METAL MATHS

Breaking Electric Wizard’s new album, Wizard Bloody Wizard, down into the sum of its influences

ROCK’N’ROLL

Not just a diehard metalhead, Jus Oborn has been getting deep into the origins of heavy music. Early US rock’n’roll artists like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran shook society to the core in the 50s and 60s, and helped to bring the whole concept of The riff to a largely riffless world.

SEXPLOITATION

Jus cites enjoyably tawdry horror movies like The Last House On The Left as inspiration for the new Wizard album’s startling cover art. “It’s a homage to some exploitation movies… but not very nice ones, to be honest, ha ha ha!” he chortles. “We like to push people’s buttons if we can.”

LED ZEPPELIN

Notorious for their brilliant music and a much-whispered fascination with the occult, Led Zeppelin flourished amid the decadent chaos of the 70s music industry.

Their parties were as legendary as their gigs, and much more debauched. They were also cool as fuck.

CALIFORNIA JAM

An iconic outdoor show that took place at Ontario motor Speedway, California, on April 6, 1974, the California Jam is widely regarded as the last great American rock festival of the 70s, with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple on the bill. We have high hopes for the Devon Jam.

EXMOOR

Spread across parts of Somerset and Devon, Exmoor National Park boasts some of England’s most beautiful but bleak landscapes.

It’s the perfect setting for the creation of some isolationist, misanthropic doom metal. And no, we’re not working for the local tourist board.