From being one of the most hated early thrash bands to one of the most cult, Italy’s BULLDOZER forged their own path throughout the ‘80s, burning the rule books along the way. From being signed to Roadrunner, almost collaborating with King Diamond and inspiring The Prodigy. GUY STRACHAN relives those days of wrath with frontman AC WILD

Before the release of ‘Reign In Blood’, thrash metal was generally treated as a bad joke by much of the mainstream media. Bathory, Voivod, Hellhammer, Sodom and even Slayer themselves received at least one vicious slaughtering from at least one major metal magazine during their tentative years, but there was one band who, perhaps more than any other, was on the receiving end of continual, indescribably harsh criticism (such as Kerrang!’s “the worst band ever”) that commenced with their debut 7″ and taking until the band’s fourth LP before they finally received some grudging respect outside of their fan base. That band was Italy’s Bulldozer who, after calling it quits as the ‘80s ended, surprisingly picked up the baton again in 2009 with the release of ‘Unexpected Fate’. “We had several requests from fans but Andy [Panigada, guitars] and I were conscious that we could … Read More

Did you listen to the radio every Friday Night? So sang Saxon on ‘Denim & Leather’ and it’s without a doubt that the Friday Rock Show and the voice of Tommy Vance is at the centre of the very foundation Iron Fist Magazine is based upon. On the anniversary of his death in 2005, it is fitting that Vintage TV are planning on bringing back the Friday Rock Show with Nicky Horne. Guy Strachan spoke to FRS producer Tony Wilson about this slice of heavy metal history

“The Friday Rock Show was the only education I needed” Shane Embury, Napalm Death

“I knew Tommy from our first album. He helped our career more than people realise. I’ve got many memories of him. He came to see us several times both in the studio and live and was always supportive. The Friday Rock Show was the MTV of the UK – if you were on the show – you’d made it.” Biff Byford, Saxon

It’s been a tough time for the BBC of late, what with scandals, debates about its licence-funded future and costly moves up and down the country, such stories often overshadow just how much of an influence the organisation’s output has had … Read More

“I may lose a lot of underground cred and some hipster points here, but I believe in being completely honest.” Jarvis Leatherby isn’t kidding about honesty. Corresponding with us by email from the three-piece’s 60-date headlining tour of the US, Night Demon‘s bassist and vocalist is big enough to admit that they played to 20 people in New Orleans. But fuck credibility: we’re just plain surprised they didn’t take their name from the classic cut ‘Night Of The Demon’.

“We didn’t even know about Demon until after we started this band,” he reveals. “We were Googling our own band name and found their stuff through that. They quickly became one of my new/old favourite bands. Especially the first three albums.”

Turns out that Night Demon just wanted a name that was also a song: ‘Night Demon’, featured on their much-touted debut EP, was the first song they wrote. “We were surprised that nobody had taken the name. It’s difficult to find cool band names that are out there for the taking, so we just ran with it.” Formed in 2011 in Southern California, the band’s debut full-length has just dropped – and ‘Curse Of The Damned’, released by SPV/Steamhammer earlier this year, is a stone-cold … Read More

Our first full year demonstrating the Iron Fist, it’s had its highs and… actually it’s all been highs. Thank you so much for your unwavering support. We finish the year as we mean to go on, with a new issue of Balls To The Wall heavy metal, both old and new.

We caught up with reanimated gods of grind, Carcass, on their European tour to talk about their first album in 17 years. The mighty Ester Segarra shot them in Japan, while Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin got a grilling from frontman Jeff Walker (not the other way round) in Paris – it’s been a long and grinding road but they’re a band that deserve their place on our last cover of the year.

This month also sees the 30th anniversary of ACCEPT’s fifth album, ‘Balls To The Wall’ and Adrien Begrand gets to relive its making with Wolf and Stefan, while Damien also looks back to the time of changes with Brian Ross of BLITZKRIEG and I catch up with HELL and find out that they’re looking firmly to the future, while keeping one foot in their past.

There’s also features from Demilich, Bulldozer, IRON MAN, Chastain and Demonic Christ while new steel from … Read More