Witch Fever | Interview
October 8 | Written By Jess Wilkinson
Despite their Huddersfield gig being the last date in their United by Music Tour, Witch Fever still put on an incredible show.
The Manchester band formed in 2017, and ever since, they have been tearing apart the image of the heavy rock band that has been established since the inception of the genre. The band is composed of four young people who do not allow themselves to be categorised in any sense of the word: Annabelle (drums), Alisha (guitar), Amy (vocals) and Alex (bass and backing vocals). Supported by fellow Manchester–hailing band Sugarstone, Witch Fever has spent August and September of this year touring around England and Scotland, permeating every city with their unapologetic, roaring energy.
Witch Fever’s final gig no doubt resulted in loss of voice and sore necks all round, but it was all worth it to see the band in their element. The monstrous quality of the bass and guitar amplified through huge speakers, Amy’s banshee shrieks and siren calls soaring throughout the venue, and Annabelle’s relentless thrashing of the drums all combined to encourage the crowd to just let go. There was catharsis in being loud and uninhibited, as Witch Fever allows you to be so.
Annabelle and Alisha made time for a chat with The Music Mag before their gig. The first thing I (Jess) asked was their favourite biscuits; Alisha likes custard creams, while Annabelle likes Jaffa Cakes.
Witch Fever performing the final show of their UK tour.
JESS: A lot of the heavy metal that I’ve listened to the past few years is mostly just straight white middle aged men. And obviously, you guys are young women or non-binary presenting people; what does it mean to you guys kind of break into that space that’s been dominated by a certain type of person for a while.
ALISHA: I think it's taken a long time. I think when we first started as well, it was very much so that I'm like, Oh my God. In the past couple of years. There's been so many like sick fucking bands that are like, female non binary - Nova Twins, Clit Trip Like there's so much more heavy music but that's not just like what you said.
ANNABELLE: They sort of made their own space for it.
ALISHA: Yeah, we have - it’s kind of been forced. And I think people have been around for a longer time. You know, we'll inspire new people and it'll just keep on going like that. It just needs to keep on spreading the way it is. Like King Woman was one of the first to do that.
Witch Fever have certainly made their own space in the genre. They describe their sound as “doom-punk,” with their songs featuring elements of grunge, heavy metal, and punk rock. Punk is a recurring term when talking about Witch Fever, but not just in reference to their sound. Everything about them spits in the face of the powers that be, whether that be religion, the patriarchy, or the structures of the music industry. “Sour” fights against the influence of religion, as well as abusive relationships: “Why are you so surprised? / You gave me my fucking weapon / They won’t take no for an answer / As if they ever fucking asked.” “Congregation” is another song that attacks the church, specifically how it encourages shame: “Wracked in guilt / The whole congregation.” Witch Fever lives to tear down the established systems and replace them with one that is loud, young, queer and angry.
JESS: Do you guys have a favourite song to perform?
ANNABELLE: At the moment it’s one of our newest songs, Dead to Me.
ALISHA: I don’t like that one.
ANNABELLE: Alisha takes a while to warm to songs, and she goes in and out of it.
ALISHA: So many songs we write, I’m like, “I don’t know if I really like it,” but the rest of the band is like, “Well, we like it, so we’re going with it” and I’m just there like “okay!” I will like it eventually, I just have to play it maybe 20 times and then maybe I’ll like it. My favourite song I like to play is Blessed Be Thy. I don’t know, it’s still like, whenever we play it, it’s just a vibe.
ANNABELLE: I like playing 12 live too.
ALISHA: I don’t like that one either.
ANNABELLE: For fuck’s sake.
ALISHA: I’m sorry, I’m just a mad perfectionist.
ANNABELLE: One that I hate playing is At The Core. Like, I really like that song, but it’s just all over the place in terms of time signatures. If that’s in the setlist I’ll be stressed out thinking we have to play it.
JESS: You guys all have really cool tattoos. Amongst the alternative and queer community, tattoos are a really big thing. Are tattoos important to you guys in that regard, or is it just like, you know, they look cool.
ANNABELLE: I just like them. And they look cool, to be fair, but I think it is probably maybe more of a trend in sort of queer circles. But really, it's to do with like, your identity and expressing your identity. And if I see someone with tattoos, I'm like, you're instantly cool. Yeah, true, especially if they're good tattoos. Oh, yeah. But like, I would have so many if we just had more money. They're just so expensive. We're the wrong people for this because Alex has so many tattoos.
JESS: Your songs are rather angry. How do you access that part of yourself when performing? Maybe if you're not feeling it, like how do you hype yourself up for it?
ALISHA: I think for me, it is actually just by playing the songs, because what I'm playing on guitar is already quite aggressive and angry. And there are some days where I'm just like, oh my god, another gig, I'm really not in the mood, like I'm exhausted. I just need to actually go and perform and go on, not in the mood. Then, throughout playing the songs, gradually I'll just become more and more in the moment and be able to, like, perform.
JESS: That makes sense. Like with all artistic things, you’re always like, “ugh, I don’t wanna do this!”
ALISHA: I know, I know. Yeah, but then you do it and it's like “oh, this is actually fun.”
ANNABELLE: Yeah, I agree, to be fair. Like if I'm not in the mood for it, I'm not going to be in the mood until I start playing, I guess.
JESS: What would you guys say is the most influential band in your life? And do you remember the first band that you ever saw live?
ANNABELLE: The first band I remember seeing live was Take That. So, do with that what you will. Paramore was quite an early one too.
ALISHA: We all take very different influences, because we all just listen to very varying things. I think on the whole we always say Deftones. One for me, though, one that always got me interested in wanting to play heavy music and maybe even start a band was Nirvana. They kind of influenced me from a younger age to try to play heavier music. I can't remember the first band I saw live? I think it was Wolf Alice.
ANNABELLE: Nah, you probably went to see Justin Bieber or something. When I first met you, you had a Justin Bieber poster when he was like a kid.
ALISHA: When I was in early high school, I did listen to, like, shitty pop music. That was more of like, trying to fit in than actually enjoying it. Well, I do like pop music, I’m not gonna lie. Pop music slaps. I was gonna be all embarrassed, but being into every genre of music is important.
This was certainly evident in the playlist between Sugarstone and Witch Fever’s performances, with Doja Cat, Saweetie and other pop artists featuring amongst countless heavier bands. Witch Fever does not believe in confining themselves to any one thing, whether that be within the realm of gender, genre, or their own music taste.
JESS: Do you have a post-show ritual? Is there something that you do to calm down?
ALISHA: I immediately go outside and have a cigarette. That's mine.
ANNABELLE: I pester Alisha to roll a spliff. Amy likes to have some silence, some alone time.
ALISHA: Alex likes to look at the pictures and videos from the past hour, going like, does my butt look good?
JESS: This is your last date on this tour, before you go back on tour with Hot Milk in November. What are you going to do with your time off? Will you have time to wind down?
ALISHA: Oh, literally, I’ll be working seven days in a row. Seven tomorrow morning, too. You take a lot of time off with the band, so when you’re back, you just have to work, work, work. We rehearse once a week. We all book Tuesday off, that’s like our band day. That’s when we write, practice, anything band related.
Witch Fever will be continuing working on their second studio album during their break from touring. Make sure to check out their current music and socials for updates in the meantime!
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