The Witch. Interview with Jay Parker

Interview by Andrew Stanton

The Witch are a very cool new band from Colombia. Andrew Stanton talked to his friend Jay Parker about their new album.

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

“Hi Andrew, thanks for interviewing us, it’s always an honour to talk to you.”

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

“The Witch was formed in 2019 in Bogota, Colombia by Jay and Carlo...we were joined by Cynthia Ibarra to record the demo, 5 tracks, which we did from Jan 2019-Feb 2019. Then the pandemic arrived, and everything kinda went to shit, plan wise. We were fortunate enough to be able to continue recording during the quarantines, and we wrote and recorded 2 3 EPs and and album, and other songs which are mainly going on splits and compilations. We were joined by Ivette Fagua Laura Kurten on female vocals and they recorded most of the stuff with us during the quarantine. Since 2022 we’ve been working on a new album with our new vocalist, Star Ruby.”

- What bands did you like grow ing up?

“I grew up in the UK, and my father was an old Rocker... I grew up on Sabbath, The Doors, Deep Purple, Motorhead; Hendrix, The Stones... As i grew, my musical tastes got heavier, and I got into Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Napalm, then Black Metal and Doom bands that were coming out of UK at that time, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost etc.”

- Why do you release so many international collaborations?

“The international collaborations were a response to the pandemic... Many musicians the world over were locked down and frustrated and many were suffering psychological effects... So we decided to reach out, adapt to the new order, and use the technology available to unite musicians... And the trend has continued... It’s always great fun to write and record with other bands and musicians, and we invite anyone who’s interested to contact us :) we’re always up for new ideas and collaborations.”

- Does that make it easier to get international recognition?

“Doing splits is a great way to get heard in new markets yes, and to introduce the fans to new international bands.”

- You seem to really churn out releases. Will this cause you to run out of ideas sooner?

“Hahaha. No, we’re a fucking Black Metal machine. We will keep writing and producing until the day we die.”

- What do you think of Black Metal bands who aren’t Satanic? Is it weird?

“We’re not Satanic, and I personally find that all a bit childish. We are against indoctrination, whether you follow Satan or Jesus, it’s the same shit. By recognizing Satan, you must recognize Christianity, which is a cancer in our society. If you believe there’s a big man living in the sky or some demonic force that’s fighting against him then, frankly, you’re a very gullible dickhead. We are anti-religion. All religion. All forms of indoctrination. Satanism is a doctrine, and causes the same blind ignorance as any other doctrine. We aim most of our music against Christianity and Catholicism, mainly because it’s a sick perverted pedophile cult that needs to be exterminated, but all religion is shit. Black Metal is about darkness, opposition, nihilism, not indoctrination. We also write about depression, dark events and dark moments from history, witchcraft, occultism. Anyone who says a Black Metal band HAS to sing about Satan can suck my balls with hot sauce. They need to grow up.”

- Is it harder for Colombian bands who sing in English?

“I’d never really thought about it, good question Mr. Stanton. English is my native tongue, so obviously it’s easier for me to write in English. I would say it doesn’t matter... Colombian bands that sing in Spanish, like Forense, Atanab, Oreb Zarak are doing well in Asia at the moment, without changing from their native Spanish. I’m gonna put it to the test and write a track in Spanish haha.”

- Are you planning a tour anywhere?

“No, The Witch doesn’t play live.”

- Do underground bands really want to stay underground?

“That would depend on the band and the definition of underground... For me underground is about not selling out, not changing your style to fit the trend... We want people to hear our music, as musicians we seek recognition and to share or concepts and our journey with other like-minded people. Do we want to be on a big label mass produced and on TV? no, fuck that. That’d be bollocks.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“First, thanks for taking the time to read this... Stay cult... Listen to the Witch... our music is available in Colombia from Masters Of Kaos Records and in USA from Plague Demon Records. and from our Bandcamp page or Facebook page... Listen to Colombian Black Metal, it’s fucking awesome... “

Thank you for your time.

“Look after yourselves, 666. A massive thanks to Andrew Stanton, keeping the black flame burning my brother. Respects.”