Witchclan

Witchclan formed in Newcaste, UK in 1990 by Peter Leathley as a 3-piece under the name Crypt. At this point the band consisted of Peter Leathley on drums and vocals, Sharad Anand on all guitars and Matt Baines on keyboards. The following year the name was changed to Curse, and then to Hellgrind in 1992 before settling on Witchclan. At this time, the band was influenced by bands like Bathory, Venom and Slayer. A live tape called 'Live Witchery' was released and circulated on the underground scene in Newcastle. Matt left the band and Peter gave up vocals leaving the band without a vocalist.

In 1993 Matt Bass joined the band on vocals and the band recorded a new demo which was limited to 30 copies, featuring two songs plus an intro and outro which featured Benjamin Ryan, who was at the time playing keyboards for Cradle of Filth. Later that year, a promo tape was released featuring a new song which was more in the vein of the more modern style of Black Metal rather than the 80's style they had been playing previously. This tape was again very limited in number.

In 1994 Peter and Sharad had left the band leaving Matt to find new members so he recruited Dave Howell on bass, Nick Parton on drums, James Pruden on lead guitar and Jon Lee on rhythm guitar. Rehearsals continued into 1995 and a new demo was recorded which was never released due to the band splitting up that summer.

In 2009 Matt decided to resurrect Witchclan as a solo project and released a new demo in 2010 which was limited to 200 copies that sold out, paving the way to a promo tape the following year and a record deal with UK based Darkness Shade Records.

In 2011 the debut album 'Misanthropist' was released, limited to 500 copies which gave Witchclan a name once again.

In 2014 Elvester Records signed Witchclan for a new album which is due to be released on October 31st, entitled 'The Dark Binding' available on CD, Black and Colored Vinyl. Starting September 25, 2014 preorder packages will be announced and available at www.elvesterrecords.com . Witchclan has also stayed with Darkness Shade Records who plan on releasing it on cassette.

Witchclan prides itself on being the UK's oldest Black Metal band, and is recommended for fans of old Darkthrone, Burzum and Darkened Nocturnal Slaughtercult.

Witchclan’s tracks

• Crossing Of The Spheres by Witchclan