With Desertfest London coming up soon we thought we would dredge the archives for some interviews to get you in the mood. Back in Iron Fist #16 SATAN’S SATYRS mastermind CLAYTON BURGESS talked with J. BENNETT about Satanic lesbian films, life as Electric Wizard’s bass player and reluctantly entering the 21st Century

Clayton Burgess doesn’t have a smartphone. The Satan’s Satyrs vocalist, bassist and all-around mastermind explains this while apologising for being all of five minutes late for Iron Fist’s call. “I’m holding out for as long as I can,” he says with a laugh. “The funny thing is, I just got my first iPod in my life yesterday, so I’m still coming to grips with that.”

Anyone who’s heard the Satyrs’ howling retro fuzz rock or seen photos of Burgess stalking the graveyards of his Virginia hometown in black flares and battle vest might not be surprised to learn that our man prefers the pre-cell phone, pre-Internet, pre-mp3 good ol’ days, when land lines, the local library and physical formats were the natural world order. “I do buy a lot of CDs – as well as vinyl, of course – but I got tired of bringing them everywhere I went because I’m … Read More

As one of the world’s most groundbreaking metal masters prepare to release a brand new album (see the video below for a sneak peak) we look back to the creation of one of extreme metal’s most influential albums. In 1990 it would perhaps not be as noteworthy were it created in the West, but behind the Iron Curtain, in what was then Czechoslovakia, it faced the threat of arrest and even imprisonment. GUY STRACHAN spoke to BIG BOSS of ROOT about the making of ‘ZJEVENI’

Although ‘Zjeveni’ sees its 25th anniversary being celebrated with a deserved re-release courtesy of the I Hate label and the debut album of long-standing Czech black metallers Root is rightly held up as one of the early foundations of the second wave of black metal, the band’s leader and vocalist, Jiří ‘Big Boss’ Valter, is today less than keen to discuss the work. “You must know I’m 63 [years] old and I forgot a lot of things from that era,” he says by way of a preface to his email interview, “and now we prepare and work on [our] tenth album.”

The son of a university professor, Valter grew up in a musical household in the town … Read More

Speaking to RAM in Iron Fist issue #16, who formed in 1999, it’s clear that they were teenage fans of heavy metal but came of age – and started a band – when it was the unwanted guest at the table of the fickle music industry. Their frustrations were enough but spare a thought for the bands who had found fame and success at heavy metal’s height and soon found themselves floundering as the hours counted down toward the end of the century. Many of these bands played catch-up, reinventing themselves to adapt to the ever-changing trends. Many packed away their gear for good (or until big budget festivals goaded them out of retirement). But some, like New Jersey’s thrash titans Overkill, did only what they could; carry on regardless.

Their debut full-length ‘Feel The Fire’ came out in 1985 and subsequent albums ‘Taking Over’ [1987] and ‘Under The Influence’ [1988] helped lay down the thrash metal template. They may not have been Big Four but they were influential none the less. When thrash metal started to enjoy a resurgence in the mid-2000s thanks to younger bands obsessed with the speed and aggression of these elder statesmen, the rock music magazines … Read More

Lace, chocolate, canals and beer-brewing-monks; Bruges has never been known as a hive of heavy metal activity, yet some 35 years ago a band came crashing through its medieval walls. Rubbing shoulders with Motörhead, Maiden and Manowar along the way, the quintet lived what some might consider to be the ultimate early ’80s hard rock fantasy, yet real success proved elusive and just five short years later, the group disbanded and added themselves to the endless list of metal’s might-have-beens. Now, three decades since their departure, all of ACIDs recorded output is being reissued again, proving that interest in the band is arguably stronger than ever. TOBY WRIGHT was fortunate enough to talk with singer KATE DE LOMBAERT and drummer GEERT ‘ANVILL’ RICQUIER about the pleasures and pitfalls of being in the wrong place at the right time.

“I think it was something magic,” says Kate thoughtfully, as we begin to discuss what gave Acid such cult status. “I don’t know what it was,” she continues, hesitating a little. “When we played together it was like a wall of sound. It was very, very special.” Geert, seemingly jovial at this evening’s trip down memory lane, is quick to confirm the vocalist’s … Read More

Initially a part of the Crusher Records (Spiders, Dead Man, Troubled Horse) roster, Horisont were originally perceived as another of those retro-rockers from Sweden, seemingly happy to surf on the nostalgia wave and have an excuse to wear bell-bottomed jeans. Except that there’s always been something a tad weirder and out-there with them and not just due to their occasional Swedish lyrics. Still, many will be surprised by their fourth full-length ‘Odyssey’, a 65-minute tour-de-force that sees them coming out of their shell and heading for the stars with space rock and classic prog influences abound and a solid dose of vintage synthesizers. Blasphemy? No, a simple and very human longing for evolution says their frontman Axel Söderberg.

Two years ago when you promoted your third full-length ‘Time Warriors’, you made no secret that it was style-wise very close to its predecessor and your Rise Above debut, ‘Second Assault’. Yet ‘Odyssey’ doesn’t follows the same pattern does it? “Indeed as the previous two full-lengths were kind of made in a rush. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great as they are but after ‘Time Warriors’ we knew right away that we would need more time for the next one so we could do the … Read More