This is one of those interviews that was held up due to the band in question having an engagement far more important than yet another press monkey asking a predictable slew of questions. Gearing up for the May 2023 release of their new album, The Dark Tower, Swiss metalheads Burning Witches took time out from the promo junket to take part in the Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2023. The six-day cruise offered Burning Witches the chance to not only perform to an international audience in close quarters, but also for many of their peers. With some unexpected results...

"The Monsters Of Rock Cruise was very cool with great people," says founding drummer Lala Frischknecht. "They treated us very well, and it was the first time we had this type of long cruise, going to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We had shows, tutorials, interviews, everybody got sunburned... it was great (laughs). We played on opening day, and we closed the cruise. We had a great time."

"We actually had some help from Queensrÿche, because they were at our first show. They said it was sad that we were playing the small stage because the sound wasn't very good. So, they let us borrow their mixer and their lighting guy for our second show. They are friends of Courtney (Cox / The Iron Maidens guitarist - standing in for Larissa Ersnt, who is on maternity leave) and just let us have their guys for free; we were so shocked and so grateful. The whole experience was just unbelievable because we are sort of a new band, and we had all these bigger bands - like the guys from Queensrÿche and Winger - watching us. It gave us a huge rush of energy."

The new Burning Witches album, The Dark Tower - their fifth (!) in seven years, inspired by the legend of Elizabeth Bathory - isn't a record steeped in rocket science. If you like your metal old school heavy, dirty and mean your blackened heart will love it.

"We've had a great response," says Lala, "and we're so happy that people appreciate the effort we made on this album even though we didn't have much time to do it. The album turned out really well."

Something of an understatement given that The Witch Of The North was released in May 2021, and The Dark Tower came out two years less a couple weeks later.

"We're used to doing that (laughs). Since 2017 up to now we've released five albums. Romana (Kalkuhl / guitars) always makes me nervous because she has a lot of ideas and is always asking, 'What do you think about this?' in the rehearsal room (laughs). Last year, we actually had four songs ready for the new album before we did the Latin America tour with Destruction. We came back in the first week of October, and recording started in the first week of November. So, things went very quickly."

"This is just how we work. Burning Witches always works as a team, and we also have help from Schmier from Destruction. He's always here for us during the recordings; we work as a family. If we didn't have that help, I think it would be harder for Burning Witches. It's not easy having an all-female band because of all the critics and people putting us down, but I think this new album is something to be proud of because it gives us the strength and courage to keep moving forward. We're able to just continue doing what we love to do."

Destruction frontman Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer has been an integral part of the Burning Witches team since the beginning, taking the band under his wing as producer and tourmate.

"I remember when I joined Burning Witches," Lala says. "I applied for the job (in 2015) and they liked me, we met at a bar, and they told me 'Schmier wants to help us.' I was like, 'Schmier? You mean Schmier of Destruction?! Oh my God....' (laughs). I loved touring with Destruction in Latin America; we watched them play every night. Actually, Randy (Black) was the one that told me I should try playing double bass. He said I'd love it because I would have more freedom with my legs, and he was right. I'll never get rid of my double bass drums now (laughs). I can't say it's made me a better player, but I'm definitely more comfortable in my set-up now."

According to Lala, guitarist / founder Romana Kalkuhl is the creative force behind Burning Witches. As with the band's previous albums, The Dark Tower started with her.

"Romana has been the main songwriter since the start of the band. She writes all the riffs and then she and I rehearse them before bringing it to the rest of the band. The final product is what we bring to the recording studio. Romana has these great songwriting skills. It's so easy for her to do things in one day that it will take another songwriter six months to do. She has a great ear for music, and our songs keep getting more technical and difficult. When we started Burning Witches, we only had the verse / chorus / verse and so on, and now we have the intro, verse 1, verse 2, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, solo 1, solo 2... so things are getting complicated (laughs). But, that means we're growing as a band."

The Dark Tower is the band's third album with vocalist Laura Guldemond, who joined the band in 2019 following the departure of Seraina Telli. Lala has witnessed a marked evolution in Laura's performance since her first album with the band, Dance With The Devil.

"On this album Laura is 150% power. She's gotten better with each album. We had a great response to the vocals on The Witch Of The North because Laura found her comfort zone. Now she sounds more old school, heavier, and now she is using a lower vocal range as well. In my opinion her vocals really started to shine on The Witch Of The North, and here comes The Dark Tower with more of everything from Laura. She deserves the praise because she's a great singer and a great songwriter."

The fact that Burning Witches is an all-female band is downplayed in this piece on purpose. Just as the term "female fronted band" earns scorn from many women, pointing out details that are clearly obvious in the photos is equally redundant. Fact is that the five ladies known as Burning Witches have gained acceptance through their music rather than gender.

"We had a hard time at the start because when we released the demo (in 2016), there were rumours that we didn't play on it," Lala reveals. "I noticed that some people came to our shows just to listen for mistakes. That doesn't happen anymore. I think people have accepted the fact they were wrong. They realized we're not Barbie dolls on stage. We can make great music, and the proof is that we are on album #5. We offer something special, and that's why Burning Witches is still here.”