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

There are always those bands you’ve never heard of, but worth every single note when you do finally stumble upon them. For many readers out there, Quicksand Dream from Sweden might be such a band. Born from the ashes of an old cult act named Epic Irae, Quicksand Dream took shape as duo with Göran Jacobson (vocals) and Patrick Backlund (all instruments) performing music from the heart, inspired by Black Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road and similar iconic legends. Sixteen years after their debut album (that got a proper release years later) they came back with ‘Beheading Tyrants’, without the urge to follow a specific style, but rather give something personal to a dedicated audience. The music of Quicksand Dream has a strong and solid vibe from the past, and Patrick Backlund is here to explain the dream…

Before Quicksand Dream, there was Epic Irae. Give us a brief recap of your early years in music, the creation of Epic Irae and the transformation to Quicksand Dream. Epic Irae was the original name of the band, formed by a bunch of schoolmates in the autumn of 1988 inspired by the likes of Candlemass, Manilla Road, Cloven Hoof, Stormwitch and Celtic Frost to … Read More

Among the countless new metal bands, there are few of them that build their reputation on true passion and great music. LUNAR SHADOW from Germany have readied their first album ‘Far From Light’ and be sure that their regressive metal is more inspired than most bands out there, both new and old. Lead guitarist Max ‘Savage’ Birbaum tells Andreas Andreou about how he raises his Iron Fist against the modern mediocrity.

First of all, let me tell you that the improvmement from your debut EP ‚ ‘Triumphator’ (2015) is astonishing. The EP was killer and was welcomed in the underground metal scene, but your debut full-length sounds as close to the “real” thing as we’ll get in 2017. Give us a brief heads up on the making of the album, the recording and partnering up with Cruz Del Sur for the release. Max: Thank you. The improvement you spoke about was, on one hand, the logical result of just taking our time. ‘Triumphator’ was recorded in three or four single sessions, often in a hurry, and our singer [A.Vornam] was relatively new to the band back then too. This time we took our time to record everything properly, all the small details, vocal harmonies and drum rolls. Only … Read More

In a statement echoing Iron Fist’s own sadness and anger toward horrific orders passed by the USA’s newest president in his first week of office, online streaming community Bandcamp have announced that all proceeds from music sold on Friday, February 3 will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union, who are “working tirelessly to combat these discriminatory and unconstitutional actions”.

Bandcamp founder Ethan Diamond’s letter called out President Trump for his actions, writing, “Last week’s Executive Order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America.”

With its tagline of “Discover new music and the artists who make it”, Bandcamp has become Iron Fist’s go-to source for so many of the bands you read about in our pages, so if you want to support them this Friday (and we urge you do) here a few bands we recommend.

THE ORDER OF THE SOLAR TEMPLE (CANADA) Soundtracking a new era of Satanic Panic, Matt Emery told us in Iron Fist #16 that “All I can say is that I wear my influences on my sleeve. It’s both a blessing and a curse, there’s a lot of ‘70s … Read More

On tour in the UK right now, Chicago thrashers OOZING WOUND like to take their metal seriously, but it still oozes fun

“This music is fun and we don’t try to over think it,” states Zack Weil, one third of Chicago’s raddest, anti-bullshit thrash band Oozing Wound. “Most bands don’t understand how cheesy they are, but we do understand how cheesy we are on a base level. You’ve got to be a little Diamond Dave, you can’t be all Glenn Danzig all the time. I mean, we’re not firemen, we’re not saving people’s lives! Sure we are serious about rocking, but why should we posture with arms folded and furrowed brows? You’ve got to keep it in perspective that being in a band is cool! It sure keeps us sane, at least. Outside of the band, everything is serious and a drag. So why not have a good time with music?  That’s why we embrace weird humour and puns in our song titles so much” he explains. 

A perfect example of this is ‘You Owe Me, Iommi’ – which is the title they gave to their “slow Black Sabbath rip off song on the new album ‘Whatever Forever’.” Couple this clever word play with a … Read More

Two decades of doom dealing could easily take its toll on lesser bands, but Dorset’s ELECTRIC WIZARD have taken all that misanthropy, occult leanings and horror fanaticism and weaved it into an eighth album of dreary, but omnipotent intent. Back in 2014 line-up and label woes, paranoia and over-indulgence were been thrown into the cauldron and the result, ‘TIME TO DIE’ made the band never sound more alive. Jim Martin spoke to JUS ORBORN for Iron Fist back in Issue 12 and we’ve dug it out of the archives in time for their headline slot at tomorrow’s DAMNATION FESTIVAL in Leeds…

The tranquil sound of a mountain stream drifting through a forest. Not something one would naturally associate with Electric Wizard, but this is how their new album, the intimidating ‘Time To Die’ kicks off, and in such a fashion that one could be forgiven for assuming they’ve purchased the wrong record. That is, until the distinct strains of a Hammer-style Hammond, ’60s garage drumming, and sampled news reports concerning Satanism drift into view through the ether, and the rural paradise proves short-lived. “On one level it reminds people that we’re from Dorset, just to get people back to our frame of mind … Read More

NYC noise duo Uniform have gotten into the Halloween spirit by trick or treating (depending on where you stand on their take on the Gods) us with a cover of Sabbath’s ‘Symptom Of The Universe’. Taken from their brand new 12″ ‘Ghosthouse’, out via Sacred Bones Records, their version is a tad more bleaker than the “summer skies of love” of the lyrics. 

Sabbath are no strangers to having their catalogue covered; it’s a standard go-to for almost all burgeoning bands jamming in garages around the world, and most covers tend to stick pretty close to the original. We here at Iron Fist want to tip our cap to the brave and downright blasphemous, like Uniform, who take the blueprint laid down by Iommi and co, and fuck with it. Here are a few of our favourite shocking takes on the Sabs from over the years…

LISTEN TO UNIFORM’S ‘SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE’:

Ghosthouse by Uniform

GONGA – BLACK SABBETH – FEATURING BETH GIBBONS Black Sabbeth by GONGA This one came out of the leftfield, as who knew trip hop chanteuse Beth Gibbons from Portishead would lend her ethereal charm to Sabbath’s self-titled classic so flawlessly. But back in 2014, Bristol-based doom trio Gonga not only … Read More

Devil horns, Satanic rituals, and a 45-year-old debut album that became a benchmark for what has since become known as occult rock – in darkened circles COVEN – and their album ‘Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Soul’s – legacy is of paramount importance. At the tail-end of 2013, a new album, entitled ‘JINX’ was released marking a new era for the pioneering troupe. JINX DAWSON – High Priestess and the original wicked woman– spoke to Iron Fist about its creation and the legacy that she and her band has created. Now as the band prepare to perform a brand new ritual at ROABURN FESTIVAL we present that interview once more in its entirety

Tell us about the creative process of the new album… Was it a continuous process or has it been carried out over a longer period with breaks? “In some ways, this album has been over 40 years in the making. But summer of 2013 was when I decided it was time for a new Coven album. One must always close the circle, so I starting mixing together a wicked brew of olde and new. There were a few songs back in the day that were never finished or considered too bizarre and … Read More

Berlin-based British gothic rock band Esben & The Witch have released what we’re hailing in the Iron Fist HQ as the greatest cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Planet Caravan’ we’ve ever heard.

From their new EP, which will be shipped in January, the band said: “‘We Melted The Wax, Now We Can See’ is a collection of four acoustic songs.

“Our cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Planet Caravan’ [is] a late night tour van staple, [and will appear] alongside reworkings of ‘Marching Song’ and ‘Dig Your Fingers In’. And finally, something new, ‘Like A Drunkard Reels’.

“This began life as a bass chord progression in the basement of our first home here in Berlin. From there the words have started to flow and the guitars unfurl around them. As we head into the studio, percussion and amplification beckon. In the meantime rest assured we are readying the hammers and the chisels, preparing to carve out its final incarnation.

“This EP represents a meditative calm before the storm. A moments reflection in the still air as something altogether different begins to take shape on the horizon. A deep, dark rumble emanates from out there and threatens the calm. More news soon but for now we hope this … Read More

Earlier this year the group known as Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats released their fourth full-length ‘The Night Creeper’ on Rise Above. Forming in 2010 as the project of Uncle Acid himself, musical mastermind Kevin Starrs, the band put out their debut ‘Volume 1’ on CD-r and limited it to just 20 copies. A year later a split with Danava and another album, ‘Blood Lust’, this time limited to 100 copies saw their name uttered in underground heavy metal circles. Everyone wanted to know who they were and how they managed to so perfectly capture the occult rock vibe everyone was trying so hard to copy in the wake of Ghost’s universal success. It made sense that the band would sign up to Ghost’s label, Rise Above, for third album ‘Mind Control’ and that partnership saw the group tour the world, even at one point with and at the request of their musicals heroes, Black Sabbath. That a band from Cambridgeshire can go from hand-copying albums in their front room, making just 100 for friends, to being asked personally to open for rock Gods is testament to Uncle Acid’s unique appeal and their own path to greatness. As the band … Read More