Although this horde of black metal brothers have existed as a unit for 13 years, OCCVLTA have two short recordings to their name, the 2010 ‘We Command The Wolves’ demo and a 2012 split 7” with the UK snarlers Salute. Having existed mostly as a live unit, with legendarily primal, in-your-face appearances at Live Evil, Muskelrock and Metal Magic, the time has finally come for Occvlta’s first full-length to surface from the depths of the German underground. Iron Fist have been given an exclusive stream of ‘Merciless Hammer’ so we caught up with vocalist Hord to find out more about the song and upcoming album ‘Night Without End’…

“‘Merciless Hammer’ was our first attempt at writing a d-beat song. Most of the album comes in at a much slower pace. None of us were ever into d-beat punk bands but we are all big Motörhead fans, so when Torm [drums, brother of Hord] came up with the main riff we decided to write a whole song in that punk style. It just felt right. It gave some sort of primal satisfaction. I had the title in my head for a while and wanted it to be primitive and brutal. Occvlta is evil … Read More

Legendary German thrashers Exumer (who formed in 1985) have returned to the scene with their fourth album ‘The Raging Tides’ (their second since reforming in 2008). It’s a fierce slab of energetic Teutonic thrash metal that showcases a band clearly firing on all cylinders, sounding rejuvenated with new blood in the ranks and burning bright with musical fire. Original vocalist Mem Von Stein gave Kat Gillham an insight into the new album and the recent events in the Exumer camp…

Your new record ‘The Raging Tides’ has just been released, are you satisfied with how it turned out? Mem: It’s definitely a step up from our last album ‘Fire And Damnation’ in terms of how it’s a lot more direct, I think. We tightened the edges in many ways and I think it just pops a lot more. It just has a bigger punch than ‘Fire And Damnation’, we did like the sound of that album but I think this is a step forward in regards to bringing the mix upfront and really making sure that the guitars and drums are really punching you in the face so to speak, so yeah we were really happy with how it turned out overall. … Read More

From the primitive scars carved out of early material Secrets Of The Moon have flourished and blossomed, never stagnating and always exploring new ground. One thing that was probably never expected though was the German troupe going conceptually in search of the sun. After all their last opus ‘Seven Bells’ was full of obsidian blackness owing not a small amount to the comparable nightmarish visions of Lars Van Trier’s ‘Antichrist’. Rest assured though, there is no case of lazy sunbathing going on here. Founding member sG illuminates us on the origins of the album and explains it comes from a very dark place indeed. “When we finished the ‘Seven Bells’ album/touring cycle our former bass player and close relative [LSK] committed suicide, our long-time drummer Thelemnar left the band and my mother died of cancer only one month before my daughter was born. I experienced the mysteries of farewell, death, life and birth to an extent I haven’t ever done before. That’s why the album was such a relief to write because I was unable to speak for a long period of time. It showed me how much I needed to make music to survive. The actual title ‘SUN’ is taken … Read More

Back from exile, RUNNING WILD returned in 2013 more ‘RESILIENT’ than ever. LOUISE BROWN traced his career from the very first hammerblow to the legacy ROCK ‘N’ ROLF continues to forge in Iron Fist #7, republished here as we blast their latest album ‘RAPID FORAY’ into the new year…

“You know, Running Wild is still here, it’s been 35 years, next year, so I must be resilient,” says a defiant Rolf Kasparek, aka Rock ‘N’ Rolf, guitarist, frontman and Cap’n of the band who formed in 1979. We’re sat at his label’s studio in Hannover, Germany, where select journalists have been invited to hear the band’s newest album, ‘Resilient’, Running Wild’s 15th album, and second since Rolf got back on the ship after a seven year break (bar an explosive “final” show at Wacken 2009). Kicking off with ‘Soldiers Of Fortune’, the new album comes with as much roaring thunder as ‘Soldiers Of Hell’, from their 1984 debut full-length ‘Gates To Purgatory’, and marks a fist-raising return for the Gods of the Iron. Hoist the flags. The tyrants of the waves are coming back on shore and have a veritable booty of diabolic force to dish out. Rolf looks meaner than ever, talking as … Read More

If you described Attic as a traditional heavy metal band from the famous Ruhr area (Kreator, Tankard, Sodom), obsessed with occultism and dripping in late 19th century gothic atmosphere, their guitar player and main composer Katte would be chuffed. Always a stronghold for any kind of back-to-basics subgenre, Germany has lately had an extremely healthy underground scene, where black/thrash (Desaster, Nocturnal, Cruel Force) and heavy metal (Iron Kobra, Alpha Tiger, Serpent) collide. But no matter how hard he tries to defend himself in the wake of their first European tour, opening for The Devil’s Blood, he knows too damn well about that gigantic elephant in the room.

The man knows all about the business of living in someone’s shadow: in 2006, he founded Erazor, which owed more than a large debt to Dissection. Around the same time, he briefly played in Warhammer, Germany’s answer to Hellhammer. Still, it seems impossible now not to have the names Attic and Mercyful Fate in the same sentence and Katte acknowledges it, even if he says that he’s always been more into “obscure heavy metal” the whole time and that he had a secret plan to form an occult band in this vein for a … Read More

It’s rare to find one-man projects in the death metal scene, especially one as technical as Willowtip’s latest protégé Sophicide. The German lone ranger Adam Lazslo was just 19 when he formed the project, with EP ‘The Art Of Atrocity’ only showcasing half his potential. With Sophicide meaning “murder of wisdom”, it’s clear what the themes are. “It’s about failures of modern society and the misery it brings, value systems that try to impose their ridiculous ideas, like religion and in general things that one should worry about nowadays. [This is] my humble attempt at musically executing these ideas”, explains Adam.

To go solo so young is a brave move; however debut ‘Perdition Of The Sublime’ proves Adam’s technicality and songwriting is close to challenging already credited artists. “I didn’t have fitting band members at that time, so I decided to start on my own.” he says. “I also found it easier to realise my musical ideas without having to make compromises.”

Adam’s influences are prominent throughout – the brutality of Bloodbath, the technicality of fellow countrymen Necrophagist and the even the guitar wankery of Animals As Leaders. ‘Perdition …’ challenges both your brain and brawn and despite the isolation, a live … Read More

HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR BRANDE-HORNERKIRCHEN Arriving on Thursday afternoon to the “the biggest garden party in the world” there is one hour to spare before the first band of the weekend unleashes hell upon us all. Swedish Mercyful Fate fanclub presidents Portrait open proceedings in true old school heavy metal style. They hype up the crowd, get the maniacs to the front and get the beer flowing. Following them are US thrashers Warbringer who bring a different vibe to the stage. Although energetic, powerful and insane, they are perhaps a little aggressive in the lovely daytime sunshine. However, Jaguar nail it. Vocalist Jamie Manton gets into the party spirit by swinging around a broomstick in the air in a slightly booze-fuelled manor, whilst Garry Peppered proves the NWOBHM era is far from forgotten as he riffs through some mighty classics including ‘Run For Your Life’, ‘Warmachine’ and ‘Axe Crazy’. Headlining the night is the incredible Lizzy Borden. Despite prior speculation, the shock-rock glammers are great! Lizzy himself shows one hundred percent showmanship with costume and mask changes, magic and the blood-splattering neck gnawing of an innocent lass during ‘We Only Come Out At Night’. Other hits played during their two-hour set include ‘Red Rum’, ‘Me Against … Read More