Witchfynde

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Witchfynde
General information
origin Mansfield , England
Genre (s) New Wave of British Heavy Metal
founding 1976, 1999
resolution 1984
Website www.witchfynde.com
Founding members
Steve Bridges (until 1981)
Montalo
Gra Scoresby
Andro Coulton (until 1980)
Current occupation
singing
 Harry Harrison (since 1999)
bass
 Pete Surgey
guitar
 Montalo
Drums
 Gra Scoresby
former members
singing
 Luther Beltz (1981–1984)
bass
 Edd Wolfe (1984)

Witchfynde is a NWoBHM band. It was founded in 1976 in Mansfield , England and plays heavy metal with occult lyrics in the tradition of Black Sabbath and Black Widow .

history

In 1979 Witchfynde got a contract with the record company Rondelet Records, which at that time was primarily a punk label. There the first single Give 'Em Hell / Gettin' Heavy was released.

In 1980 the LP Give 'Em Hell was released . With the song Unto the Ages of the Ages it contains an epic, nine-minute song. The rest of the album is in the faster area. After the album was released, Witchfynde went on tour. She played in the opening act for Def Leppard . In the same year she released the second album Stagefright , on which Pete "Thud" Surgey played bass for the first time. Compared to the debut, the music had lost some of its heaviness. The single In the Stars / Wake Up Screaming was released from the album .

In 1981 Witchfynde appeared on the BBC's famous Friday Rock Show . The song Belfast was released on the compilation of this show. For the first time Luther Beltz could be heard singing here.

Rondelet Records did not support the band, especially the expensive live shows the small record company could not finance. It took the band two years to break the contract. During this time all was quiet around Witchfynde.

In 1983 the album Cloak and Dagger was released , which musically sounded heavier again. The band had switched to the young record company Expulsion Ltd. The album was distributed in Europe via Roadrunner Records . I'd Rather Go Wild was released as a single . The song also appeared on the compilation Metal Battle , released by the legendary record company Neat Records .

Witchfynde had no luck with Expulsion either. The contract was terminated in 1984. The Belgian label Mausoleum Records released the last album Lords of Sin shortly afterwards . The first 10,000 copies were released on a Live 12 ″ called Anthems . The planned album cover could not be realized. The band wanted to take the photos for it in the London Dungeon . Singer Luther Beltz was supposed to pose with naked men and women. When the responsible authority found out, the photos were canceled.

Shortly after the release of the album and the accompanying single Conspiracy , the band broke up. Lars Ulrich later published the song Leaving Nadir on the sampler NWOBHM 79 Revisited he had put together .

CD versions of the albums Give 'em Hell and Stagefright were released in 1992. Lords of Sin was released in 1994. A best-of album was released in 1996 .

Reunion

In 1999 the band reunited with Montalo (guitar), Gra Scoresby (drums) and Pete Surgey (bass). Harry Harrison joined the group as the new singer. In 2001 they released their reunional album The Witching Hour . The album also contained old pieces, recorded with the new line-up.

The band played in 2004 at the Swedish Motala Metal Festival VIII and the German festival Keep It True .

The second singer Luther Beltz released the album The Awakening in 2001 under the same band name with a different spelling (Wytchfynde) .

Discography

Singles

  • 1979: Give 'Em Hell / Gettin' Heavy (Rondelet Records)
  • 1980: In the Stars / Wake Up Screaming (Rondelet Music & Records)
  • 1983: I'd Rather Go Wild / Cry Wolf (Expulsion Ltd.)
  • 1984: Conspiracy / Scarlet Lady (Mausoleum Records)

Albums

Others

  • 1984: Anthems (Bonus 12 ″ to Lords of Sin ; Mausoleum Records)
  • 1996: The Best of Witchfynde (British Steel)

Web links