BraveWords Interview: WITCHERY – Sonic Healing For The 6Sick6

By Carl Begai

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Many people in our line of sonic debauchery refer to Motörhead as a metal band even though legendary frontman Lemmy always insisted they played rock n’ roll. Not surprisingly, nobody ever dared to argue the point with Mr. Kilmister (that we know of). Thus, if you’re looking for a metal band cut from the Motörhead cloth it’s best to cast an ear in Witchery’s direction. Born from the ashes of Satanic Slaughter 20 years ago, the Swedish quintet originally consisting of members from The Haunted, Arch Enemy and Seance gained a faithful cult following from the get-go with their 1998 debut, Restless And Dead. During a BW&BK interview in 1999 for the band’s Witchburner EP, guitarist Patrik Jensen (The Haunted) put forth Witchery’s plan of adopting a ’70s-era KISS approach and releasing at least an album a year, and with Symphony For The Devil hitting the shelves in 2001 it seemed they might succeed. Unfortunately, real life and other band commitents managed to scuttle those plans, leaving Witchery to assemble only as time permitted, yielding only three albums in 10 years. In fact, their new record, In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, comes a whopping six years after their last outing, Witchkrieg.

“You know what they say; as you grow older time moves faster, ” says Jensen. “It doesn’t seem like it’s been six years but then I look at the calendar and it’s ‘Oh my God, we’re celebrating 20 years of Witchery, we need to make an album…’ (laughs).”

“But that’s the problem we’ve had since 2003 because that’s around about when Angela (Gossow) joined Arch Enemy and things started to go really well for them,” he continues, referring to bassist Sharlee D’Angelo’s top priority and the resulting space between Witchery albums. “The Haunted took off around that time, and I think that’s when Martin (Axenrot / drums) joined Opeth. We were really active between 1997 to 2003 and then things got difficult for us because there were so many conflicting schedules. It’s crazy. We discovered that it was just as hard to get this album out as any other year we’ve done an album because it’s hard to get everyone together. That’s why Martin decided to gracefully bow out; he didn’t want to make it a problem for Witchery to continue releasing albums. The way he put it, ‘It’s not like I don’t have a band I’m going to tour the world with…’ (laughs). We love the guy and we’re still friends, so there’s no animosity. Something had to change and he offered his place up; we found Chris (Barkensjö) to play drums and he’s not as busy as Martin so it’s easier to get rehearsals going. On top of that, Martin was a very sophisticated and tasteful player even before he joined Opeth, whereas I’m more of a Ramones / early Motörhead kind of player. Chris is the same way; he sounds like our first drummer, so having him in the band brought back that old Witchery feeling we had on Restless And Dead. Not only could we get back to rehearsing, we kind of got our old sound back.” Continue reading BraveWords Interview: WITCHERY – Sonic Healing For The 6Sick6

JEFF LOOMIS – Life After NEVERMORE: “ARCH ENEMY Is My Main Priority”

By Carl Begai

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In early 2011, Seattle’s conquering sons Nevermore unexpectedly slammed the brakes on their career after almost 20 years in the trenches. The quartet – Warrel Dane (vocals), Jeff Loomis (guitars), Jim Sheppard (bass) and Van Williams (drums) – cited creative and personal differences as the cause for the parting of ways, shocking their loyal fanbase. Dane went on to re-launch Sanctuary in 2014 and Loomis was tagged to join Arch Enemy, replacing Nick Cordle. The former was expected, the latter was a complete surprise, but most Nevermore fans seem to have made peace with the changes even though there seemingly has never been a concrete explanation as to what brought about Nevermore’s (supposed) demise. Given the opportunity to sit down with Loomis during a stop on Arch Enemy’s late summer European tour, I asked him to shed some light on the matter.

“Nevermore was together for 18 years, and it was one of those things where everybody in the band at that time – five years ago now – was drinking heavily” Loomis reveals. “We all had a problem; it’s not fair to put the blame on one person for any of that. We wanted some changes in the band, we wanted everyone to quit drinking, but we were all too stubborn. Then the ultimatum came that if we didn’t quit drinking we’re not going to tour anymore, and that’s basically what ended the whole thing. I also think that after being together for so long and going through so many ups and downs, nobody could take it anymore. All I can say is that I’m very proud of what we did in Nevermore, we still have a huge following to this day, but as with anything in life there are other chapters and the page had to be turned to something else.”

“For me personally it was a big breather to be able to live a normal life for a while,” he adds. “I still talk to Van and Warrel, I don’t really speak to Jim too much anymore, and I hear he’s out of the business now. Everybody is doing something musically, it’s just not Nevermore. Warrel’s got Sanctuary, of course, and he’s doing a Nevermore touring cover band kinda thing. Van has Ghost Ship Octavius, which is really cool.” Continue reading JEFF LOOMIS – Life After NEVERMORE: “ARCH ENEMY Is My Main Priority”

ARCH ENEMY – Soccer Chants And Circle Pits

By Carl Begai

Just as Canadians have been pegged by the world at large as being nice and polite in any given situation no matter how dramatic or off-putting (no, we are fucking not), Japanese metal fans have been saddled with the reputation of being reserved and disciplined to a fault regardless of how intense a band might be on stage. Arch Enemy’s latest DVD, Tyrants Of The Rising Sun, rips this myth to shreds. Perhaps it was due to the cameras set up on the night, or maybe it’s because Japan has become Arch Enemy’s home turf in a bizarre trans-continental way, but the audience that the band plays host to on this latest live retrospective was anything but sedate. Like the fans in North America and Europe – perhaps even more so – the Japanese legion hang on every word and every note as the gig plays out, breaking into song and applause when instructed, unleashing soccer chants and circle pits as the music and atmosphere dictate. No question, Japan’s metal fans can wear Arch Enemy’s trademark “Pure Fucking Metal” shirts with pride.
Continue reading ARCH ENEMY – Soccer Chants And Circle Pits