Witchfynde

Witchfynde are an English heavy metal band, forerunners of the new wave of British heavy metal movement of the late 1970s.

The band's sound incorporates a mix of influences, such as doom, progressive and hard rock, with various aspects of heavy metal, as well as prominent use of occult and satanic imagery.

Early days
Witchfynde were formed in Derbyshire, England, in 1973, by bass guitarist Richard Blower and vocalist Neil Harvey. Richard Blower discovered Montalo (Trevor Taylor) in a band called Atiofell (with Phil Cheetham on bass, Ian Whitworth on drums and Andy Birch on vocals). Drummer Gra Scoresby was recruited shortly afterwards. Neil Harvey was replaced by vocalist Steve Bridges during 1975. Drummer Rob Gilvary temporarily replaced Gra Scoresby for six months during 1978. The band released their first single, "Give 'Em Hell" in 1979 and released their first full-length album, also entitled Give 'Em Hell, on Rondelet Records in 1980.

Second album and change of musical direction
In 1980, the band released their second album, Stagefright. Like their debut, it was recorded at Fairview Studios in Willerby, East Riding of Yorkshire, and is considered their most experimental work to date. During the period that the album was released, bassist Andro Coulton was replaced by Pete Surgey. Coulton then founded the band Malleus, which initially lasted between 1980-1983 and reformed in 2016.

Departure from Rondelet Records
Around the time of the band's second release, the relationship with their label Rondelet Records became increasingly strained, to the point where 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 new singer Luther Beltz and began working on the third album Cloak and Dagger; it was released in 1983 on the small label Expulsion Records, but owing to bad production and the fact that the label went bankrupt shortly after the album's release, it did not receive good promotion.

Mausoleum Records, fourth album and split
The band signed a deal in 1984 with Mausoleum Records to release their fourth album, Lords of Sin. During the recording of the album, bassist Pete Surgey left the band and was replaced by Edd Wolfe, who had played in one of Luther Beltz's former bands; however, by the time the album was released he was replaced by Al Short, who played in the band Race Against Time. Although the band considered the album their strongest to date, it received very bad reviews from critics, with the final blow delivered when Mausoleum Records went bankrupt; as the result of the album's bad promotion, the band became totally disillusioned with the music business and split up.

Reunion, 1999–2020
In October 1999, Montalo, Gra Scoresby and Luther Beltz began to discuss the possibility of a reunion, owing to a resurgence of interest in the band after the release of the Best of Witchfynde CD in 1996, which sold well. Pete Surgey rejoined the band on bass. However, during rehearsals Luther Beltz announced that he no longer wanted to participate in the reunion; he left, to form a new band called Wytchfynde. Meanwhile, Witchfynde replaced him with vocalist Harry Harrison (ex-Night Vision), a longtime fan of the band who was introduced by Pete Surgey. The band then began to work on their fifth album, The Witching Hour, which they released on Edgy Records in 2001.

The band's first three albums were re-released by Cherry Red and Lemon Recordings. A new Best Of album was released in 2007 by Lemon Recordings. The band then began work on their sixth studio album, called Play It to Death, which they recorded at Bandwagon Studios and released in July 2008. Towards the end of 2008, owing to Harry Harrison's ill-health and other commitments, Luther Beltz returned to front the band for the Play It to Death UK Tour.

In 2011, a live Witchfynde album entitled Royal William Live Sacrifice was released; this was a bootleg-quality archive recording of a 1979 performance in an Ipswich pub.

July 2014 saw the addition of a second guitarist, Tracey Abbott from the band Overdrive, for live performances. This line-up of Witchfynde played one of their first shows at the Metalcova Festival in Barcelona, Spain on 28 November 2015, and continued to tour up until 2020, with Overdrive's Ian Hamilton replacing Pete Surgey on bass guitar in 2017. Standout shows included the Alpine Steel Festival in Innsbruck, Austria in 2016, the Headbangers Open Air Festival in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany in 2019, the Sweden Rock Festival in 2019, and the very first Metal Conquest Festival in Rome, Italy in January 2020.

2020 saw the last performance of the remaining original band members, Montalo and Gra Scoresby. The concert was at Newcastle's famous rock bar, Trillians. Luther Beltz announced his retirement soon afterwards.

Global Pandemic, 2020-Present
Since 2019, with the alleged approval of his former bandmates, bass guitarist Andro Coulton has also been playing live under the band name Andro Coulton's Give 'Em Hell, performing material from the first Witchfynde album and the early era of the band. Tracey Abbott was briefly a member of Andro Coulton's band, in early 2023.

In February 2024, Andro Coulton announced on his band's official Facebook page that Luther Beltz, Gra Scoresby, Montalo and Pete Surgey had come out of retirement and had begun writing and recording material for a new Witchfynde album.

Line-up

 * Montalo (Trevor Taylor) - guitar (1973–1984, 1999–2022, 2024)
 * Gra Scoresby - drums (1973–1978, 1979-1984, 1999–2022, 2024)
 * Luther Beltz - vocals (1980–1984, 1999, 2008–2022, 2024)
 * Pete Surgey - bass guitar (1980-1984, 1999-2017, 2024)

Former members

 * Neil Harvey - vocals (1973-1975) (deceased)
 * Richard Blower - bass guitar (1973-1975)
 * Steve Bridges - vocals (1975-1980)
 * Andro Coulton - bass guitar (1975-1980)
 * Rob Gilvary - drums (1978) (died 8 December, 2023)
 * Alan Edwards ("Edd Wolfe") - bass guitar (1984)
 * Al Short - bass guitar / vocals (1984)
 * Chris "Harry" Harrison - vocals (1999-2008)
 * Tracey Abbott - guitar (2014-2022)
 * Ian Hamilton - bass guitar (2017-2022)

Studio albums

 * Give 'Em Hell (Rondelet, 1980; reissued by Lemon, 2004)
 * Stagefright (Rondelet, 1980; reissued by Lemon, 2005)
 * Cloak and Dagger (Expulsion, 1983; reissued by Witchfynde Music, 2000)
 * Lords of Sin (Mausoleum, 1984; first 10,000 copies came with Anthems live EP)
 * The Witching Hour (Neat, 2001)
 * Play It to Death (Neat, 2008)

Live albums

 * Royal William Live Sacrifice (Neat, 2011)

Compilation albums

 * The Best of Witchfynde (British Steel, 1996)
 * The Lost Tapes of 1975 (Vyper Records, 2013)

Singles

 * "Give 'Em Hell" / "Gettin' Heavy" 7" (Rondelet, 1979)
 * "In the Stars" / "Wake Up Screaming" 7" (Rondelet, 1980)
 * "I'd Rather Go Wild" / "Cry Wolf" 7" (Expulsion, 1983)
 * Anthems 12" (Mausoleum, 1984)
 * "Conspiracy" / "Scarlet Lady" 7" (Mausoleum, 1984)

Associated releases

 * Wytchfynde - Demo (2000)
 * Wytchfynde - The Awakening LP (Demolition, 2001)
 * Malleus - White Noise EP (Vyper Records, 2016)
 * Malleus - Your Nightmare Calls LP (Golden Core, 2019)