When not sticking to a good ‘ol cuppa at Europe’s most psychedelic festival, Patrick Walker is 40 Watt Sun, Britain’s most evocative doom band since, well, Warning. In Iron Fist #10 Sarah Kitteringham spoke to him about musical catharsis, influences and a potential new album…

Two years on and that album is here. To mark the release of ‘Pictures’ (scroll down for a sneak preview), a new song from the forthcoming ‘Wider than the Sky’ (out on October 14 on the band’s own label Radiance Records) we are re-publishing that article in its entirety. Welcome back Mr Walker.

Guitarist and vocalist Patrick Walker was just 17-years-old when he formed Warning. The band, and the project that followed in the wake of their final breakup in 2009 – the luminous 40 Watt Sun – inspire flagrant emotional hyperbolic description that seem entirely out of place within the realms of metal. This is music that gives you the “feels”.

Emotive descriptors aside, 40 Watt Sun’s music is slow and dense with dynamic Sabbathian bass lines and reverb soaked percussion; the cymbal work gives the music light and shade, bouncing alongside Walker’s simple, cascading riffs. The vocals are expressive and clean; in contrast the guitar tones are beefy and … Read More

Halfway to the North Pole on the Norwegian coast, Trondheim seems to be the least likely place to shelter a band like High Priest Of Saturn. And indeed, stuck between a vivid pop/rock scene and a hardcore black metal movement, the power-trio, led by foxy vocalist Merethe, stick out. Openly inspired by stoner and doom, their 2011 two-track demo was a revelation, an epic trip drowned in echoes and menacing organ lines. Fast-forward a year and a small line-up switch later and the trio’s self-titled album picks up where things were left and goes totally berserk… or should we say cosmic? “Regarding the name, we wanted an aesthetic related to Saturn, both on an astronomical and mythological level. We do like the symbolism attached to it and believe it fits our music well. And, most importantly, we just think the name sounds cool,” Merethe laughs. “Musically, Acid King is one of our main influences, next to other classic stoner doom bands such as Sleep and Om, but also ’60s and ’70s bands like Pink Floyd, The Doors and of course Black Sabbath. We also used a keyboard player for the album and his organ paints the walls in psychedelic colours; the … Read More