Craven Idol return with a crash of thunder after almost four years of deadly silence. Not only do the London Black metallers have a killer new release, ‘Shackles Of Mammon’ (Via Dark Descent on April 14), they will also open for Nifelheim at the Underworld on May 26. All this with a brand new line-up, as guitarist Scourger and drummer Volgard, have been replaced by Obscenitor (also of Crom Dubh) and Heretic Blades.

“We entered Greg Chandler’s Priory Studios last year and emerged a week later with around 40 minutes of old school extreme metal swearing by the legacy of the first god.” That’s how frontman Wrath starts his epic story about their latest album, which the band launch with a gig at The Black Heart, Camden, this Saturday April 8.

“Our new album ‘The Shackles Of Mammon’ is more varied and way more aggressive than its predecessor ‘Towards Eschaton’,” he continues. “It is a ‘complete’ album with significantly better song-writing and a rawer, old school production. Greg Chandler, from Esoteric, is a brilliant producer and we spoke to him at length during the run-up to the session, and we had a clear vision for the sound. I had in mind the first wave … 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

Even if yours truly’s once reliable mind was largely intoxicated and thus not fully functioning, I was still taken by surprise when, back in 2010 while visiting Stockholm, Nifelheim’s Tyrant revealed that he, David Blömqvist and Fred Estby (from the then recently deceased Dismember) had just formed a “classic sounding hard rock band à la Rainbow” and were already penning some tunes while looking for a singer. Three years later, with sadly Tyrant now out of the picture due to lack of time, but now with an actual name (Dagger, suggested by former Entombed mainman Nicke Andersson, who also designed their logo) and a first EP (‘Mainline Riders’), that unlikely prospect has become reality. And yes, it couldn’t further from the HM-2 empowered brute force of Swedish ancient dödsmetal, as if after two decades of playing ‘Skin Her Alive’ at full speed those boys had needed a break.

“Yeah, it was something like that,” confirms drummer and ringleader Estby. “After Dismember went on hiatus before breaking up for good, I did the Necronaut album with me playing most of the instruments and friends like Tompa from At The Gates or Dread from Tormented doing the vocals, but I think it was … Read More