View source for Witchfinder General (band)

{{Short description|English heavy metal band}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Witchfinder General
| image            = Witchfinder General (band).jpg
| caption          =
| alias            =
| origin           = [[Stourbridge]], England
| genre            = [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]], [[doom metal]]
| years_active     = 1979–1984<br />2006–2008
| label            = Heavy Metal Records
| website          = {{URL|witchfindergeneral.net}}
| current_members  =
| past_members     = Phil Cope<br />Johnny Fisher<br />Steve Kinsell<br />Zeeb Parkes<br />Kevin McCready<br />Graham Ditchfield<br />Rod Hawkes<br />Dermot Redmond<br />Gary Martin
}}
'''Witchfinder General''' was an English [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band from [[Stourbridge]]. They were part of the [[new wave of British heavy metal]] scene and have been cited as a major influence on the [[doom metal]] genre.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://metaldescent.com/doom-metal/ |title=Heavy Metal Classifications: A History of Doom Metal — Metal Descent |access-date=19 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226090243/http://metaldescent.com/doom-metal/ |archive-date=26 December 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://whatculture.com/music/10-greatest-doom-metal-albums-of-all-time|title=10 Greatest Doom Metal Albums Of All Time|first=Christopher|last=Jennings|date=9 April 2013|website=WhatCulture.com}}</ref> They were named after the 1968 British horror film ''[[Witchfinder General (film)|Witchfinder General]]''.<ref name="LarkinHM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-656-1|page=390}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Witchfinder General logo.jpg|thumb|The group's logo]]
Witchfinder General formed in 1979 by Zeeb Parkes and Phil Cope in [[Stourbridge]], England, as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement during the early 1980s.<ref name="LarkinHM"/> They were strongly influenced by [[Black Sabbath]], and have been described as one of the pioneers of the doom metal style.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} The band's importance was acknowledged mostly after they disbanded.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Witchfinder General disbanded sometime in 1984 amidst reported controversy of their sexually explicit album covers in the UK.
The band (minus vocalist and writer Zeeb Parkes) reformed in November 2006-- with new vocalist Gary Martin. The band released ''Buried Amongst the Ruins'' a compilation CD featuring the "Burning a Sinner" single, the ''[[Soviet Invasion (album)|Soviet Invasion]]'' EP, and four live tracks including a live version of the unreleased track "Phantasmagorical" in 2006. The band released their third full-length album  ''[[Resurrected (album)|Resurrected]]'' in 2008.
==Members==
* Phil Cope – guitar (1979–1984, 2006–2008), bass (1982)
* Johnny Fisher – bass (1979–1980)
* Steve Kinsell – drums (1979–1982)
* Zeeb Parkes – vocals (1979–1984)
* Kevin McCready – bass (1981–1982; died 2008)
* Graham Ditchfield – drums (1982–1983)
* Rod Hawkes - bass (1982–1984, 2006–2008)
* Dermot Redmond – drums (1983–1984, 2006–2008)
* Gary Martin – vocals (2006–2008)
'''Timeline'''
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:19
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:15
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1979 till:11/01/2008
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1979
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1980
Colors =
id:vocals   value:red        legend:Vocals
id:bass     value:blue       legend:Bass
id:guitar   value:green      legend:Guitar
id:drums    value:orange     legend:Drums
id:studio   value:black      legend:Studio_album
id:bars     value:gray(0.9)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
layer:back color:studio
at:10/01/1982
at:05/01/1983
at:08/30/2008
BarData =
bar:Zeeb    text:"Zeeb Parkes"
bar:Gary    text:"Gary Martin"
bar:Phil    text:"Phil Cope"
bar:Johnny  text:"Johnny Fisher"
bar:Kevin   text:"Kevin McCready"
bar:Rod     text:"Rod Hawkes"
bar:Steve   text:"Steve Kinsell"
bar:Graham  text:"Graham Ditchfield"
bar:Dermot  text:"Dermot Redmond"
PlotData=
width:11
bar:Zeeb    from:01/01/1979 till:07/01/1984  color:vocals
bar:Gary    from:11/01/2006 till:end         color:vocals
bar:Phil    from:01/01/1979 till:07/01/1984  color:guitar
bar:Phil    from:03/01/1982 till:11/01/1982  color:bass   width:3
bar:Phil    from:11/01/2006 till:end         color:guitar
bar:Johnny  from:01/01/1979 till:12/31/1980  color:bass
bar:Kevin   from:01/01/1981 till:03/01/1982  color:bass
bar:Rod     from:11/01/1982 till:07/01/1984  color:bass
bar:Rod     from:11/01/2006 till:end         color:bass
bar:Steve   from:01/01/1979 till:03/01/1982  color:drums
bar:Graham  from:03/01/1982 till:07/01/1983  color:drums
bar:Dermot  from:07/01/1983 till:07/01/1984  color:drums
bar:Dermot  from:11/01/2006 till:end         color:drums
}}
==Discography==
===Studio albums===
* ''[[Death Penalty (album)|Death Penalty]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Friends of Hell]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Resurrected (album)|Resurrected]]'' (2008)
===Live albums===
* ''Live '83'' (2006)
===Singles and EPs===
* "[[Burning a Sinner]]" (1981)
* ''[[Soviet Invasion (album)|Soviet Invasion]]'' (1982)
* "[[Music (Witchfinder General song)|Music]]" (1983)
===Other releases===
* ''Buried Amongst the Ruins'' (2007)
==See also==
*[[List of new wave of British heavy metal bands]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.witchfindergeneral.net/ Official website]
* {{allmusic}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:English musical quartets]]
[[Category:English doom metal musical groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1979]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2008]]
[[Category:New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups]]