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| IRON CURTAIN - Jaguar Spirits LP | |
HRR 589, ltd 300, 100 x black + 200 x transparent swamp green vinyl, lyric sheet, poster | |
| Mike - Vocals/Rhythm Guitar Dani - Lead Guitar Joserra - Bass Alberto Fuentes - Drums | |
| 1. Run, Hide, Fight 2. Jaguar Spirit 3. Satan's Race 4. Living on the Road 5. Get Out of My way 6. Rangers Attack 7. Highway Rider 8. Cheaper Whiskey Woman 9. Heavy Metal Nation (bonus track) | |
SOLD OUT! | |
Named after the best song on Destructor's mighty »Maximum Destruction« record, Iron Curtain were formed in the fall of 2007, in their hometown of Murcia in the south of Spain. “Murcia is a city where it reaches like 45º to 48º degrees in the summer, so welcome to hell,” is how guitarist/singer Mike describes the place he calls home. “In the early days we did rehearse three or four days a week, drinking almost every day,” laughs Mike. “It was just about having fun, playing rough heavy metal tunes, without any specific ideas or focus. We wanted just play fast, play raw and have fun.” And this is what Iron Curtain did.
After two demo tapes (»Mosh Or Die« and »Dirty And Fast« released by the Bolivian label Maxima Destrucción) the band's vinyl debut »Black Fist EP« saw the light of day. The first album »Road To Hell« followed in March 2012 (and has now been re-issued on High Roller Records).
In 2013, Iron Curtain's second full-length album called »Jaguar Spirit« was released upon the public. Singer/guitarist Mike shares all the details about »Jaguar Spirit«: “The album was recorded in the summer of 2013 and released in October of the same year. We had gotten a different drummer, a more experienced one. Again, 500 vinyls and 1,000 CDs were made. Everything sold out pretty fast. The main difference was that we spent three days more working in the studio. We were in for a total of ten days. The studio was the same, Moontower in Barcelona. Another difference was that we were a little bit more experienced after recording a couple of singles between records and the previous full album recording. The sound of »Jaguar Spirit« is more polished, with a better production, the songs are still fast and speedy but with more melodies. We tried to define a personal style. Both records have many things in common: passion and being true to our hearts.”
Some people have compared »Jaguar Spirit« to the debut album by Belgian band Killer (called »Wall Of Sound«). Have Killer, and Motörhead for that matter, ever been an influence on Iron Curtain at all? “We love Motörhead,” smiles Mike. “ And we like Killer, too, but honestly, we never focused on that when we wrote the songs of that record, or any song. It was totally natural to arrive at that point. The main similarities are down to my voice being 'close to Lemmy'.”
Does the title of the record, »Jaguar Spirit«, in any way refer to the NWOBHM band Jaguar? “Not really!,” says Mike. “That album is dedicated to South American and Asian bangers, where heavy metal still feels as if it is the wildest form of music. The jaguar is an animal of those places, especially in South American countries. That's the idea behind the title and the lyrics! But Jaguar is in our Top 5 of NWOBHM bands, together with Tank, the Tygers Of Pan Tang and others!”
There’s quite a healthy metal scene in Spain currently, when I think of bands like Iron Curtain and The Lizzies. And there’s also a rather large Spanish contingent of fans traveling to all the important metal festivals in Europe. How would Mike describe the current Spanish metal scene? “Good question,” is his answer. “I’m moving around European festivals since 2002: Keep it True, HOA, BYH and tons more. I contributed to fanzines, radio shows or metal fan clubs since 1996, so I have seen the Spanish metal scene grow and improve but at the same time, breaking the circle and losing the battle, and again the same loop. Some bands are playing a lot, especially the Lizzies are kicking serious ass out there. The point is that we must give our thanks to the development of some heavy metal fan clubs that decided to support these bands from the very beginning by organizing concerts, markets and trips to gigs. They are responsible for the current healthy status of the Spanish metal scene in general. To recap. What do we have? Bands! What do we need? An Audience, fanzines, radio stations, mailorders, nice venues, support from the media, support of the community … We have a very immature and humble heavy metal scene compared to Germany or Sweden for example. At the same time, we need more people who defend the faith of heavy metal, but not for personal gain, or because they want to become rock stars of the next generation, no way! We need people with passion, fighting for this music, without that greedy attitude.”
Matthias Mader