interview with Witchclan and Deadman's Blood
What´s the name of your band? I have two bands - Witchclan and Deadman's Blood. Witchclan is a Black Metal band which was formed in 1990, and is just about to release a brand new album 'The Dark Binding' through Elvester Records in the U.S and through Darkness Shade Records in the UK and EU. Deadman's Blood is a traditional Death Metal band which was formed in 2011 and is currently unsigned, but has so far released one demo and one EP.
How were the bands formed? Witchclan was formed by two friends, Peter Leathley and Sharad Anand in Newcastle, UK back in 1990. They wanted to form a band which was influenced by bands like Venom, Bathory and Slayer. In 1993 I joined on vocals, and we did a couple of demo tapes. They left in 1994 and I recruited new members but in 1995 the band split up. I reformed the band as a solo studio project in 2009 and have been making and releasing music ever since.
Deadman's Blood was formed in 2011 because of my love of old school Death Metal. I wanted to keep Witchclan pure Black Metal and have a separate outlet for Death Metal so Deadman's Blood was created.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? The original members were from Newcastle and East Sussex but now I am the only one who remains, as I mentioned previously so I do all the vocals, all the instruments and all the production - this is the case on both bands.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To create music I wanted to hear. If other people liked it as well then that would just be an added bonus. If people hate it then I don't care - I don't make music to impress or please anyone other than myself.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? With Witchclan, if you like early Darkthrone, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and Burzum then there would be quite possibly be something that could be of interest on my albums. With Deadnman's Blood - if you're a fan of stuff like old Autopsy, old Carnage, old Nihilist and old Massacre then again - something for you. Rotten maggot infested Death Metal.
Where was your first gig? Neither bands play live being as I am the only member. I do not work with session or live musicians, I don't get on very well with other people so I prefer to work alone.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? I write all the music and all the lyrics, apart from in the early days of Witchclan between 1990 and 1994 when it was all written by Peter and Sharad.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are?
There is nothing bad with either of my bands - I am in a good place with both of them right now and I would not change anything. I have already explained the genres for both bands - Black Metal and Death Metal.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about?
Black Metal and Death Metal are natural styles for me to choose and play. I've followed both of these genres for the last 25 years and they have always been a massive part of my life.
The lyrics in Withclan are Occult, Satanic, Anti-Christian and Misanthopic - these are all important subjects to me.
The lyrics in Deadman's Blood are about murder, rape, death, gore and horror.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? The material is all my own - although I have in the past done covers by Darkthrone and Sepultura.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
Witchclan released a full length album in 2011 called 'Misanthropist' which was limited to 500 copies on CD and was released via a UK label called Darkness Shade Records. On October 31st 2014 Witchclan releases a brand new album called 'The Dark Binding' which is being released on vinyl, CD, and also tape. The vinyl is being released via Elvester Records and the tape via Darkness Shade Records.
Deadman's Blood will be releasing a full length album in 2015 if all goes to plan.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, if you search for the band names then you will find some stuff on You Tube which have been uploaded by various people.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am 35 years old. I got into music through my Dad back in the mid-80's. My parents bought me a cassette recorder which had a built in radio so I was able to listen to music and record and make tapes at the same time. So I was lucky really to be able to get into music in a big way at such an early age.
At what age did you start playing? I started to sing at around 11 years old, and I got my first guitar when I was about 13, so I was still quite young I suppose.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? I saw Emperor and Cradle of Filth back in around 1994 which was a good show - and other good notible shows were Gomorrah, Thus Defiled and the Day of Death festival back in around 1993. I don't go out to shows these days.
What are your goals with your music? To keep recording and releasing music. Because I am the only member, I will always be here - Witchclan and Deadman's Blood will never die. There is no need for them to do so. There are no other members for me to argue with or have the old cliche 'music differences' with so I will continue to make music until I am either too old to do it anymore or I am dead.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? In the 80's when I discovered Metal. I have never looked back, other than to reminise. Music is in my blood, and it's my passion.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? For me its's always been the older bands but modern times has brought us some amazing bands such as Old Corpse Road and Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult so it's swings and roundabouts but on the whole, being the age I am, it's nearly always all about the older bands. The years between around 1985 and 1995 for me is the golden decade of Metal. So many amazing albums were released between these years that it's impossible to ignore.
What are your sources of inspiration?
Lyrically - the Occult, horror movies, life and my dislike for the human race.
Musically - a lot of classic stuff from between 1985 and 1995.
What's the first step when making a new song? Making sure I am in the right frame of mind. There is no point in sitting down to write a song if you're not feeling it, it would just be a waste of time. The best time to record something new is right after listening to some of your favourite bands - that way you're feeling psyched and ready to go - and above all, inspired.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I think it's a load of bullshit and anyone who steals music from the internet without paying for it is a thieving cunt. The amount of effort, time, and money that goes into making an album is absolutely beyond comprehension to a lot of these people. and if they knew then they wouldn't do it. The internet has made things far too easy for people to get music for free and in addition to that, it has given music almost a disposable feel to it. It's easy to click a button and download it, and if you don't like it then you dispose of it and move on. If you want to hear an album then get your fucking wallet out and buy it! Otherwise fuck off!
What would be your dreams for the band? Well of course, ideally I would like to sign to a large label - but other than that, I think I am fairly happy with the way things are going right now. I am signed to two amazing labels - Elvester Records and Darkness Shade Records who have both been superb and shown me more support than I could have ever hoped for. Both labels have exceeded my expectations completely.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Some of my favourite bands are Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, Enslaved, Old Corpse Road, Troll, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Necrophobic, Moonblood, Mayhem... that's for Black Metal of course. For Death Metal I would say old Massacre, old Autopsy, old Agressor, old Massacra, old Entombed, old Death and so on. I do of course like other genres like Thrash and Doom as well and I also listen to a lot of Electronic stuff like Gabba Techno and Hardcore.
What do you hold most dear? I would say Witchclan because it's been with me the longest. If you mean just in general - I would say my wife, daughter and son.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? I don't really have too many fears. I guess that my children will have a good long life, and that the country won't fall prey to an Islam ruling which seems to be one of the biggest threats for the distant future.
What songs and what years were they released? Ah - too many to mention really. You can look on Metal Archives for that kind of information. I guess the earliest songs were 1990 - and some of these are featured on the Witchclan 'Live Witchery' tape from 1991.
Have you been part of any other projects? Yes. Funnily enough I am in a side project at the moment with Rich Flint from Atrocity. It's a Death/Doom band but we currently have no name. We are currently writing and recording songs so we should hopefully have something together in time to release for next year.
Have you been in any other bands? I was in a Punk band called M.E.G in the mid 90's but other than that, Witchclan and Deadman's Blood have been my only two bands.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Insurance. Fairly mundane, but it pays my mortgage and pays for food.
What would you do if there was no music? If there had never been any music then we would know no different, so it wouldn't be an issue. If music were to be taken away from us somehow then it would be very difficult for me and others like me - music is a way of life for me.
How important are your fans? Fans are the foundation of any band. Without them, the band is pointless and has no purpose so it would crumble so they are of course very important. However, I have always only ever made music for myself. If nobody liked my music and both my record labels dropped me - of course it would be a shame but I would still continue to make the music I wanted to hear, for my own enjoyment and satisfaction.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I've had a few people do fan art for me which is always really cool. One girl did a portrait of me which was really quite flattering and a good piece of art. Other fans have made stuff on the computer with photos of me and the band logos, and others have done pen and paper tribute drawings which is all really cool and very important to me.
How often do you rehearse? Not very often. I have very little spare time - I hold down a full time job and I am a father of two so the few hours I do get spare I am usually spending with my wife and kids. When I get time to rehearse, I am usually writing and recording new material. I have no need or desire to play old material because it's already recorded and I don't play live so there's no need for it.
Where do you rehearse? Everything is done at my home. But as I said, rather than rehearsing - I would normally just write and record new material. The old material is old and is already recorded so no need to go over it again and again.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? 'Worms of Hypocrisy' and 'Crossing of the Spheres' which are both Witchclan songs from the new album 'The Dark Binding'.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? The passion and love for the music. If you don't have either of those then you may as well just give up now. Only a few bands will achieve massive success - but if you love the music and have a real passion for it then none of that should really matter as long as you're doing what you enjoy.
Do you have any webpages?
Yes - here are some links to check out everything you need to know about me and what I do;
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Do what you want to do because you enjoy it. Fuck what everyone else thinks of you - if you listen to other people too much then your band will eventually end up being unrecognisable, and thus not what you had originally set out to do.
How do you view the musicindurty of today? Very different to how it was 25 years ago. It's a lot harder to get into these days because there are so many bands. In addition to this, the internet has pretty much killed off record sales. For example - back in 1991 you could press a demo tape of 1000 copies and this could be sold out within a couple of months. These days it can take a couple of YEARS to sell that amount. Okay so tapes are less of a preferred format these days, but even with CDs or vinyl - it's hard to sell a lot of units. It all goes back to what I was saying earlier on about people downloading. Unless you are a proper, true committed collector then the chances are you are more likely to download something for free than spend money on it. I guess the economy also has a lot to do with this - it's hard to stay a float finanically these days, and I think everyone can relate to that. No matter which way you look at it - life seems harder now than it did 25 years ago - whether you're talking about the music industry or just life in general. I guess that's just the way of the world and how things progress.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Getting shows, getting sales, getting media coverage, getting a record deal. No band should expect anything to be handed to them on a plate - it's all an uphill struggle but that's part of it, that's part of the enjoyment. If you didn't have to work for anything it would all be pretty boring right?
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? I really wouldn't know being that I don't play live.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence
Witchclan - A dark cacophony of bestial hatred and coldness.
Deadman's Blood - Ancient maggot infested, stinking corpse fucking metal of death.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? I guess going back to 1995 when Witchclan was a 5-piece. We had different musical inputs and it was hard because some of the members wanted to put more of a Thrash spin on things, where as others wanted more of a Death Metal approach. Of course, this was problematic for me because Witchclan always was - and was always intended to be, Black Metal.
Do you have anything to add? Thank you to you for this cool interview, and thank you to everyone who has supported me in some way or another over the years with my various projects. My latest release by Witchclan is called 'The Dark Binding' and will be out on October 31st 2014 so do try and get a copy if you can. Ave Satanas.
