INTERVIEW: JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES

Jess And The Ancient Ones… Is it necessary to say something more about this band? This occult psychedelic rock outfit has earned a proper reputation through five years of activity, and all we could expect from them is another proper record as they have only one self-titled full length Lp till now (and a handful of smaller releases). My personal reason for this interview is forthcoming gig of Jess And The Ancient Ones in Moscow, but from this interview with Thomas Corpse (guitars) you also could learn few things about forthcoming second album of the band which will be available really soon.

Hail Thomas! How are you? What's state of Jess and the Ancient Ones at this moment?

Hi there! I’m doing just fine and dandy, thanks for asking! We’re waiting for the album artwork to be completed, and at the same time we are preparing for the coming shows. The summer was insanely busy, but it’s all been worth it. “Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes” is now ready to be pressed, and it’s sounding sweet, hahah!

You'll play in Russia on September 25th, do you already have a set-list for this gig? Will our listeners get new exclusive tunes from the band?

Indeed we do have the set-list already planned. It will be a nice cut through all of our releases, and there are three songs from the upcoming album as well. One of them we never have played before, so Moscow will thence be the first and the magical!

Jess and the Ancient Ones have released last record "Castaneda" in 2014, it is Ep with two songs. What does attract you in teaching of Don Juan?

INTERVIEW: THE GRAND ASTORIA

Welcome Kamille Sharapodinov, the mastermind of Russian psychedelic doom rock project The Grand Astoria. He’s only constant member of this outfit and it doesn’t stop him from doing month-longs tours with new line-ups or do two records per year with different sound and conception. The core of his ever changing work is deep love to psych, prog and doom rock traditions of the past, but it would be boring when you have nothing to add to legacy of Old Ones. About two months ago Kamille has released a new child of his experiments - epic doom thing “The Mighty Few”, let’s try to understand what kind of force did drive his hands this time to work in this direction and compose this soundtrack to story of Doom, Death and Damnation.

Hi Kamille! Man, I see that The Grand Astoria new album "The Mighty Few" already has a damned lot of positive reviews, how have you gained such result? How much do you pay to all these people?

Hello Alex! It’s very easy; I just totally controlled everything this time and have made all the promotion myself. I’ve sent a shitload of packages with CDs for reviews and have plans to send at least 20 more in the near future, it just the question of money. We worked really hard recording these songs so I just don’t want them to sink into the black hole. I know that this music deserves a good attention and just needs to be heard.

What’s about album’s distribution in this case? I remember that usually you work with German label Setalight Records; do you work this time on your own?

Setalight are good friends of ours and they are selling this new album via iTunes and other electronic stores. American distro Laser CD got some copies for their shop so all the US citizen can easily get it there. Swedish Ozium Records also ordered something so the things are moving and we are selling this album more than the all previous ones.

INTERVIEW: MOONBOW

Moonbow was born on dark night in forsaken barn somewhere in Kentucky. That was a bloody fateful night and four acolytes of doom did gather there to do that must be done. Matt Bischoff (vocals), Ryan McAllister (bass) from Velley of the Sun band, Steve Earle (drums) and David McElfresh (guitars) of Lethal band… They weren’t novices in this discipline and first Moonbow album “The End of Time” was really good, two years have passed since then and the band returns with new work “Volto Del Demone” / “Face of the Demon”. I’ve got in touch with David McElfresh himself through Ouija board (and internet).

Hail David! I’m glad that we have a chance to tell our readers story of Moonbow, but hell – you’re already finishing new record! What will it be?

Hey man, the new one is called “Volto Del Demone”. Its an acoustic/mellow album of sorts.

We freely can determine Moonbow’s first album “The End of Time” as flawless and attractive album; and you did record it for a few years, did you consciously seek for absolutely perfect result or is it only because you were busy with other projects?

There were many things going on after we started recording the album. I was touring with Hank 3 a good bit last summer and our bassist Ryan did some touring with Valley of the Sun. And there were many different other factors that made this album happen over a lengthy spread of time but not as much actual time was spent working on the album as one may think. But over all we are happy with the album and always looking forward tho getting it to the people and what to record next.

How do you fasten your achievements from “The End of Time” on forthcoming record?

I feel that “End of Time” gave us a great introduction to the underground rock/stoner world and we are very grateful for that. Hopefully those same fans will dig this new one!

One of best album’s song “The End Of Time” starts with country style intro, yet I see that you do not abuse that extravagant musical gem in other tracks. Do you see necessity to be original, catchy band at all?

I love good “hooks” in songs for sure. I also love bizarre music that never repeats itself. But as far as this new album “Volto Del Demone” uses the fiddle in several instances

LUCIFER: INTERVIEW WITH JOHANNA SADONIS

Lucifer is rising! Freshly signed on Rise Above Records, the new burning doomy band delivered their debut single "Anubis/Morning Star" full of heavy fuzz and dark vibes, an album is in preparation as well and to know more about it, we had the chance to catch up with Johanna Sadonis to discuss about the band, touring, future projects and occult matters!

Occult Rock Magazine: Hi Johanna and thank you very much for your time to answer a few questions about yourself and your new band Lucifer! We're really pleased to have you here! Let's focuss on the present and future but to start, could you tell us some more about the background story of Lucifer and its creation?

- Thank you, Louis. Pleased to meet you, as Mick would say. Lucifer was born when The Oath died last year. The death of one thing is only the beginning of another. I couldn't sit still with all this energy and formed Lucifer immediately. I got Andy Prestidge on board, who also played drums with The Oath and Dino Gollnick on bass, who was already in the talks to play with The Oath. I started writing material with one of the best guitarists around.

Occult Rock Magazine: Who are the wizards behind the malevolent and heavy guitars of Lucifer?

- Garry Jennings (Cathedral/Death Penalty) who I wrote the entire album with.

INTERVIEW: SPIDERS' RICARD HARRYSON

You recently released your new album"Shake Electric", how do you feel about in comparison to your earlier works?
 
This time everyone was involved in the songwriting. With Shake Electric we also wanted to develop our sound and add a few more layers. A harder riff could for example be followed by a soft piano.

Where do the songs come from? Do you write as a band together or is there one mastermind behind it?
 
Sometimes John has a whole song ready, from beginning to the end, when he show up at rehearsal. And sometimes he or Annsofie has a riff that we develop during rehearsal. Some songs can take like a year to finish. And some songs, like the title track, Shake Electric, takes about 20 minutes to write.

How did you all meet? Was it hard to find like-minded people for the band?

The band was formed by John and Axel (from Graveyard) in 2010. They fooled around with some songs and needed a vocalist. They asked Ann-Sofie, who said yes, and then Matteo came along. After their first EP released by Crusher Records, Axel felt that he had to focus fully on Graveyard. That's were I came in to the picture. Our first album was released 2012 on Crusher Records. We did some tours, both on our own and with other bands (Graveyard, Kvelertak). In the beginning of 2013 Matteo decided to leave the band. He wanted to focus on his own music. We are still good friends. He was replaced by Olle, a wonderful person and musician.

INTERVIEW: BLOOD CEREMONY'S ALIA O'BRIEN

Interview with Alia O'Brien by Louis Hauguel

October, the wind, the falling leaves... And there are also some heavy riffs, evil organ and flute coming to my ears... Yes, it's time! Stars are aligned, the ancient ones shall rise again "and with strange aeons even death may die". Alia O'Brien, bewitching queen of doom and prog rock accepted to answer our questions about a successful European tour, an exciting single, haunted Toronto and collecting records... Blood Ceremony will also share the stage with doom legends Pentagram and 70's hard rockers Bang for Halloween's night in Burlington, VT and NYC on the 1st of November! Get ready!

Occult Rock Magazine: First of all, thank you Alia for taking the time to answer my questions for Occult Rock Magazine, it's a real pleasure! So first let's talk about your last European tour, what are your impressions/feelings about it?

Alia O'Brien: Every time we've gone out on the road, we've been introduced to amazing bands and inspiring fans, but I would say that this was probably our best tour to date. The live shows were a lot of fun, and the crowds were really receptive, and we had the opportunity to perform in a few places that were completely new to all of us--most notably Moscow. The festivals on this tour were incredible--Temples and Freak Valley were both imbued with such distinct atmospheres, and FortaRock was a magnificent metal spectacle that also boasted a delicious spread provided by Iron Maiden's go-to catering company.

Occult Rock Magazine: The Eldritch Dark Tour was also an opportunity for people to discover and buy your brand new single "Let It Come Down" back with "Loving You", could you tell us some more about it? How did you discover Iron Claw?

I know that Sean has been in possession of a CD reissue of Iron Claw's S/T for a few years now, but I can safely say that our obsession with the song Lovin' You grew out of repeated, beer-addled listening sessions at our friend Katie's bar. When it came time to think about a B-side for our single, it was pretty much a no-brainer.

INTERVIEW: ELECTRIC WIZARD'S JUS OBORN

Interview by Katharina Pfeiffer

Quite some months have passed since the announcement of a new sonic offering from one of the most hailed and yet quarrelsome bands around: Over two decades into their outstanding carrier, Dorset Doomsters ELECTRIC WIZARD have recently stepped away from their long-term label and partner, London-based Rise Above Records – founded and run by former CATHEDRAL mastermind Lee Dorrian, just in case someone didn't know that – to release their latest attempt, entitled "Time To Die..." through Satyr IX Productions / Witchfinder Records on September 29, 2014. To dive into the depths of the bands' upcoming Riff-o-Rama, Occult Rock Magazine had a little chat with the Wizard - centered around guitarist & vocalist Jus Oborn and his spouse, axegrinder Liz Buckingham.

OCCULT ROCK: When did you begin recording ‘Time to Die’ and when was it completed?

JUS OBORN: We started it in the summer of 2013 and finished it around April 2014. It took a while, but mainly because it wasn’t recorded in one go and there was a bit of a problem getting back into the studio in the middle, if that makes sense…

INTERVIEW: MOUNT SALEM'S EMILY KOPPLIN

Mount Salem | Photo: Josh Kurpius

by Eerie Eric

Hailing from Chicago, IL, Mount Salem is a four piece psychedelic rock / doom metal band. They started writing music together in the summer of 2012 and released their first EP, Endless, in the spring of 2013. The band puts a strong emphasis on tone and feeling in both their songs and live performances alike. Most of the band switched from their normal instruments and picked up new ones for this band and the result was much more natural than they had hoped for.

Taking influence from the classics like Black Sabbath and Pentagram, they play loud, heavy rock and roll using all vintage gear. Throwing their own twist of dark and mysterious doom into the music, they invite the listener to step into their sinister realm. The imagery in the lyrics will take you on a ride in which you won’t know whether to be scared or grab a sword and join the battle.

Occult Rock: So congratulations on your Metal Blade signing!  It looks like the band has done quite a bit of a touring in the past year. It’s probably not an easy question, but what’s your greatest show memory? Where was it and who did you play with?

Emily Kopplin: We’ve been pretty busy but it’s been a great year. There are so many amazing shows we’ve been able to play so it’s really hard to pick a favorite! We’ve got some friends who play in a band called Grand Mammoth from Dayton, OH so we love playing Dayton with them. The show we played with them on this last tour was a total rager, definitely one of my personal favorite shows because of the fun times and great company.

INTERVIEW: RUBY THE HATCHET

Ruby the Hatchet | Photo: Gene Smirnov

Interview with Ruby the Hatchet's Jillian Taylor & Johnny Scarps | by Anders Manga

We're loving Ruby the Hatchet! How did all this awesome come together?

East coast winters snowed in together in a basement which later became our house. And with a lot of gear.

I first found the band through the Metal Hammer comp from 2012 that had 'Wicked Ones' on it. That track was from 'Ouroboros' which was your debut right?

Ouroboros was our debut full length. Prior to that we released a self titled EP that only exists in the form of 300 copies somewhere.

Earlier this year you released the EP 'The Eliminator' which is awesome by the way, do you feel in this short attention span world, EP's are the way to go strategically or financially? I know some bands like DOWN are going the 'only EP' route. Was it some other reason?

Both have a place and there doesn't seem to be an 'only' route when it comes to recording. EPs are fun and immediately impactful, especially when you write songs in close proximity to each other. We enjoy being able to explore our songwriting as well as recording methods and in that regard a band can achieve a lot more with a full length record.

PENTAGRAM IN LONDON SPECIAL RELEASED

Filmed at Pentagram's first ever London show by that coincided with their 40 year anniversary. Pentagram are one of the Pioneers of Doom and formed in 1971. In this insightful 3-part interview with Bobby Liebling and Victor Griffin of Pentagram we hear about wisdom gained on the road, struggling with alcoholism, drug addiction, spirituality and faith.

As well as some fantastic live Pentagram classics filmed at London's Relentless Garage on 9th December 2011.

ORANGE GOBLIN: INTERVIEW WITH BEN WARD ON "BACK FROM THE ABYSS"

by Louis Hauguel

Candlelight Records recently confirmed October 7th as the North American release date for ORANGE GOBLIN's new album, Back From The Abyss. Recorded earlier this year in London, the album reunites the band with producer Jamie Dodd. The band will kick off the Autumn with a European tour alongside doom legends St. Vitus. We had a chance to catch up with vocalist Ben Ward on all this and more...

OccultRock.com: Hi Ben! First, thank you for accepting this interview! So one month from now, your new album "Back from the Abyss" will be released and you'll be going on tour with doom legends Saint Vitus, could you tell us a bit more on how all that happened, pretty exciting I guess?!

Ben Ward: Hi Louis, thanks for the interview! Yeah, we are all very excited to be heading out on tour with Saint Vitus. They have been heroes and friends of ours for a long time and touring together is something that we've always wanted to do. It's as if the planets have aligned and just as they are about to do their 35th anniversary tour, we have a brand new album to promote so the timing is perfect. I think it's a great package and has something for every fan of doom/stoner/metal or whatever you want to call it. Obviously for us it's an important tour as it's the first of the new album and we can't wait to get out there and start playing this new material live.

OR: Couple weeks ago, you unleashed a new number "The Devil's Whip" that sounds like a killer Motorhead track. Is Lemmy and his crew, a big influence on you and the rest of the band?

BW: Of course. I think Motorhead are a big influence on EVERY metal band and that is why they have stood the test of time. But this is nothing new for us. We have always worn our influences on our sleeves and we've always had a strong Motorhead connection in the past, stretching back to the first album with songs like Magic Carpet and so on. We're lucky enough to have met Lemmy a few times in the past and he's a really awesome, down to Earth guy that is exactly how you see him on screen or stage. There is no bullshit with Lemmy. There is no bullshit with Motorhead. I just hope Lemmy is happy with what he's doing right now as the last time I saw them, he seems to be slowing down and his health is obviously in decline. Us fans want him to know that he doesn't owe us anything these days, he has given us a lifetime of great music and entertainment!

INTERVIEW: SATAN'S PILGRIMS, 20 YEARS OF SURFING THE DARK SIDE

You guys have been releasing music since 1992. When you started, did you think you’d be playing spooky surf garage rock 22 years later?

When we started playing, we didn’t even think we would play any shows beyond house playing for fun in our basement. Once we played a party at our house, we got asked to play at a club, and soon we were going up to Seattle and other regional cites beyond Portland and were asked to record our first record. It all happened pretty quickly and by 1993 or 4 we were touring the US. If we had known that we were going to do what we ended up doing, we probably would have picked a different name for ourselves!

Is there more interest in the band now than when you started two decades ago?

There is definitely a lot more interest in the band now than when we started, in that more people know who we are and listen to our stuff. Being that we play a style of music that is already a specific niche style of music, it seems like we hit a certain level of popularity in the 90s when we would tour and play live shows, but back then, a lot more people were going out and seeing touring bands and were interested in surf music, due to the popularity of Pulp Fiction. That all seemed to change around 2000-so much so, that we stopped playing for a few years. But, even though it seemed like a real down time, between the internet and word of mouth, our notoriety was somewhat growing. By the time MuSick released the “Plymouth Rock” collection in 2005, we were blown away by how popular it was, and we became aware of websites like Surf Guitar 101.com forums, and its predecessor, Cowabunga that had been discussing us and all surf music, both old and new, and introducing it to a new generation of younger fans, along with the older ones that had missed us the first time around.

INTERVIEW: TOM SUTTON FROM 'THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL'

The Order of Israfel combine classic Doom, prog rock and a dash of folk. We asked head songwriter Tom Sutton some questions and he answered them..

Interview with Tom Sutton from The Order of Israfel

Could you tell us a little about band's name 'THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL ' and why you chose that name?

It basically started when I heard the name 'Israfel' from a friend of mine.  He mentioned it as the name for the angel of music.  As soon as I heard that, my eyes went a bit wide, and I immediately thought it could be something good for a band name.  It turns out that it's actually the Islamic archangel of music, and that it has been used by Edgar Allen Poe in one of his poems too.  When I heard the name, I immediately had this idea of an order that includes all music-lovers around the world.  I've found that no matter what kind of music people listen to, once we recognize each other as music people, there's a kind of connection and understanding, and I love that.  To me, music is one of the strongest forces for good on the entire planet.  It's almost a kind of magic.  The Order Of Israfel includes everyone who loves and lives for music.

INTERVIEW: DEMON EYE

Congratulations on your debut album 'Leave the Light', it's been in heavy rotation around here at OccultRock.com. I know it takes a while to build a band but are you pleased with how well it's been received by rock fans so far?

Thanks! We are incredibly pleased with the reception, particularly since we had zero intentions of things gravitating towards this level. All we were initially concerned with was writing songs for fun and performing them at our local watering holes to anyone who cared to listen. Once we started receiving praise both locally and overseas, in addition to getting asked for interviews and being granted opening slots for bigger bands, it completely blew our minds. The label signing was the icing on the cake.

Was this album done before you signed with Soulseller Records or was it made afterward?

Half of it was. We originally recorded six songs, merely for demo purposes. An Irish label called Sarlaac Productions contacted us about releasing those tunes as a six song cassette. We titled that the “Shades of Black” EP. It was literally a matter of days after we discussed that scenario with Sarlaac when Soulseller contacted us and offered the record deal. We mutually agreed those six songs should be included on the debut record. Soon after, we went back to the studio to record the rest of the album. It all seems like such a blur now. It was a fun time.

INTERVIEW: BLACK WIDOW

by Kate Hutchinson for Occult Rock Issue #3 which was never published [2013]

Black Widow is a band that puts the “cult” in occult rock. Pre-dating Black Sabbath and embracing the psychedelic flavour of the Age of Aquarius, their 1970 record “Sacrifice” spawned the oft-covered classic “Come to the Sabbat.” At the height of their popularity, Black Widow’s elaborate live stage show included re-enactments of diabolical rites. Tensions within the band led to a change in creative direction, but after decades apart, original members Clive Jones and Geoff Griffith resurrected Black Widow and released 2011’s “Sleeping with Demons,” a hard rock celebration of all things dark and wicked. In spite of a tenacious battle with cancer, Clive is prepping for a return to the studio and a fresh batch of Black Widow tracks. OccultRock.com got to speak to Clive about the band’s legacy as well as what the future holds.

OR: Over the course of the band’s existence, Black Widow has written songs that cover a number of topics and themes, but you’re most famous for your occult-themed music. How do you feel about the fact that Black Widow is, for many fans, a band defined by its links with the occult?

CJ: That’s exactly what Black Widow should be! We were certainly the first band in the UK to touch the subject of black magic.

INTERVIEW: SALEM'S POT

INTERVIEW WITH SALEM'S POT
by Dia Beetus

Congratulations on coming up with one of the coolest band names we've heard in a long time. Who came up with that and how long have you been a band making music together? 

I believe it was Klöjvert, our mascot. We all have pretty bad taste. We started out as a two-piece about three years ago and only one of us could play (Guitar). Since we live in a small town there was not much interest at all, we tried different people but they just didn't connect.  

After a while we stumbled upon a guy who had it all. A magic box, leg warmers and guitar skills out of this world. We asked if he wanted to play bass and he accepted, unknowing of the chaos it later would bring. He knows too much now so he can't back out..

Listen while reading...

INTERVIEW WITH BLUES PILLS' ELIN LARSSON AT SUMMER BREEZE FESTIVAL

Elin Larsson spoke with 'The Blog of Rock' backstage after Blues Pills' performance at Summer Breeze Festival. Watch the video below...

Blues Pills' debut studio album has entered the American Billboard Heatseekers chart at #78 after charting at #4 on the German charts which is very strong for a new band.

“We simply don't know what to say, words can't even express how we feel, ” states the band. “Thank you for the love and support! We love you back."

HAPPY 38TH BIRTHDAY TO "(DON'T FEAR) THE REAPER" – BLUE OYSTER CULT

38 Years ago today, Blue Öyster Cult released their hugely influential song “(Don't Fear) The Reaper”. It was written by lead guitarist Buck Dharma who also sang lead vocals on the track.

Some still believe it's about suicide but it's actually simply about not fearing death. Dharma explained in a 1995 interview with College Music Journal: "I felt that I had just achieved some kind of resonance with the psychology of people when I came up with that, I was actually kind of appalled when I first realized that some people were seeing it as an advertisement for suicide or something that was not my intention at all. It is, like, not to be afraid of it (as opposed to actively bring it about). It's basically a love song where the love transcends the actual physical existence of the partners."

BLOOD CEREMONY'S SEAN KENNEDY INTERVIEWED IN EUROPE

Guitarist Sean Kennedy spoke to FaceCulture recently during Blood Ceremony's European tour. In the interview, Sean discusses previous bands, songwriting, flute, influences, meeting band mate Alia O'Brien, new album and more.

JINX DAWSON: "A LOT OF BANDS COPIED US... BLACK SABBATH WENT A LITTLE TOO FAR"

Have a listen to this great interview that WNYU radio had with "Wicked Woman" Jinx Dawson. Here she discusses, among many things, being copied by other bands back in the late 60's. She admits when Coven 'crossed paths' with Black Sabbath in Memphis, "We Painted the inverted cross on their dressing room door". Listen below... (and See Toni Iommi's reaction to Coven's album when asked