“I met Bill through mutual friends getting wasted at various metal fests in 2010 and we resolved to be mates and start a band.” As the current Internet meme goes, no good story starts with “we had a salad” and in the tale of Amulet, London’s enfant terribles of heavy metal worship, it begins with some serious drinking. Heathen Steven, along with bassist Bill Dozer, Dave Sherwood On Drums, Jamie Elton and Daragh Markham have just nailed their first 7” on Mordgrimm and have already flown to Oslo to ply their British Steel to the Northmen. “It was very easy from the start and very easy it remains. Good wholesome heavy metal is the name of the game,” Heathen continues. “ Bill Dozer is the cool guy and the beating heart of the band. He came up with names and song titles and he does all our artwork and comes up with a lot of the key riffs,” he admits. “Jamie runs Amulet, writes the lyrics and comes up with lot of additional riffs and ideas. Unusually for a singer he is completely unflappable in any situation. Dave is our mascot and provides the ultimate heavy metal opinion whenever needed. … Read More

Doro’s got a contender for most famous bum in metal. Recently the social networks have been in awe of the designs (and derriere) of Canadian seamstress Sharon Ehman and her label Toxic Vision. Inspired by King Diamond, Venom, Bathory, Iron Maiden and Saxon we had to track her down and talk to her about her love of denim and leather.

Hi Sharon, when did you begin to start tinkering with your own designs and why? “Everyone has the choice to create their own world or live in someone else’s. There was never a specific moment when I sat down and articulated what I was going to do for the rest of my life, it just happened naturally. At 17 years old, I knew I had a hunger to create something of my own. Toxic Vision is the world I have created for myself. I think having the courage to break the mould is a very powerful tool that will inspire others to live their lives for themselves. Many people fear the cauldron, they dip their fingers into it and back away from the heat. I believe you should fully submerge yourself and hold your breath to the very end.”

What is it that … Read More

“The funny thing is that I’m not even a doom fan at heart! I’ve been playing in bands since 1987 in many different sub-genres but somehow the only ones who really had an impact were in the doom category. But believe me, Satan’s Wrath is a whole different beast!” Indeed, less than a minute into debut album ‘Galloping Blasphemy’, ‘Show No Mercy’ era Slayer, Bathory and early Celtic Frost spring to mind more than Black Sabbath’s heavy stampede and samples of rainfall and thunder in the distance. But such expectations are understandable, because besides having impressive facial tattoos, it’s with bands falling into that doom category – first, with the short-lived but awesome Great Coven and Eight Hands Of Kali and then with Electric Wizard – that the Greek-born Taz Danazoglou really made a name for himself.

Despite being spawned right after his exit from the Wiz, Satan’s Wrath is not just a way for him to reconnect with his roots though. “I’ve been playing in bands for a quarter of a century so I didn’t even considered stopping now,” Taz says. “I was always first and foremost a heavy and thrash fan so I wanted to pay tribute to the metal from … Read More

Ottawa, Canada have vomited forth yet another raw, nasty slice of punk metal prowess courtesy of Jo Capitalicide (Cauchemar/ex-Bastardator) called Iron Dogs. “At the time of recording [debut album] ‘Cold Bitch’, I listened to Savage Grace and Omen daily,” he explains. “We wanted the drums to sound like Savage Grace’s ‘Master Of Disguise’, which is really rough and raw. Bands like Gotham City and Vice Human also had this incredible raw feel we were going for.” With songs about vampires, an unhealthy fascination with the Grim Reaper and “trying to find meaning in this pointless existence”, Iron Dogs is where Metal Blade’s early output meets Motörhead and has a fist fight that ends in the gutter. “’Another Night’ is a rock ‘n’ roll song about touring with no budget in shitty vans with shitty gear in shitty venues, never getting any sleep and being underfed,” he continues, and there is a definitely sense of urgency and desperation in their music. Drummer Dan Lee picks up the description: “I’m a big fan of primitive metal, although I do enjoy polished metal played by highly talented musicians. I am not skilled, I am foremost a fan and diehard enthusiast so what I lack … Read More

Norway’s Black Magic are one of the best kept secrets in the metal underground. The exceptional three-piece was formed in 2006 after drummer Cato Stormoen (also of Deathhammer) approached singer/guitarist Jon Henriksen to form a new act (they later added Daniel Salsten on bass duty). Their first self-released demo ‘Raise The Dead’ showed they had a real talent for raw Hellhammer’ing but it was the 2010 ‘Reap Of Evil’ demo that caught many a tuned-in metaller’s ear. This three-track affair added more straight-ahead heavy metal elements into their evil attack, mixing a variety of styles into one of the best heavy metal tracks released in the last ten years. The key weapon in the bands arsenal is Jon’s fantastic vocals and incredible axe-work; the naturally charismatic Ralph Macchio-looking frontman has a mean set of warm heavy rock pipes and a loose way of both singing and playing guitar that is rare in the modern age. His natural charisma and ability results in that rare mix which comes along only so often, while the live show is highly entertaining, unpredictable and punctuated by fantastic covers of Rush, Uriah Heep and Quartz. The band have done no interviews and you shouldn’t expect … Read More

Norway’s Töxik Death was formed in 2003 by “two metalheads starting a band,” exclaims guitarist and founding member Anders. “It was nothing more original than that. Morbid thrash was our thing, and we wanted to create something ourselves.” Even with such enthusiasm, it took four years for the limited EP, ‘Happy Fukking Holocaust’ (Misantrof ANTIRecords), to appear. “I don’t know really,” replies Anders when asked why it took so long to release their debut. “Lack of everything I guess! I wanted to do something, but the rest of the band wasn’t that interested. The lack of a decent drummer in the area didn’t make things easier either.” Another five years would pass before ‘Demo 2012’ became a reality. “The same story started over again,” says Anders. “It didn’t turn out quite as good as hoped, and after the EP the vocalist and the bassist moved away so it was impossible to keep that line-up. Then in late 2011, I decided to start looking for new members. Bjarte was brought in as an additional guitarist and he was joined by new drummer, Robin, bassist, Robert, and Eirik on vocals. All the riffs for the demo were ready so we just started rehearsing and writing … Read More

“Rule them all/feel the grip of an iron hand/take command Rule them/to make it last and to remain/never let confusion reign” ‘Iron Hand’ from ‘The Hunt’

Earlier this year the steely Swedes in Grand Magus unleashed a sixth dose of heavy metal fury on new label Nuclear Blast. ‘The Hunt’ was a triumphant antidote to the musical ennui dominating the release schedules and put them out there as firm contenders on many an end-of-year list, including ours. A dash of old Europe, Saxon, Bathory, even WASP, ‘The Hunt’ became the soundtrack to the fertilisation of Iron Fist, its lyrics of courage, self-preservation and determination giving us the drive to get this magazine off the ground, so it made sense to check in with the Grand Magus himself, JB Christofferson, to thank him.

“Most of our albums and songs and lyrics are about power in some sense; trying or searching for the power within to make yourself stronger and overcome strife and struggle,” he told us, on his way back from his own personal daily grind, travelling home from work on a commuter ferry across his hometown of Stockholm. “That’s also something that I want to project with our music, that I want the listener … Read More

Erik Danielsson is tired. Very tired. And he sounds it, stating that after spending the last twenty four months completing the ‘Lawless Darkness’ cycle, he could do nothing but sleep for a year. Having just come off stage at Bloodstock, where they played as the sun set, his band Watain literally plunging the crowd into darkness, their ‘Lawless…’ period is now over. The next day, the festival site is buzzing with tales that grow more and more preposterous. Did they get arrested? Did they get thrown out of their hotel? Did they beat up Dio’s Disciples? Did Mayhem beat them up? Did they go to bed sensibly at 1am? No one will ever know, because while they consistently close ranks when facing controversy the cult of Watain is now bigger than the band; bigger than the Erik, Pelle [guitars] and Håkan [drums], who formed the band in 1998. Bigger than Set, Alvaro and the crew who make up the live core of the band. Bigger than their fourth full-length, ‘Lawless Darkness’, which was released in June 2010. They’ve been on the cover of every single respected metal magazine and recently had the honour of gracing the front page of the UK’s … Read More

Ultimate rattlehead Dave Mustaine has been spending too much time starting a Holy War instead of writing songs likes it. Proving lately that there’s not much in the skull beneath the skin, Jim Martin reads him his last rites.

At the age of 14, Dave Mustaine was a strange kind of hero to me. Somewhere between and beyond the Medusa-like tangle of blonde locks and tassled leather of his image, the badass dystopia of Megadeth’s name, the eldritch shrieks and grunts of his voice and the speedfreak shred of their music lay an anti-establishment figure; an ornery freak with an axe to grind. Mustaine was an outsider and an underdog-ousted from the world’s most exciting metal band and possessed of such a malicious fury in plotting his revenge that the febrile clangour of his music was hammered into a scary overdrive. Moreover, as a listen to the sarcastic croak of ‘Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying’s title track would seemingly testify, he seemed unwilling to play by anyone’s rules, forging his own narky path and god help all that crossed him on the way.

It was obvious right from the outset that Dave had something of a predisposition to act like a prannet in … Read More

Heavy metal’s collective canon boasts a sizeable handful of bands whose influence and importance are indisputable; names like Iron Maiden, Death, Motörhead, Venom, Bathory and Black Sabbath loom larger than life (or death) and always will. However, few of metal’s legendary figures cut quite as stark and ugly a figure as these masters of primitive death; a band that requires no introduction, took no prisoners, brought forth the primal roots of black metal from the fetid bowels of Brazil and spread their poison across the globe: Sarcó fuckin’ Fago. To say that it’s an honour to have been granted a rare interview with founding member Wagner Antichrist is putting it lightly.

“The honour is mine,” he counters. “I think it’s strange because I don’t believe in the idolatry of men. But I do believe in the idolatry of ideas. Men fail, but ideas persist. I think we’ve done our bit to change the history of misery and alienation of our youth in relation to religion and politics, but there’s still a lot to be done.

“However, I don’t see many bands thinking about that nowadays,” Wagner complains. “Regarding the worship of Sarcófago, I’m not surprised at all because people who are into … Read More