The Writing Process…..working on a follow-up to Witch Cross’ 1984 release ‘Fit for Fight’

..we don’t really write it down like this…I don’t even think Mozart wrote ‘Freewheel Burning’ this way….

People often ask me ‘how do you start to write a song?’ Well, there is no one answer.  I’ve written alone for many years, sometimes starting with merely a title, sometimes a few chords, or a melody, even just a sound can set me off on a path that results in a complete song.

When you start factoring in a writing partner, you are often running a risk.  I’ve written with someone else before – Adrian Foster from Tubeless Hearts – and we had a good working relationship. Now, I’m working with Mike Koch, as we put together a hopefully fitting follow up to Witch Cross‘ cult Metal classic ‘Fit for Fight‘.

What made that release so great in my opinion, was the immediacy, the sheer strength, of the songs. That is what we’re faced with emulating if we can.

With the advent of the internet, ‘remotely writing’ has become much easier, and Mike and I have developed a great ‘ping-pong’ style of writing as we bounce the song back and forth across cyberspace, changing and moulding it along the way, until we arrive at a concise demo that we’re both happy with. It’s a great system, because we’re both very honest with each other, keeping true to the genre and style of the band, and recognizing that whatever we do, it has to be for the good of the song.

The band was initially born of the late 70’s/early 80’s ‘New Wave of Heavy Metal’, and while  we are planning to use all that modern production can offer, we are taking care to make sure it remains faithful to that era.  This involves a discipline, because in effect we’re writing in a different time, and you have to put aside influences that may have crossed your path along the way.  I’m enjoying writing this way, because it is very different to how I’ve written songs before. My songwriting is often eclectic – my last solo album encompassed a huge number of styles across 18 songs, and I’ve also written songs in different styles to complement articles on my radio show, but that is not what is called for here. What we’re doing is tapping into the vibe that existed when bands like Saxon, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden first came onto the scene. With that in mind, it was great when, as we toured with Swiss band Gotthard recently, their guitarist Leo commented that Mike and Paul’s guitars in Witch Cross had that ‘Saxon‘ quality – occupying different places in the sound spectrum, but complementing each other perfectly, just like Graham Oliver’s and Paul Quinn’s did on their classic hits.

I think we’re on the right track!  The most important thing, at least from a songwriter’s perspective, is that we’re not drying up, the ideas are coming thick and fast! So roll on 2013, when we’ll unleash the new Witch Cross album on the world, almost 30 years after its predecessor – it’s been a long time comin’!

Kev Moore

Witch Cross captured LIVE!

As we undertook our concerts across Denmark, Sweden and Holland last week, our every move onstage was captured by a plethora of fabulous photographers, and I wanted to feature some of their shots here.They’ve a got one thing in common: the ability to capture just how much fun we were having onstage! The tour was a blast, and we can’t wait to get out there in 2013, bringing Witch Cross songs old and new to you!

FROM HUGUES TIMMERMANS:

Jan, Paul & Mike: Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn, Holland

Kev & Jan: Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn, Holland

Mike & Kev: Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn, Holland

FROM HELENA LARSSON:

Mike & Kev: Supporting Gotthard @ Tivoli, Helsingborg, Sweden

Lars, Mike, Kev, Jan & Paul: Supporting Gotthard @Tivoli, Helsingborg, Sweden

Supporting Gotthard @ Tivoli, Helsingborg, Sweden

BY TESSA KORNUIJT:

Kev, Paul, Mike & Jan @ Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn, Holland

Mike @ Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn, Holland

Mike, Kev , Jan & Paul @ Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, Hoorn Holland

There were so many more, from all the shows, and our thanks go out to all the photographers,  out there who took the time to document our tour and and indeed festival and venue organizers, and the guys in Gotthard who made it even more memorable!  See you on the road in 2013!

Kev Moore

Home again…what a trip!

Well, as Midnight struck on Sunday night, I finally arrived home in Turre, after a drive from Alicante and a flight from Amsterdam. The Rocktober tour was a great success, and we made many new friends and fans along the way, as we played in Copenhagen (Denmark), and Helsingborg (Sweden) with Swiss rockers GOTTHARD – Fredericia, (Denmark) in the rock pub Kahytten, and The Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival in Hoorn, just North of Amsterdam, Holland.

Bass player Jan relaxes between soundchecks…

The HMM festival was a great way to finish the trip on a high, and the songs both old and new were well-received by the fantastic crowd. We’ve put quite a lot of promo in place during the hours we weren’t gigging and travelling, which will become apparent as we go into the New Year and ready ourselves for finishing and releasing the new album.  We’ll also be getting out and gigging to promote it too!

Soundchecking in Sweden

Gotthard very graciously let us use their new electronic matrix backdrop screen – that’s Gotthard soundchecking right there!

A road trip like this also helps bring the band closer together, personally as well as musically, and we had a lot of laughs on the tour, a lot of it provided by crazy signs!

Don’t think I’ll be eating here, thanks…..

If you were a bloke, would you buy your clothes here? ….didn’t think so!

I got up early on the last morning so I could have breakfast with the guys. Lars, Jan and Poul were setting off in the ‘Witchmobile’ back to Denmark and Sweden, Mike had a midday flight out of Schipol to London, and as my flight to Spain wasn’t until 17.55, I took the train into Amsterdam and hung out, wandering the streets and checking out the Hard Rock and the shops and the sights.

Quintessential Amsterdam….

Witch Cross are back!

Many many thanks to the huge number of people who are helping us realize the dream all over again, including videographer Peter Hansen

Kev Moore