELL ON ME

Who knows how many hours that have been wasted arguing over our favourite heavy metal bands?

At gigs, in teenage bedrooms, down the pub – and now online – tempers have frayed, voices have been raised and eyeballs have rolled over matters that the majority of the population might foolishly consider trivial.

Yet one fact cannot be denied, and this is that Black Sabbath are the most important heavy metal band of all time. For this reason, Iron Fist are delighted to welcome the Brum beserkers to the cover of Issue No. 22.

132 PAGES OF HEAVY-WEIGHT PAPER – ORDER HERE

He’s watched the dogs of war enjoying their feast. He’s seen the Western world go down in the East. In fact, Bill Ward has doubtless seen countless things in the last half-century that would send the vast majority of Sabs heads spinning in a manner to shame Linda Blair. Yet he’s still standing, and here his disarmingly self-effacing legend regales Chris Chantler with the tale of his life as an architect of the unhallowed, dealing with everything from his discomfort with hit singles to the trials of Geezer Butler as a vegan on tour in the ‘70s.

Yet the unstoppable global metal machine rolls … Read More

Remembering Mark “The Shark” Shelton 1957 – 2018

What follows is Chris Chantler’s look at the life of a man who embodied the meaning of the word “underground”; Manilla Road mastermind Mark Shelton – who sadly passed away following a triumphant performance at Headbangers Open Air last Thursday 26th July.  Before we dive into it, please check out the gofundme campaign launched to cover the expenses required to repatriate Mark’s body to the US and cover hospital / mortuary bills in Germany.  

“I always thought that my music could be related to by others but I was never sure if it would amount to anything. I always had the dream and I guess I’m proof that sometimes dreams do come true. But it appears this only happens when you really work hard at it and don’t give up.” – Mark Shelton, Metal Brothers webzine, 2017

Mark Shelton was entranced and consumed by music from the earliest age. His mother was Professor of Music at Friends University in the Sheltons’ hometown Wichita, Kansas, and she ensured that the fledgling Shark was learning piano from the age of four. At school Mark played trumpet and baritone and sang in choirs before playing drums in jazz band The Herd, but he finally picked up an … Read More

Phil Pendergast of Khemmis: A nice big thick slice of Thin Lizzy

Denver based four-piece KHEMMIS are set to guide us into their captivating world of heavy metal and crushing doom with their third studio album, Desolation released today.

Here guitarist / vocalist Phil Pendergast takes us through the vinyl back catalogue of one of his favourite bands and offers his appraisal of Thin Lizzy.

‘Desolation’ is released today via 20 Buck Spin (North America) and Nuclear Blast (Europe)

ANGEL WITCH: Gorgons, Grocers & Grenfell – Iron Fist talks to Kevin Heybourne

Recording in bedrooms and underneath grocery stores, ANGEL WITCH leader KEVIN HEYBOURNE recalls the creation of what has been released on vinyl as the ‘Seventies Tapes’. In this abridged version of the feature from issue 21, IRON FIST’s KEVIN STEWART is all ears.

Original member, guitarist/vocalist Kevin Heybourne has guided Angel Witch through disbandings and hiatuses, continuing on to this day, emerging as popular as ever with underground bangers. With that popularity comes a further thirst for both new material and gems from the past. 2012’s ‘As Above, So Below’ album satisfied the former, while the recent issuing of ‘Seventies Tapes’ – originally digitally via Bandcamp last year followed by a more recent vinyl release – satiates the latter. As the title hints, it’s a collection of recordings from a specific era. What makes it special is that the content hails from various sources chronicling the band’s woodshopping and demonstrates the dedication required in the days before ProTools and home recording rigs. Iron Fist caught up with Kevin to discuss moving forward, giving back and why parents should never throw away their kid’s stuff.

What was the impetus for the release of the demo material?

“They have been released … Read More

Issue 21 – Like A Battering Ram

Strange as it may sound to some, at Iron Fist we don’t consider ourselves a retro magazine, exactly as we don’t consider Heavy Metal a thing of the past, more a timeless force. Therefore it’s something of a delight to unveil a new issue – a staggering thirty-six pages fuller and printed on a much heavier, more tactile paper-stock – that does more than ever before to unite past, present and future into one everlasting continuum of steel.

PRE-ORDERS LIVE HERE

Who better then for the cover, indeed, than modern Metal’s most towering progenitors, the mighty Judas Priest. Currently traversing the globe on a tour that takes them across the States, to Bloodstock and beyond, this titanic troupe’s storied career is covered in depth in a chat between Dom Lawson and Rob Halford, from the 40th Anniversary of Sin After Sin to the ripping new album Firepower, and all points in between on the eternal heavy metal highway.

We’ll also be taking you all the way back to the big bang, courtesy of an illustrious new addition to our writing team. Electric Wizard’s Jus Oborn waxes lyrical here in passionate fashion, and in the first of a regular series on his essential touchstone … Read More

Spiral Skies premier ”Danse Macabre”

Swedish quintet Spiral Skies are set to release their long-awaited debut, full-length album, ‘Blues For A Dying Planet’, on May 18th via the German imprint AOP Records.

With influences ranging over decades, Spiral Skies has created a sound that can most easily be described as “Rock from another planet.” A unique blend of folk, doom and 70’s inspired rock music. The band has been compared to band such as Jefferson Airplane, Curved Air and as well as more modern outfits grouped under the Occult Rock tag.

Check out “Danse Macabre” here

 

ELECTRIC WIZARD “Strum open E, wow, that’s heavy. What are you going to do next then?”

Evolving with every release, ELECTRIC WIZARD have created another mind-scrambling epic in the guise of ninth opus ‘Wizard Bloody Wizard’. JIM MARTIN talks to frontman JUS OBORN about its creation, celebrating the roots of heavy metal, taking control of his musical destiny and the quest for the ultimate rock ‘n‘ roll excess for Iron Fist issue 20 January 16th, 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Blue Cheer’s ‘Vincebus Eruptum’, arguably the first bona fide heavy metal album of ‘em all. Moreover, somewhere in the subconscious of every metalhead – amidst the destroyed braincells and reckless pandemonium they’ve experienced in the last half-century, lurks a certain sense of this genre’s own big bang – that period from 1968 to 1973 wherein the ‘60s bled into the ‘70s, the idealistic dreams of the hippy generation began to curdle amidst violence and bloodshed from Vietnam, Altamont and the Manson family alike, and horror both real-life and imagined began to influence a feverish lurch into overdrive and dementia – reaching its apotheosis naturally with the first Black Sabbath album in 1970, amidst psychic shockwaves which still resonate well into the next century. “I don’t think there was very much of a template for what heavy music … Read More

CIRITH UNGOL “We’re still children of the devil”

After 25 years, California metal masters CIRITH UNGOL have hauled their undead corpses from an untimely grave. IRON Fist scribe J. BENNETT spoke with drummer and co-founder Rob Garven about life, death and resurrection.

Originally printed in Iron Fist Issue 19

It’s a Tuesday evening in late August, and Cirith Ungol are sweating their balls off in a Ventura, California practice space. “Some previous band blew up the air conditioner so when we come in here at night it’s like 100 degrees,” drummer Rob Garven explains. “We were gonna fix it but it’s like $10,000, so we bought a fan instead.”

A few weeks after we speak with Rob, Cirith Ungol will play their first show in 25 years when they headline the Frost and Fire Festival, a weekend-long metal extravaganza in Ventura that will also feature appearances from elder statesmen Grim Reaper, Omen and Ashbury alongside young guns Midnight, Visigoth and Night Demon. For Rob and his bandmates — vocalist Tim Baker, guitarist Greg Lindstrom and guitarist Jim Barraza (with Night Demon main man and festival organizer Jarvis Leatherby filling in on bass) — it’s pure vindication for a career plagued with label calamities, poor timing and bad luck. The band slugged … Read More

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