Metal Anarchy

Time for the next edition of Metal Anarchy’s “new music showcase,” the feature where I introduce you to artists that readers of this site may find interesting. This time I have a Q&A with TurboWitch.

METAL ANARCHY: Tell me a little about your band:

TURBOWITCH: Merlin and TurboWitch never had a definite starting point. It is more of a road young Merlin knew he was headed towards. A key moment was his move to a London music college and the music scene there. That’s when he came up with the band name “TurboWitch” and the TurboWitches made their first steps in the local London scene. The first steps saw many different musicians join & leave, as often is the case for a young band, but over time, the right Witches found the Turbo, sharing a mutual goal, and the coven formed.

The initial vision was a bit big-headed – bring back good music. More defined and less arrogant (sorry about the arrogant tone in our first years): gorgeous melodies & groovy rhythms, and the best of different styles combined because we believe that combining different styles has been a recipe proven & tested for many legendary bands. When Merlin had lessons in modern music history, which meant watching videos, in one interview from back in the 80s, an early producer of Metallica called them a “second Led Zeppelin” because “they would just take anything they liked from any kind of music and smack it together into something wild and heavy, which is what Led Zeppelin had done before.” The producer named this the “Led Zeppelin” principle … and finally Merlin’s mystical quest was over: put everything together you like, creating something wild, don’t worry about genres and labels. This was the vision.

And this is what we do, we throw all ingredients into the cauldron we can get our hands on: grunge, blues, rock, bossa nova, goth, metal, and so on. Our hope is to bring music lovers a bit back together again in a music scene that has constantly been subdividing itself into smaller sub-categories.

METAL ANARCHY: Who are your main influences?

TURBOWITCH: Merlin grew up with all sorts of music. When he picked up the guitar, this went totally wild: Merlin tried really hard to get all his influences on board but with Blues today, Black Sabbath tomorrow, and some Bossa Nova on Friday (while there was Motown, Soul, and Phil Collins blaring out of his parents’ room), this was easier said than done.

Time for some name dropping: he started off with Blues and Rock, then Hard Rock. We are talking about Hendrix, Led Zep, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses. Then he got hooked on Grunge, Goth anyway, both are a must! (RIP Pete Steele, we love you forever). Also he can’t keep his fingers off the heavy stuff & the more melodic types of metal, any genre as long as it is melodious. He has always been a sucker for sweet melodies so you will find him listening to Soul, Motown, or 80s pop, too. This all in addition to his classical training. And these are just the main influences. Music is freedom of expression, anything goes.

Having said that, since their comeback, Alice in Chains and Jerry Cantrell have become more and more influential, as well as John 5 in recent years.

METAL ANARCHY: What is your latest release and why should readers of this site check it out?

TURBOWITCH: “Alchemy” is up on the cards, and its shows our musical spectrum, also it combines blues, soul, metal, grunge, rock, goth, and other genres together with topics of Love, Death and Rebirth, letting go, saying farewell – while exploring new roads. Songs like “Homeless Heart” are dedicated to all feeling cold & alone stuck in a bad place, “Midnight Kiss” to all lovers doing something maybe they shouldn’t really do, “Follow the Witch” to people facing their fears, “Don’t” to all cutting toxic people out of their lives.

METAL ANARCHY: What can people expect when they go to your live shows?

TURBOWITCH: Our catch phrase: Are you ready to be enchanted? 45 Minutes emotions, melodies and heavy beats non-stop. Take a spare shirt with you (or buy one at our merch), you will be soaked in sweat.

METAL ANARCHY: Where do you see your band heading in 5 years?

TURBOWITCH: Apart from becoming rich & famous LOL: Hopefully on larger stages. Having returned to Japan (we went on tour there last year). Being able to do concerts in a massive big band line up. Merlin also hopes that within the next 5 years, he has finally finished his cloak for his stage outfit.