Witch Cross at CHAOS DESCENDS!
A lot of travelling, and a nightmare to get to my hotel in Berlin after flying in from Madrid on the Friday evening…but hooked up with guitarist Mike Koch the next morning, and we drove down to meet up with the rest of the band in Crispendorf, in the heart of the Thuringen countryside. The setting for the inaugural CHAOS DESCENDS festival was an old East German holiday camp, weird, spooky, and complete with a miniature train, it was absolutely perfect!
Well attended and with an eclectic line-up that ranged from doom, death and black metal through Sabbath/Prog inspired U.S. metallers Danava, and the innovative and hypnotic Swans, there was even room for good old-fashioned early 80’s Danish Metal!
The crowd were amazing to us, singing along to the songs from ‘Fit for Fight’, and we are starting to notice that they are becoming familiar with the newer stuff from ‘Axe to Grind’ too, which is particularly satisfying.
I’ll be doing a follow-up piece on the festival with more pics soon.
Our next shows see us in Denmark and Sweden in September, and we now start to coalesce ideas for the third album.
Kev Moore
WITCH CROSS – AXE TO GRIND RELEASED WORLDWIDE TODAY!
It’s been a long time coming….but the day has finally arrived! “Axe to Grind”, only the second full-length album by WITCH CROSS is on the streets today via Hells Headbangers on CD and a choice of blue or black vinyl LP or digital download. Click on the links below to order and get your Metal fix!
Witch Cross in Scandinavia – Part Two: At Muskelrock, Sweden
Photo: Sofia Jonsson/Festivalphoto.net
Straight after the show in Hillerød, Denmark, we raced to catch the ferry that would take us across the water to Helsingborg in Sweden, where we would sleep at Paul’s house before driving to Muskelrock the following day. We awoke to summer sunshine, much to my joy and amazement, and began cataloging and organizing our merch for the show. Merch plays a massive role in a band such as ours.
Lars proudly holding the new album!
Paul ‘models’ our limited edition giant WITCH CROSS patch!
It’s a vital source of immediate income, necessary to keep the band on the road. With albums being pirated so freely on the net now, it’s even more important to bands as their recorded earnings dwindle.Speaking of albums, we’d received our first shipment of the new CD ‘Axe to Grind’ from our record company Hells Headbangers the day before, so we were stoked to be able to have it available to the fans a full month before its official release!
The journey to the festival site took just under three hours, and during that time the weather changed from good to bad, and back again…
As we pulled off the main road into Tyrolen, threading our way between the tent town that had sprung up around it, the grey clouds threatened. Tyrolen, used to be some random Tyrolean-themed Entertainment park, situated near the Swedish village of Alvesta, west of the town of Vaxjo,and the guys that run Muskelrock bought the land, everything in it, and turned it into a successful and fun festival, now in its fifth year. The slightly shabby buildings and faded murals of its former glory provide the perfect backdrop to a Metal Festival.
Photo: Sofia Jonsson/Festivalphoto.net
The rain teased….depositing a light shower every now and then, but never making good on its threat of a full-on downpour, much to the delight of the festival-goers! There was a superb array of bands on over the weekend. Two in particular stood out to me, but for entirely different reasons! Firstly, Barbarion, who seemed to hail from Australia, though I couldn’t be sure….they took to the stage like a herd of medieval superheroes…not the most svelte of bands, it bothered them not one bit, as we were treated to a magnificent stagewear display of studded leather braces, codpieces, togas, loin cloths, Centurion Helmets, Sporrans and Kilts. By the time they had the crowd singing “chop, chop, chop” and lamenting the demise of “Mildred, my favourite wife” I was pretty sure they weren’t taking themselves too seriously. Suffice to say, my jaw was on the floor for most of their set.
Barbarion: Better wrap up warm, lads!
Secondly, there was Death Hawks. Hailing from Finland, these guys really surprised me. Guitarist Mike Koch and I had retired to the indoor venue for a drink and a bite to eat as these guys took the stage. What followed was some truly original music…superb grooves, almost ambient metal infused with the blues, just an absolute pleasure to let wash over you. I enjoyed these guys very much indeed.
Photo: Sofia Jonsson/Festivalphoto.net
Jan, myself and Paul relaxing post-gig
When we took the stage early on the Saturday Evening, the welcome from the crowd was overwhelming. I often write about how metal fans are the best in the world, but it bears repeating. I personally felt such a vibe off the crowd that night. They sang every word on the sings they knew, and cheered the ones they didn’t…”Demon in the Mirror” as a result of the promo video finding more and more favour with them as they become familiar with it. I was pretty spent after our exertions in Hillerød the night before, but fans like these lift you up. There is no alternative. Half-measures is not an option. You give them everything because they inspire you to, and they deserve nothing less. Muskelrock, quite simply, Rocked!
Those amazing metal fans…
Witch Cross – A new beginning
In 1984 , Danish metal band released their one and only album: ‘Fit for Fight’. – A Raucous clarion call of Scandinavian rock, laden with sorcery, sci-fi and scintillating guitars in equal measure, the songs all delivered with the heavy metal roar of vocalist Alex Savage.
Fast forward a mind-numbing 28 years later , and that album has become a cult metal classic. Alex has become a Danish TV presenter and original guitarist Mike ‘Vlad’ Koch is working with yours truly, Kev Moore.
Following American record company Hell’s Headbangers decision to remix, re-release and repackage the entire Witch Cross catalogue, including the original album, first single, demos and unreleased works in a beautifully rendered 4 LP multicoloured vinyl box set, Mike decided to resurrect the band, including two original members, Anders ‘AC’ Hjort on Drums, and Jan ‘Little John’ Fields on bass. Also drafted in on axe duties is Torben Aalykke, a reknowned Danish guitarist who has been working for many years with the original singer, and finally myself on lead vocals.
L-R: Anders, Torben, Mike, Jan, Kev
On April 27th, at the Keep it True festival in Germany, Witch Cross will take to the stage again, and far from trading on past glories, myself and Mike have begun work on new Witch Cross material, one of which will serve as a taster of things to come in the live set.
The new Witchcross website is now up and running. Expect additions and expansions on it in the coming months.
I’m really pumped about this project and can’t wait to crank it up!
Bio
(Born: 20th May,1958, Chesterfield, England) is a Bass Player and Lead Vocalist. Formerly with Tubeless Hearts, he played with English Pop band Christie from 1990 to 2003, and featured in Graham Oliver’s Saxon on two European tours, before other commitments resulted in John Ward taking over vocal duties for the resulting Oliver/Dawson Saxon CD releases. Nevertheless, he appeared on Graham Oliver’s solo album End of an Era returning the favour after Oliver had appeared on Tubeless Hearts Three CD. READ MORE….
Tubeless Hearts 1994
Christie 1990
with Graham Oliver
BC Sweet 2008
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