The Witches and their Fun – An Interview with BURNING WITCHES

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier.

You can find more Rockharz content in my daily reports about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 or Day 4.

An irrefutable proof for the fact that women can do Metal just as well as men is provided by the Swiss women of BURNING WITCHES. Their show at the Rockharz was enormously captivating and all the greater is my pleasure to be able to present this interview to you now! Read the interview to find out which bands are big inspirations for the quintet, what the current album is about and what is the best thing about being a member of this band!

Thanks also to lightinmirror.de (another enormously talented woman), for the wonderful pictures!

Shieldmaiden’s Voice: What makes BURNING WITCHES unique?

Jay Grob: We are all women playing Oldschool Heavy Metal! There are now several female bands, but we are the only ones of the newer ones who do Heavy Metal. 

SV: What is your music most inspired by?

Courtney Cox: Dark, powerful Heavy Metal!

SV: Are there any particular songs, albums or artists that have had an impact on your music?

Jay: IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST. But SAVATAGE is also a huge influence!

SV: In May you released your last album called The Dark Tower. How is that album different from your previous releases?

Jay: Uuuuh, that’s a good question… The theme of the album is a bit darker, it’s about Elizabeth Bathory after all. She killed more than 600 young ladies to take a bath in their blood. Oh there is Romana, she is also new! She is our witch sister now!

[Romana Kalkuhl joins us] 

SV: I really like the Elizabeth Bathory theme though!

Jay: It’s interesting because you don’t know all the facts. It’s impossible to tell what is true and false.

SV: I think a lot as been washed away by misogynistic storytelling. For all we know, she could have been a really nice woman! She has the same name as me, so I gotta live in the delusion! [we all laugh] But back to you guys: The Dark Tower is your fifth album since 2017, how do you manage to not burn out artistically?

Jay: It’s just fun for us. As long as we have fun playing together, we won’t burn out because it doesn’t feel like a job. Outside the band, we also do a lot of stuff together like shopping or having BBQs. We’re not just together for music but it’s also friendship and love. 

SV: What messages are important to you to convey to the listener? What is something you want to bring across?

Courtney: For me, it would be that women are just as capable to do this. Women in the Metal world are a force to be reckoned with! It’s about time people realize that. 

Romana: We get the impression a lot that people think that women cannot do this kind of music. It doesn’t matter what gender you have, it doesn’t make a difference for the music. 

Courtney: As long as you have fun, everything is fair game!

SV: I feel that! Oftentimes it seems like people don’t really take me and my expertise seriously because I’m a woman doing this…

Jay: That happened to us in the beginning. People thought we were not playing on our own, but now they see that we play and have fun.

Courtney: It’s not just eyes, but ears as well!

SV: And it’s pretty freaking epic! How has the pandemic affected you guys?

Courtney: Well… it was nice to know what your bed feels like again! [we all laugh]

Jay: We had a lot of time doing other stuff beside the band’s stuff!

Courtney: We did a bit of everything and then it was like „When can we get back on the road?“. At the end, we really had enough and missed playing live. 

SV: Was it like… I don’t want to say „cultural reset“, but maybe like an opportunity to think about what you want to do with the band in the future?

Jay: We’re really spontaneous and if Romana has new material, then – BAM -we have a new album. There are no definite plans for the future, we’re really thankful for everything we get.

Courtney: Even the time off was more like a recharge than thinking about our next steps.

SV: What is the best part of being part of a band like BURNING WITCHES?

Romana: To have fun!

Courtney: The showers after the show! [we all laugh]

Romana: After the shows, we love going to the people and interacting with them. Meeting the fans is one of the best experiences we get to have!

Courtney: You even run into people you haven’t seen in years who have become like family.

SV: What have been your favorite experiences with the band so far?

Jay: I like every experience. Every time we get to play somewhere is special.

Romana: When we’re at a festival or a concert or in the rehearsal room we have a big party every time. We can be just five girls that enjoy making music together and that is really special to us. 

SV: Looking at the months to come, what is something your fans can be excited about?

Courtney: We are going to play a lot of shows and so there is lots of fun to look forward to. Then we’re going back to the studio and do everything all over again!

SV: Where do you see the band in five to ten years?

Courtney: Hopefully we haven’t killed each other then! [they all laugh heartily]

SV: Once you start doing that, you need to do a very different kind of music!

Romana: Honestly, we’re living in the moment and we don’t really think about the future. We started this band because we all like each other and wanted to have fun with the music we loved.

Jay: We didn’t expect to be able to play festivals like Rockharz.

SV: If you could give your fans one final message, what would it be?

Romana: We love you!

Courtney: Thanks for the support and keep coming out to our shows! You’re the reason why we’re doing this!

Jay: And we stand as one!

I don’t know what it is with these Metal bands, but they always have so many inspiring messages! Besides, it was an extraordinary pleasure to interview this witchy group. It’s not that often that I get to work with women and it’s always awesome! Another awesome thing is that we still have three interviews left, so stay tuned for that!