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Tier 3 · vertical & regional

Witchfinder General

Group · United Kingdom · Stourbridge · formed 1979

British heavy metal band

doom metal heavy metal music

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Also known as 驅魔降邪

Debut: 1981
Recording span: 27 years
Release groups: 8
Timeline events: 31
Wiki language versions: 17

Compare this artist Read the biography Jump to timeline

Timeline

31 events+ Member joins 13− Member leaves 13▣ Album 3◆ Formed 1★ Debut release 1

1970s
1. 1979 · Formed
  Formed in 1979
  source: wikidata
2. 1979 · Member joins
  Johnny Fisher joins the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1979 · Member joins
  Phil Cope joins the band
  guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1979 · Member joins
  Steve Kinsell joins the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1979 · Member joins
  Zeeb Parkes joins the band
  lead vocals,original
  source: musicbrainz
1980s
1. 1980 · Member leaves
  Johnny Fisher leaves the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1981 · Debut release
  Debut release: Burning a Sinner
  First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1981 · Member joins
  Kevin McCready joins the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1982 · Member leaves
  Steve Kinsell leaves the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1982 · Member leaves
  Kevin McCready leaves the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1982 · Member joins
  Graham Ditchfield joins the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
7. 1982 · Member joins
  Phil Cope joins the band
  bass guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
8. 1982 · Member leaves
  Phil Cope leaves the band
  bass guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
9. 1982 · Member joins
  Rod Hawkes joins the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
10. October 1982 · Album
  Album: Death Penalty
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
11. 1983 · Album
  Album: Friends of Hell
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
12. 1983 · Member leaves
  Graham Ditchfield leaves the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
13. 1983 · Member joins
  Dermot Redmond joins the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
14. 1984 · Member leaves
  Phil Cope leaves the band
  guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
15. 1984 · Member leaves
  Zeeb Parkes leaves the band
  lead vocals,original
  source: musicbrainz
16. 1984 · Member leaves
  Rod Hawkes leaves the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
17. 1984 · Member leaves
  Dermot Redmond leaves the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
2000s
1. 2006 · Member joins
  Dermot Redmond joins the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
2. 2006 · Member joins
  Gary Martin joins the band
  lead vocals
  source: musicbrainz
3. 2006 · Member joins
  Phil Cope joins the band
  guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
4. 2006 · Member joins
  Rod Hawkes joins the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
5. 2008 · Member leaves
  Dermot Redmond leaves the band
  membranophone
  source: musicbrainz
6. 2008 · Member leaves
  Gary Martin leaves the band
  lead vocals
  source: musicbrainz
7. 2008 · Member leaves
  Phil Cope leaves the band
  guitar,original
  source: musicbrainz
8. 2008 · Member leaves
  Rod Hawkes leaves the band
  bass guitar
  source: musicbrainz
9. 30 August 2008 · Album
  Album: Resurrected
  Album
  source: musicbrainz

Biography

English biography331 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378572096

Biography

Witchfinder General was an English heavy/doom metal band from Stourbridge. They were named after the 1968 British horror film Witchfinder General, itself based upon the infamous witchhunter known as Matthew Hopkins.
The band's sound has been described as a "raw, post-Sabbath grind." They were part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre. AllMusic assessed that while Witchfinder General did not achieve the commercial or critical success of other bands from the new wave of British heavy metal, their influence on the emergence of doom metal could not be ignored. The band's influence has been observed in the music of Christian Mistress by VPM Media Corporation.

History

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. They were strongly influenced by Black Sabbath, and have been described as one of the pioneers of the doom metal style. The band's importance was acknowledged mostly after they disbanded. 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 SinnerBurning a Sinner1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABurning a Sinner3:24BSatan's Children3:30" single, the Soviet InvasionSoviet Invasion1982 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksASoviet Invasion4:25B1Rabies3:31B2R.I.P. (live)4:09 EP, and four live tracks including a live version of the unreleased track "Phantasmagorical" in 2006. The band released their third full-length album ResurrectedResurrected30 August 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The Living Hell7:502The Gift of Life5:473Final Justice4:214Bryn-y-Mor2:195Brutal Existence5:156Euthanasia5:257A Night to Remember4:298The Funeral / Beyond the Grave7:03 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

Studio albums

Death Penalty (1982)
Friends of Hell (1983)
Resurrected (2008)

Singles and EPs

"Burning a SinnerBurning a Sinner1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABurning a Sinner3:24BSatan's Children3:30" (1981)
Soviet Invasion! (1982)
"MusicMusic1983 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAMusic3:08BLast Chance3:53" (1983)

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.

Normalised profile metrics with percentile rank
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	17	76.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	8	81.1th
Studio albums	3	80.9th
Awards recorded	0	0th
Timeline events	31	96.9th
Recording span (years)	27	60th
Genres	4	84.7th

Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.

Discography (8 release groups · 3 studio albums)

Albums · 3

Death Penalty
1982 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 30:43
A1Invisible Hate6:06
A2Free Country3:11
A3Death Penalty5:35
B1No Stayer4:26
B2Witchfinder General3:52
B3Burning a Sinner3:29
B4R.I.P.4:04
Friends of Hell
1983 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 36:22
A1Love on Smack4:15
A2Last Chance3:53
A3Music3:09
A4Friends of Hell6:06
B1Requiem for Youth4:35
B2Shadowed Images4:20
B3I Lost You2:57
B4Quietus6:28
B5Reprise0:39
Resurrected
2008 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 42:29
1The Living Hell7:50
2The Gift of Life5:47
3Final Justice4:21
4Bryn-y-Mor2:19
5Brutal Existence5:15
6Euthanasia5:25
7A Night to Remember4:29
8The Funeral / Beyond the Grave7:03

Single · 2

Single release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	1981	Burning a SinnerSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 6:54 ABurning a Sinner3:24 BSatan's Children3:30		1981
	1983	MusicSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 7:01 AMusic3:08 BLast Chance3:53		1983

EP · 1

EP release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	1982	Soviet InvasionSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 3 tracks · 12:05 ASoviet Invasion4:25 B1Rabies3:31 B2R.I.P. (live)4:09		1982

Album · 2

Album release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	2006	Live '83Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:07:06 1Free Country4:43 2Burning a Sinner4:01 3Witchfinder General4:13 4Requiem for Youth5:07 5Shadowed Images4:32 6Friends of Hell7:15 7Death Penalty6:29 8Last Chance6:00 9Invisible Hate6:19 10Quietus10:04 11No Stayer3:27 12Love on Smack4:56	Live	February 2006
	2007	Buried Amongst the RuinsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 9 tracks · 38:57 1Soviet Invasion4:24 2Rabies3:35 3R.I.P.4:56 4Satan's Children (live)4:07 5Rabies (live)4:27 6Phantasmagorical (live)3:24 7Soviet Invasion (live)6:42 8Burning a Sinner3:28 9Satan's Children3:54	Compilation	31 October 2007

Stats & PK

Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Witchfinder General head-to-head →

Witchfinder General metrics with percentile rank among published artists
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	17	76.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	8	81.1th
Studio albums	3	80.9th
Awards recorded	0	0th
Timeline events	31	96.9th
Recording span (years)	27	60th
Genres	4	84.7th

Awards & honours

No awards recorded

No major awards are stored for this artist yet.

Browse the best-documented artists

Line-up

Band line-up and band memberships with dates
Name	From	To	Role
Johnny Fisher	1979	1980	bass guitar
Phil Cope	1979	1984	guitar,original
Steve Kinsell	1979	1982	membranophone
Zeeb Parkes	1979	1984	lead vocals,original
Kevin McCready	1981	1982	bass guitar
Graham Ditchfield	1982	1983	membranophone
Phil Cope	1982	1982	bass guitar,original
Rod Hawkes	1982	1984	bass guitar
Dermot Redmond	1983	1984	membranophone
Dermot Redmond	2006	2008	membranophone
Gary Martin	2006	2008	lead vocals
Phil Cope	2006	2008	guitar,original
Rod Hawkes	2006	2008	bass guitar

Where this record comes from

aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/89618a45-ff4a-4e5f-942e-3ef93c8c555c
discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/89618a45-ff4a-4e5f-942e-3ef93c8c555c
core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1814408
genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1814408
seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchfinder_General_%28band%29
biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchfinder_General_%28band%29

Why this artist is in the database

List of heavy metal bands — rank #299
Witchfinder General | United Kingdom | 1979–1984, 2006–2008 |

Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q1814408 · MusicBrainz: 89618a45-ff4a-4e5f-942e-3ef93c8c555c

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