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

Weaving opulent soundscapes through the kaleidoscopic lens of epic doom and maudlin post-rock, Spirit Adrift, a secretive three-piece project released through Prosthetic Records, has sent the Iron Fist crew into horrific depths of despair and lifted them with shimmering hope with their first video for debut EP ‘Behind – Beyond’. After us badgering the label for any information about this crushing yet masterful release, they finally succumbed and let us stream this brand new video for our readers.

Conjuring the shades cast by Warning/40 Watt Sun and the masters of the heavy riffs from Black Sabbath to Pelican, ‘Behind – Beyond’ is a two-song EP crafted by musicians with a meticulous adoration of the more otherworldly aspects of doom metal’s 46 year reign. “The ideas behind Spirit Adrift, and the songs themselves, materialised on their own,” explains vocalist/guitarist, JK. “Our lives had become disastrous in the years leading up to the formation of the band. “Not to sound too melodramatic, but the discovery of these songs truly coincided with our own self-discovery and healing. The writing process was natural, maybe even unavoidable. Many of our biggest artistic influences, Tony Iommi for example, have claimed that they aren’t responsible for creating their art, they are simply unearthing … Read More