Iron Fist Magazine

VOMITOR INTERVIEW: “GOOD FRIENDS, BOOZE, DRUGS, METAL AND MAYHEM, THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERS IN LIFE”

Fuck Conan and his hearing the lamentations of your women bullshit, true heavy metal warriors VOMITOR think there’s much more to life – metal, hanging out with friends and downing a few jars. ALASDAIR BULMER couldn’t agree more as he hangs with DEATHDEALER on the eve of their latest Aussie Assault.

 

Born of the Black Jackal’s womb in 1999 Australian alcoholocausters Vomitor have consistently flouted any inflated notions of trend and musical sensibilities, opting for beer-fuelled chaos and destruction via the “Death Metal or Die!” philosophy. Amassing a sizeable arsenal of splits and demos, they released their third full length ‘The Escalation’ through Invictus Productions last year. What’s more, with Europe anticipating the ‘Satan’s Escalation Vomitour’ in July, and the Yanks getting their due last December with a short Northeast stint, it’s all part of a burst of activity not least related to frontman and mastermind, Rob, aka Deathdealer, and his strategic relocation to Dublin.

A change of scenery, maybe, but a change of heart, never. Even with the most subtle hints of added complexity (‘The Escalation’ utilising two guitars no less) the aural clusterfuck that is Vomitor remains the same. “For me death and black metal should be raw, nasty, horrible, … Read More

ISSUE 1 – THE DEVIL’S GRIP

WELCOME to the first issue of Iron Fist. I can’t believe I’m writing the editorial to this magazine. It’s been an exciting but stressful few months from conception to birth. The magazine was born, like all good things, after some serious drinking and instead of waking up laughing off the insane ideas that were discussed over good wine, good friends and good music, I was encouraged to make a go of it, and here is the first in hopefully many issues of a magazine solely dedicated to heavy fuckin’ metal and its bastard offspring.

The first time I realised this was needed was when watching King Diamond at Hellfest. I was utterly inspired by a man, who despite everything he’d been through, put on a real, old-fashioned triumph of a rock ‘n’ roll concert. He didn’t just play a show, he put on a show. If I could distil just one tenth of that passion, excitement and invention into Iron Fist then I would have succeeded. After much soul-searching (and running away to a beach in Devon!) I decided to get my arse into gear.

I couldn’t have done it without the support of the Iron Fist crew, for whom I now … Read More

INTO BATTLE: POSTHUM

“Sometimes melodies arrive while I’m sleeping so when I wake I’m really stressed trying to remember the melody. Some of the ideas come from dreams and nightmares, or in that time just before I fall asleep,” says Posthum‘s Jon (guitar/bass/vocals). Hailing from Akershus, Norway, an area tipped by many as the new Bergen (“Akershus is both the old and new Bergen!” say the band), Posthum, rounded out by Morten (drums) and Martin (guitar/bass) are set to smash through the black metal glass ceiling with their sophomore full-length ‘Lights Out’. Signed to Indie Recordings, ‘Lights Out’ builds on the foundations of 2009’s ‘.Posthum’ and their 2005 demo, showcasing a tighter, scalpel-sharp approach. So what have the trio been doing with themselves in the interim? “After finishing touring with Dark Fortress, Shining and Satyricon in 2009 we began to think about a second album,” remembers Jon. “The process has been long and darker than before. The album has really got into our heads and has been exhausting at times. It’s been a time of many experiences and different feelings towards life, love and existence in general.”

He’s understating just how dark of a record ‘Lights Out’ truly is. Bleaker than infant death, ‘Lights … Read More

INTO BATTLE: CULTFINDER

“After my old grindcore band split in 2006 (which featured our bassist Necroskull on guitar), I soon tired of not making music and decided in late 2010 to redress the balance with my own take on thrashy, song-based black metal.” Rob Belial of UK-based decrepit black thrash purveyors Cultfinder, who feature two members of British doomers Witchsorrow, has recently followed up his cassette demo onslaught with a CD-release, the EP ‘Black Thrashing Terror’ on Eldritch Lunar Miasma. One of the most exciting EPs to hail from these shores of late, Cultfinder slot right in with the current network of nasty blackened death and thrash in Southern England (Grave Miasma, Craven Idol, Salute etc). Rob says of the growing scene, “It’s definitely got its own momentum, and slowly but surely, it’s own infrastructure and support network in terms of labels. Pretty soon we’ll once again be completely self-sufficient in totally vicious heavy metal, which is nice for those of us too young to remember the last time! I was barely born when Bathory’s debut came out, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise!”

INTO BATTLE: BLACK SEPTEMBER

US black metal has always suffered from a ‘Born Too Late’ mentality. Although Possessed undeniably had an influence on the second wave rage and bands like Judas Iscariot and Grand Belial’s Key flew the flag for Uncle Sam, the country has always been slow on the blackened uptake. Recently though Illinois has unleashed a darkened fury in the forms of bands like Nachtmystium, Avichi, Alehammer and now Black September. So, is Chicago the new Bergen?

“No,” is the sullen reply from guitarist Chris Morrow. “I don’t consider Black September a black metal band.” That angry answer is the most black metal response we’ve heard this issue, so we’ll beg to differ, but listeners can decide what genre, if any, BS have to be tethered to after spinning new album ‘Into Darkness’, which summons a dissonance of black metal, Stockholm death metal and English crust.

“We had so many ideas going into this record,” Chris admits. “We started writing soon after the last LP was released, we wanted to start this album exactly where we left off with the last one. ‘The Forbidden Gates Beyond’ had nothing to hide. It was unrefined and to the point. We wanted to add another level of depth … Read More

INTO BATTLE: NETTLECARRIER

“A nettle carrier is a spreader of death. Imagine a person walking the earth, smearing nettles on all life,” so says Ciekals, formerly of cult Oslo outfits Neetzach and Lja, bands so underground that they could have served as tectonic plates. When he’s not spending time with punk/BM hybrid Djevel, Ciekals is gleefully conjuring studio magicks with NettleCarrier. A blackened supergroup of sorts, NettleCarrier also features the drumming talents of Dirge Rep (Enslaved, Gorgoroth, Nattefrost, Orcustus) and Koldbrann’s Mannevond on vocals and bass duties. While all three have served time in Djevel, don’t be expecting a carbon copy. “We have less boundaries in this band than in Djevel, which is strictly based upon ancient Norwegian devil worship,” says Ciekals. “In NettleCarrier I draw inspiration from every corner of our occult heritage. Our lyrics are based upon the universal occult history, both future, past and present.”

Indeed, even though Ciekals admits that “I compose both Djevel and NettleCarrier material at the same time,” he feels that “Djevel and NettleCarrier are very different. I instantly know if a song I compose is for Djevel or NettleCarrier and that also applies to the lyrics.”

As to the song structuring process, Ciekals explains it thusly: “I … Read More

WATAIN INTERVIEW: “IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE MARK OF THE ENEMY ON MY TEMPLE YOU ARE GOING TO BE PUNISHED”

Erik Danielsson is tired. Very tired. And he sounds it, stating that after spending the last twenty four months completing the ‘Lawless Darkness’ cycle, he could do nothing but sleep for a year. Having just come off stage at Bloodstock, where they played as the sun set, his band Watain literally plunging the crowd into darkness, their ‘Lawless…’ period is now over. The next day, the festival site is buzzing with tales that grow more and more preposterous. Did they get arrested? Did they get thrown out of their hotel? Did they beat up Dio’s Disciples? Did Mayhem beat them up? Did they go to bed sensibly at 1am? No one will ever know, because while they consistently close ranks when facing controversy the cult of Watain is now bigger than the band; bigger than the Erik, Pelle [guitars] and Håkan [drums], who formed the band in 1998. Bigger than Set, Alvaro and the crew who make up the live core of the band. Bigger than their fourth full-length, ‘Lawless Darkness’, which was released in June 2010. They’ve been on the cover of every single respected metal magazine and recently had the honour of gracing the front page of the UK’s … Read More

DEGIAL INTERVIEW: “THE WORLD IS FULL OF IDIOTS. ESPECIALLY IN THE METAL SCENE”

In fair Sweden is where we set our scene. Two cities, both alike in dignity… you know the story. You’re either Stockholm or you’re Gothenburg, and this isn’t an article about football. Sweden may have taken the crown (no Johan Lindstrand related puns please!) when it came to Europe’s burgeoning death metal scene but the line was drawn depending on if you preferred the melodic thrash of Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates (in the red corner… Gothenburg) or the buzzsaw, Sunlight sound creeping out of the darkness in Stockholm thanks to bands like Entombed, Dismember and Treblinka.

But 45 miles north from the Swedish capital lies a previously untapped pool of death metal nihilism. In a university town of 140,000, Uppsala is the religious capital of Sweden so it’s unsurprising that it gave us early progenitors of Swedeath in Sarcasm and black metal bastards Unpure and later Watain. But the spotlight has turned away from the old guards of the major cities and is glaring on this unassuming hub of metal mania. Invidious, Graveless and Degial have put Uppsala on the death metal map and it’s showing the big boys of Stockholm and Gothenburg that the sounds of the suburbs … Read More

INTO BATTLE: BASTARD SAPLING

Bastard Sapling could easily be described as the best American black metal band you’ve never heard, but this would be selling them short, they’re the best black metal band from anywhere that you’ve never heard of. Formed in 2007 by ex-Cannabis Corpse guitarist Drew, who was in need of a new direction to channel his energy and aggression after being left without a band and living in squalor, He was joined by drummer Elway (ex-Celebrity Murders, ex-Murdock and ex-War Torn), guitarist Steven (Inter Arma), vocalist Mike (Inter Arma, ex-Dick Butkis) and bassist Peter (Battlemaster). The quintet plays brutal black metal in the truest of senses, stripping away all pretence, gimmicks and other nonsense that gets in the way. The raw beauty of Drudkh, Immortal and early Enslaved pulses through their veins, but these Yanks they have their own voice, and it’s fucking loud. They’ve spared no time in tearing the scene apart since they made their first unholy appearance at 2008’s Heart Of Winter festival in Richmond, Virginia. Here they made available a raw rehearsal demo and this exposure saw them head off on a nationwide tour, to conquer new turf and corrupt the minds of the innocent. They quickly followed … Read More

INTO BATTLE: SOPHICIDE

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

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