Witchfynde
| Witchfynde | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Heavy metal, black metal |
| Years active | 1974–1984, 1999–present |
| Labels | Rondelet, Expulsion, Mausoleum, British Steel, Neat, Cherry Red |
| Associated acts | The Accelerators, Luther Beltz Band, Carnaby Street, Clownhouse, Andro Coulton, Dawn Trader, Krusade, Lonely Hearts, Malleus, Nightvision, Panza Division, Rebel, Red, Sabotage, Savage, Stormwatch, The Stumble Brothers, Tyrant, Warrior, Wytchfynde |
| Website | http://www.witchfynde.com/ |
| Members | Luther Beltz Montalo (Trevor Taylor) Pete Surgey Gra Scoresby Tracey Abbott |
| Past members | Steve Bridges Harry Harrison Andro Coulton Alan Edwards ("Edd Wolfe") Dave Lindley Ron Reynolds Dave Hewitt Neil Harvey Richard Blower |
Witchfynde is a British heavy metal band which was one of the forerunners of the new wave of British heavy metal in the late 1970s.
Witchfynde were formed in Derbyshire, England in 1974 by bass guitarist Richard Blower and vocalist Neil Harvey. Richard Blower discovered Montalo (Trevor Taylor) in a band called Atiofel. When Richard left the band in 1975, they reformed Witchfynde with lead guitarist Montalo, bassist Andro Coulton and drummer Gra Scoresby, and soon recruiting vocalist Steve Bridges. The band released their first single, "Give 'em Hell" in 1979 and released its first full-length album, also entitled Give 'em Hell, on Rondelet Records in 1980. A major attribute to success may have originated by the frequent airplay on the Friday Night Rock Show, hosted by Tommy Vance on BBC Radio 1. The band gained some exposure by touring the United Kingdom with Def Leppard in the summer of 1980. The band's sound incorporated a mix of influences, such as progressive and hard rock, with various aspects of the heavy metal sound as well as prominent use of satanic imagery.
In 1980 the band released their second album Stagefright. Like their debut, it was recorded at Fairview Studios in Hull and is considered their most experimental work to date. During the period the album was released, bassist Andro Coulton was replaced by Pete Surgey, who was an obvious choice for the band as he had a good reputation on the local scene.
Around the time of the band's second release the relationship with their label Rondelet Records became increasingly strained to the point the label withdrew the band's funding. This made things very difficult for Witchfynde and eventually led to the departure of vocalist Steve Bridges. The band then recruited the new singer Luther Beltz and began working on the third album Cloak and Dagger; it was released on the small label Expulsion Records but due to bad production and the fact the label went bankrupt shortly after the album's release, it did not receive good promotion.
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