Witchfinder General was an English heavy metal band from

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

. They were part of the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

scene and have been cited as a major influence on the

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

genre. They were named after the 1968 British horror film ''

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

''.

History

Witchfinder General formed in 1979 by Zeeb Parkes and Phil Cope in

, England, as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement during the early 1980s. They were strongly influenced by

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, and have been described as one of the pioneers of the doom metal style. The band's importance was acknowledged mostly after they disbanded. Witchfinder General disbanded sometime in 1984 amidst reported controversy of their sexually explicit album covers in the UK. The band (minus vocalist and writer Zeeb Parkes) reformed in November 2006-- with new vocalist Gary Martin. The band released ''Buried Amongst the Ruins'' a compilation CD featuring the "Burning a Sinner" single, the '' Soviet Invasion'' EP, and four live tracks including a live version of the unreleased track "Phantasmagorical" in 2006. The band released their third full-length album '' Resurrected'' in 2008.

Members

* Phil Cope – guitar (1979–1984, 2006–2008), bass (1982) * Johnny Fisher – bass (1979–1980) * Steve Kinsell – drums (1979–1982) * Zeeb Parkes – vocals (1979–1984) * Kevin McCready – bass (1981–1982; died 2008) * Graham Ditchfield – drums (1982–1983) * Rod Hawkes - bass (1982–1984, 2006–2008) * Dermot Redmond – drums (1983–1984, 2006–2008) * Gary Martin – vocals (2006–2008) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Death Penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

'' (1982) * ''

Friends of Hell ''Friends of Hell'' is the second studio album by the British doom metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1983 on Heavy Metal Records. Drummer Graham Ditchfield was dismissed at the end of the recording sessions and is not listed as ...

'' (1983) * '' Resurrected'' (2008)

Live albums

* ''Live '83'' (2006)

Singles and EPs

* "

Burning a Sinner ''Death Penalty'' is the debut studio album by British heavy metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The album received some criticism for the cover photograph, which featured topless model Joanne Latha ...

" (1981) * '' Soviet Invasion'' (1982) * "

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

" (1983)

Other releases

* ''Buried Amongst the Ruins'' (2007)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control English doom metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Musical quartets New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups