A Q&A with Margarita Witch Cult
Heavy, melodic old school metal from the West Midlands… Meet Screamin’ Scott Vincent from Margarita Witch Cult
What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
‘The Witchfinder Comes’ casts rural folk-horror imagery to mind, which creates the feeling of a more brutal time and feels right with the bludgeoning riff. Also the paranoia of being the subject of a witch hunt is something that translates to modern times.
What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
These tracks initially began life as an old-school cassette demo which we never thought would see the light of day. It was a tough decision to to see how rough and tape-hissy we could leave it without alienating the casual listener!
What do enjoy most about producing your own material?
We produced the tracks ourselves in a small practice space, we had little or no scope to re-mix the main tracks once they were down on cassette, working with the outmoded technology we hard forced us to get creative and work within our limitations.
What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
Ideally to absorb the mood thoroughly and bang their head whilst doing so!
How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
I tend to have riffs, melodies and a loose structure that I bring to the room, then we work out how to amp it up into a monolithic juggernaut. The process is based on feel and anything extraneous doesn’t make the cut.
What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
It’s undeniable, particularly where we’re from, that Black Sabbath carved the basis of all this stuff to them, for sure. Also Electric Wizard, Sleep, The Shrine, The Sword loom large. Digging back to the birth of ‘Heavy’ also influences us a lot, bands like Leaf Hound, Jerusalem, Wicked Lady, early Pentagram and many others that maybe only recorded one EP in ’71 but it found its way into the right hands!
What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
After the last few years, more or less ANYWHERE. Touring USA would be dream come true, also Germany is fantastic for the scene. Venue-wise we’re stoked to have just got started, so The Black Heart in Camden would be more than ok by us!
If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Definitely ‘The Witchfinder Comes’, it show cases the weight, mood and tempo-shifting that’s become our sound pretty well.
What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
We would love to build up a following and meet a ton of new friends on the worldwide metal and doom scene but also to be the band that people had no idea they were waiting for, to wake the dormant teenage headbanger in all of us.
Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Denim and Leather Forever.
For more info visit: facebook.com/margaritawitchcult
