Witchcurse Speak To SonicAbuse

Witchcurse are a shining example of a real METAL band. When we reviewed their album ‘Heavy metal poison’ we found it to be an awesome and potent brew of pure, old school NWOBHM riffs, coupled with a passion and enthusiasm that simply leaps from the page of this interview we conducted with Possessed, the band’s front man.

With plenty of good metal coming out of the most unlikely of countries these days, and with Greece in particular making a name for itself on the metal scene with bands such as Firewind bringing back the musical precision of the metal bands of the seventies and eighties, Witchcurse seem perfectly poised to gain legions of fans and with luck a follow up album will couple the band’s undeniable song-writing flair with a production worthy of the band (for an explanation of the tortured process of recording ‘heavy metal poison’ see question 5), and then we will truly see the formidable force that Witchcurse represent. In the meantime with a European tour in the offing (and we have high hopes that Witchcurse will visit these shores sometime soon) it’s time to break out the leather an spikes and head-bang ‘till you’re dizzy because Withcurse are set to shake the heavy metal world up and bring back real metal to the world. In the meantime meet possessed and then check out the band’s hard rockin’ debut – you won’t regret it.

Here are the answers for the interview you sent me!hail and kill!
Possessed.

1. When and how did Witchcurse form?

I formed witchcurse back on November 2005, so now we are 5 years alive! The reason to make the band was that i was really disappointed with the metal scene. This time there were really few heavy metal bands in the scene, even if we speak for underground scene. It was time for heavy metal to strike back! so I found one guitarist(necromartyr) and one drummer(l-drak) and we begun the attack. Now the whole line up is different except by me possessed(bass/vocals).

2. You’re all clearly influenced by the NWOBHM scene – what bands would you say influence you the most?

For sure angelwitch is the biggest influence. They influenced us musically and to baptise, also, the band. other bands are tokyo blade, blietzkrieg, demon pact, venom, iron maiden, sparta, satanic rites, crucifixion, virtue. and the list goes on and on. We are also influenced from running wild, manowar, judas priest, heavy load and many other bands, most of them are European 80s metal!

3. How did you go about writing ‘heavy metal posion’?

It was time for us to make our first album. We had many live gigs and releases before as 7″eps,demos etc… So it was time for an album. We had a demo also called heavy metal poison and when we started to think the title of the album we thought that the best title was heavy metal poison. It sounds so killer and dangerous! So we used some songs from the old demo, rerecorded and with new ideas and some new songs.

4. What influences the lyrics?

The lyrics are influenced from everything that we are angry about! I mean religion, politics or metal status of today. We hate Christianity and priests; we hate the lies of politicians and we hate the lies of “metal” magazines, record companies and the bands of nowadays! We are also influenced by occult themes and horror movies or serial killers. All in all we have the typical heavy metal lyrical themes!

5. Did it take a long time to record?

Yes! It took very long!!! The whole recording of the album was a really mad situation! We choose to record the album in a studio in one sound engineering university. We choose this place for 2 reasons; first of all the recording was for free there and second we could have a lot of time to record! But the thing wasn’t as we thought! The sound engineers there were really shitty! Sometimes we went to the studio and they didn’t come. We waited for them for 4 or 5 hours! and of course every time they found something to explain the situation! The worst thing was that we had started the recordings so if we have left the studio we would lose all the recordings and we would have to record again from the beginning. So after 5 months of madness we ended with the recordings and the situation was really horrible so we chose to take the recorded stuff and continue the production and master in the home studio of a friend of ours. This guy made his best, but believe it was really hard to make production on some recordings that he didn’t make by himself, so finally after 6 months of hard work the odyssey of witchcurse came to an end. We had the album in our hands! This is the reason that the production is not the best in the album, but believe me, from our side we made our best! Despite all these things, people loved this album as we love it!

6. How did you come to sign to Inferno records?

Fab just listened our stuff and sent us a contract, so it was really easy! Of course we had made a lot of work before in the underground scene, spreading flyers, making many releases and playing live gigs in Greece and abroad.

7. Is there a big metal scene in Greece?

Yeah there is a big metal scene in mainstream and nowadays “metal” sound! But in the true underground and metal scene, the things are shitty! There are some good bands but they are really few! Most new bands try to be rock stars or to play to find girlfriends! I think the same thing as in every country. that’s the reason that we have to fight for true metal! It’s time to hit all of them, to spit at them and kick them in their shitty faces! We just want to hail these bands from Greece: nocturnal vomit, revenge, heptameron, dark nightmare, convixion! Search for these bands and for sure you will discover some new metal heroes!

8.   ‘Hard rockin’ man in 2010’ in particular is an awesome song, is that self-referential?

Thank you man! Yes of course. We speak for ourselves! it speaks for our status in the real world. Many times I have thought how strange we look to normal people. I mean with the jackets with patches, with spikes and spandex trousers! For sure we look like aliens. and of course we would never have a job if we dressed in the same way in our jobs! Many people here ask us to cut our long hair if we want to work! All these things means a war against metal. but we will never give up! We will fight forever in our metal way. that’s the reason that the lyrics say:”you will never cut my hair” the whole lyrical theme speaks for this war of metalheads against all the “normal” people. Yeah the normal people that have a family and the dad like men and masturbate with gay films, mom has a boyfriend etc etc!

9. Is there any chance of Witchcurse playing the UK?

We don’t have many contacts there. I know only a few people who are still into true metal…of course it would be a dream for us to play in the land of NWOBHM! If we can find an organiser to bring us there for sure we will make it! I am also interested to see the culture of UK! This thing is something great when we play in other countries. it’s great to meet people and to learn how they live in their countries! and of course the local beers and drinks give us another point to travel in abroad! hehehe! As I have also said, back in time the biggest plan of witchcurse is to play in every country that someone has an item of the band(tape or CD or whatever!).so time will tell…

10. What’s been the highlight for Witchcurse so far?

The highlight was the mini-tour in Germany. It was a great experience with many difficult situations on it, but we will never forget it! We made this mini-tour together with iron kobra (Germany).They made their best with travelling with their cars and hospitality in their homes! Hail to the kobras! Other great experiences were the live gigs in Portugal and Bulgaria. As you can see, we love to be on road! hehehehe!

11. What are your ambitions for the future?

The witchcurse camp is really busy! This weekend we will play a live gig in Athens together with lonewolf(france). We’ve also have to record 2 new songs for an upcoming 7″ep which will be out on war productions(Portugal).Also, a re-release of our “demon’s warning” tape ep will be out in cd format. It will be a split release with iron kobra. They will include their first demo. but the biggest upcoming plan is a European tour! We’re working on it right now and soon we will announce the dates! The tour will take part in 7 countries! that’s all for now! hail and kill!!!!

Heavy Metal Poison is out now.

All Pics by Peter Slaughter