Stuka Squadron
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Stuka Squadron are a band quite unlike any other you’ve seen in recent times. Pieced together during founder member Graham Pyre’s brief moments of calm whilst on leave from serving in Iraq, they embody a true metal spirit that is one-part fist-pumping heroism, and two-parts fantastical, elaborate escapism. Musically, they bring an old-school denim’n’leather flavour to the modern phenomenon of battle metal, providing plenty of sing-a-long choruses, but also choosing not to hold back on riffs with plenty of muscle and force. We caught up with singer James ‘Duke Fang’ Begley and Lord Graham Pyre at The Riverside Bar in Selby, Yorkshire, where the alternative ‘youth’ had gathered for a Friday evening’s cider-drinking, as yet unaware that they were about to be ambushed in an unholy and cacophonous style by five leather-clad madmen with bags of theatrics. Taking our repose in the beautiful setting of a beaten-up garden next to the brown and murky River Ouse, we delved into the Stuka’s long and violent history, talked about the best ways to kill a shark, and tried to narrow the meaning of life down into five essential points.
 
  

 
HN: To get a grasp of the idea, you’re vampires, but you’re also fighter pilots from the Second World War?
GP: Dive bomb pilots, actually. Gravedigger did some time with the BF109s, BF109E, to be exact, he was in the Battle of Britain. He could tell you all about it. He got an Iron Cross in Stalingrad too. Basically, we don’t discriminate what side we fight for, you’re all humans. We were in Germany in the 30s because they were doing a project about vampires, some research. I have to say, if the British had been interested in vampires they would have got us instead. But anyway… some unpleasantness developed between the humans, they began shooting each other, and we were drafted in to a Stuka Squadron. We were against the idea, because vampires burn, we argued we’d be more useful on the front line, but then the Russians brought in flamethrowers, and so we were in those Stukas faster than you could blink.
JB: Yeeeesssss. That’s why I leave the propaganda to him.
GP: I did work for the propaganda institute actually. When we went to Stalingrad – and I have to say I’ve had more fun than at Stalingrad… the Mastergoth got stuck in the snow. We only just dug him out before the recording of the EP.
 
HN: There’s no contradiction or incongruity in the tale, then?
JB: Well, Graham is so confused… and he created it. So…
GP: It’s easy really; we met in a Stuka Squadron. So to name the band that is a kind of reunion. Of course there were more of us to start with, but many of them got burnt up.
JB: There were five left, and also the Mastergoth, the great sixth.
GP: One thing he’s done before, was to pretend to be human in the Fields of the Nephilim. You might have heard of him from there.
JB: I took a human form before in a band, Centurions Ghost, Graham took a human form too, but now we’re all together it works far better. We feel like war heroes. Fighting for metal.
 
HN: It’s convenient that the survivors all played different instruments, isnt’ it?
GP: No, actually we couldn’t play anything, we had to start at the beginning. But we’ve got preternatural powers, as vampires, so it didn’t take us long to learn how to play. We didn’t know you’d moved on from Glenn Miller, we thought you would all still be into Big Band stuff. When we found out the humans had moved onto heavy metal… excellent!
JB: Then I had to readjust my vocals from pure opera and Mario Lanza. The person I found closest to that was Ronnie James Dio, amongst mortals.
GP: He pretended to be a human doing opera for a long time, he was always dragging the band along to see him, back in Venice. One time.. you were Figaro or some shit like that, and I had to watch it. The fashions in those days were much better; lots of plunging necklines which were ideal for us. We could sneak along the back row.
JB: The thing I love about opera most is that the Italians could sing the most boring statements, such as "I’m going down to the shops to buy some chips now", and it would sound so amazing and fantastical and dramatic.
GP: Can you simulate using your old opera voice?
JB: Yes. And now Ellen’s going to write that down, she’s going to write "James sings opera loudly". Except I can’t remember the Italian for chips.
GP: One of our skills is that we can master many languages.
HN: I feel compelled to write "James speaks to us in Japanese. Loudly".
 
HN: So… I worry that I’m going to get a completely incomprehensible answer, but I’ll ask anyway; how did the band REALLY come together?
GP: Ah, you mean most recently. In this era. Well, James I found first, I found him quite easily. Then the Mastergoth, I knew where he was already.
HN: He was in the snow.
GP: Exactly. All I had to do was dig him out. Well… a bit before, so that he could be in the Nephilim.
JB: I think we should answer this from the mortal perspective, in case people are actually interested. De Profundis got us together, but we couldn’t quite make it, we couldn’t find the right drummer, and then Graham went on his tour of duty in Iraq, while I continued to sharpen my opera skills, because I’d left my previous band, Centurions Ghost. The songs you hear on "We Drink Blood" were done after Graham came back from Iraq on leave. We’d record another song, then we realised how great it all was, and we wanted to bring it together properly. Well, the song "We Drink Blood" we had actually done before.
GP: I was out in Fallujah, and I was going to go back into the studio with the Mastergoth anyway and do some Cult covers, as he’s a big fan, and then I thought hang on, I’ve got the time booked, I remember Jamesy from the war… and from there we went in and did "We Drink Blood".
JB: and the rest is heavy metal history.
 
HN: When we talked earlier you said you weren’t sure to start with whether the Stukas would be a proper band or just a project?
GP: Yes, "We Drink Blood" was originally a bit of humour.
JB: But once we realised how great it was, we thought we should put a band together on it. We summoned our old Stuka buddies.
GP: We had to collect them from various corners around the world, where they’d somehow ended up. We had to dig Zabulon out of a big pit in Egypt; I’d say that was the hardest challenge in forming the band. Gravedigger he was hanging around in Highgate Cemetery. He is ACTUALLY the Highgate Vampire. They tried to find him a few times in the 70s, Johnny Rotten wrote about it in his autobiography. They can’t find him now, because he’s gone. He’s in our band!
 
HN: As mentioned previously, I believe you both have prior experience of being in a human band?
JB: I formed Centurions Ghost with Richard Whittaker, who is actually brothers with Andy from The Lamp of Thoth and.... The rest is history! That’s about all I’ve got to say about that! Hahaha. I’m still friends with all the guys in the band. It’s only Richard and the drummer Milly from the original line-up. One guitarist is in 13th Sign now, and the other guy is Dan 138, who does horror movies and music. It’s really interesting to see how everyone’s branched out, but Centurions Ghost is still going strong. Allesandro our drummer has definitely played in bands in Brazil.
GP: I was in Raising Cain… we used to tour with the Anti-Nowhere League a lot.
HN: Oh!?
GP: Yes. It was horrible. I mean, it was good fun, but that punk thing is not sophisticated.
JB: My most memorable part of Centurions Ghost… jumping on Messiah from Candlemass’ back and saying ‘I’m that guy who wants to be your friend’ (I was actually trying to rip out his opera vocal chords) and seeing Turisas naked.
GP: All of them? Are they red under the clothes?
JB: Black and red stripes actually!
GP: If they weren’t, I’d be gutted.

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HN: How would you describe the musical style of Centurions Ghost? We might as well talk about the actual music for a minute or so.
JB: It just came together naturally… our glory from the past brought it to be.
GP: It must be to do with the sounds we’ve heard. We did put the sound of the Stuka at the beginning because we wanted to be reminded strongly of the old days. It’s all about crunching engines and mighty noise… but then there’s some goth in there of course, because we’ve got the Mastergoth, and.. he’s the Mastergoth…. what else would you expect. But crunching heavy metal is the order of the day. Metal Hammer said we were the new wave of trad metal. Are we proud of that?
JB: Yeah, I think we are. We were happy to be on the Metal Hammer compilation. It was too hot to be gothic in Australia, I was busy surfing..
GP: It would be awesome if you could surf in costume. If it was hard we could float over the waves and just have a surfboard underneath… we could cheat.
JB: I’ll eat the sharks.
GP: Aww, do we HAVE to do shark-fighting everytime we go to the seaside?
JB: The seaside?!
GP: Yes, like when you battled that squid.
JB: I can’t get over the fact you said ‘the seaside’ as a phrase.
 
HN: We have seasides in England. It’s small and cold here! Anyway… on your press sheet you mention a diverse little bunch of bands- the influence of Iron Maiden and Manowar are instantly obvious, but with Amon Amarth and Turisas it’s different- I see what you mean, but the parallels aren’t entirely aural.
GP: Actually, someone in Kings Lynn said we were Battle Metal, and we were very happy with that, we were forged in war after all.
JB: In Australia we’re known as Metal Battlers! Which… sounds a bit different.
GP: We do sing about Odin, which is a key sign of battle metaldom.
 
HN: True! It very much is. There’s something about your sound that’s distinctly English, though.
JB: Well, Graham is the confused creator.
GP: We’ve been in so many countries, but England most recently, and it has a lot of English stuff in it, Iron Maiden and such. I’m happy with that.
 
HN: Where did Odin come from?
GP: He was forged in the fires of the early earth!
HN: Ok, but LYRIC-WISE, where did Odin come from?
GP: When I was out in Iraq I read "Lords of Chaos", and I read about Varg Vikernes and how he’s very much into that.
HN: On Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
GP: Yes, quite, when he’s not totally against it, he’s really into it.
JB: And when he has free library time at the jail.
HN: So you decided that he was a positive role model?
GP: He was into Odin, and there was something about how Jung had a theory that the various leaders of the Third Reich were possessed by Odin, which when you think about it… well the Third Reich were completely illogical, totally obsessed with technology and such, their aims were incomprehensible and it’s all rather Odinist… as we were doing an apocalyptic band, it seemed like a good idea to bring in Odin. And anyway, he’s a good friend of mine. He’s always at our sides. He’ll probably be here tonight, it would be strange if he wasn’t.
JB: Our song "One-Eyed God King" is one of the many highlights of our show.
GP: Along with the other songs. Yeah, we like it a lot. I’ve got ravens tattooed on my shoulders… I’m into it.
HN : Have you read Neil Gaiman’s book "American Gods"? That’s what first sprang into my mind the first time I heard the track.
GP: Yes I have, it’s excellent. And that’s a kind of updated Odin, which is what ours is as well. I like that character in the book, like when he goes to Iceland and he’s there as well, that’s brilliant. It’s probably Gaiman’s best book.
HN: It is! I argue with internet dickheads about that all the time!
GP: It’s just better. And it’s bigger than his others. It goes on for longer. That counts for something.
 
HN: That’s… exactly how they taught us to view things as Eng. Lit. undergrads. Or so I told myself halfway through "Middlemarch". Anyway… the EP. How did it all come together?
GP: As we hinted, it was made in separate session in between being in Baghdad and Fallujah. That’s the reason it was spread out so long. We’re going to knock together something new, called "Tales of the Ost", which are songs about us in the East. It tells the story of our adventures when we were there. You’ll hear the "Song of the Tiger" tonight, that’s great. And you’ll hear "Lords of Chaos", which is a track about Varg… I just find him really interesting, I’ve written two songs about him, in a way.
HN: Someone needs to be interested, I guess.
GP: But yes, "We Drink Blood" was between us and the Mastergoth, in those sessions.
JB: It was amazing how it came together. On "One-Eyed God King" and "Lovecraft", Graham had the idea about the song, I knew nothing about it, took a look at the lyrics on the day then went down to the studio and recorded it!
GP: The music was recorded already and we just passed him the sheet. We usually do one day’s recording anyway, and James rocks up and kicks in. "One-Eyed God King" was his masterpiece, he was on fire all day long.
JB: I’d taken my vitamins that day.

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HN: You must be pleased with the way it turned out?
JB: I’m the band’s worrier, I’m always looking for improvement, and that will come through on the next recording. But the songs have become more ‘band songs’ since we’ve played on stage, and for the first ever release, I will cherish it forever. We like it! Enough about me… what do you think of me!!
 
HN: All the responses I’ve seen have been very good, and you came personally recommended to me by an eminent UK journalist.
JB: We’re very, very happy with the responses, and so we’ll give no less on stage. Every band says that, but we do, we give 150% onstage.
GP: One chap said he was pleased to see something fun for a change.
HN: Take our word for it that ‘fun’ is very rarely a criticism… if you have to wade through several hundred identical black metal releases about the deep, dark forests, occasional ‘fun’ is a fucking joy!
JB: Of course. One of my favourite bands from England are the mighty Conquest of Steel, and they’re a lot of fun. When I was in Centurions Ghost I had the honour of them on my floor, swords and all.
GP: That’s great, I like to see bands ‘doing’ stuff. You can see bands who are normal any day of the week.
 
HN: So tell us about this goth… master…
GP: The Mastergoth! I’ve known the Mastergoth since 1936. Or more recently, since he was in the Nephilim. He’s just opened his own studio, and it’s great to have him on board. We haven’t lured him out on tour yet, but he’s made promises on certain conditions. There’s always room for the Mastergoth. He helps us immensely, he’s inspirational. And of course he has many powers. He can mesmerise women.
HN: You all have your own distinct powers?
GP: Yeah we do. You’ve already seen James’s power, the power of talking Japanese. And he can surf. He invented surfing when he was a Viking, he had his shield….
 
HN: It must be great to be so old.
GP: I remember when I was 100, I was so depressed… I never really got over that.
HN: How many letters from the queen do you actually have? (British citizens receive a letter from the monarch on their hundredth birthday, and each year after that, congratulating them).
GP: I have one from Queen Elizabeth… the First. And I have one from the Black Prince, actually.
HN: Well he was pretty awesome
GP: Yeah, it was cool at the time, although he was dying and such, because it was the 1370s, and he had picked something up in Spain, and at that time he was on a litter… actually, I don’t want to talk about this! It was terribly sad! Move along.
 
HN: Note to self, don’t ask bands about the Black Prince… ahem… Anyway, let’s talk again about your recordings, and how you recorded them between tours of duty in Iraq. Did that serve a cathartic purpose?
GP: Oh yes. When I was actually out there I didn’t have too much to do except write songs, which was a good thing, aside from the endless slog of depressing warfare. I would probably still be out there if it hadn’t been for the band, actually. I suddenly realised I wanted to come home and do this rather than stay out there making loads of cash and having a horrible time. I started out with a blog about heavy metal, and how much I hated being in bands, and that turned into… actually, I LOVE being in bands, I wish I was doing that now!
JB: This is what we were meant to do.
GP: It’s felt destined since that first song.
 
HN: Now, we’ve mentioned a little about propaganda already – it seems Stuka Squadron are very pro-active self-promoters. You’ve garnered a lot of attention.
GP: We think we’ve got something good that people are enjoying, so we’re just getting out there, letting people know about it. Actually… this has to work! I quit my job.
JB: We’re putting our balls on the line!
GP: We haven’t got an option but to try so hard!
 
HN: And how in the world have you ended up in Selby?
GP: The werewolves (Asomvel) might have lured us up to eat us. Jay might be on the roof over there, just about to start howling. And I’ve seen that before… it’s horrible.
JB: Asomvel have been friends of mine for years, I’ve always loved their attitude and their music… one hell of a band. And the drummer from Asomvel runs the Riverside. I’ve got a few nerves about playing my first gig up north since being in my old band.. but the Stukas will see me through it.
 
At this point, Randy Reaper from the Lamp of Thoth wanders over to look at the river.
JB: Oh my god! Randy Reaper! Write that down, put it in the interview, ‘Here comes Randy Reaper from Lamp of Thoth!’
HN: James I have a dictaphone, I don’t have to write it down.
JB: Do it anyway!
Randy Reaper: I’ve come to look at the river. There’s a fishing shop around the corner, with fishing rods… and nunchucks.
JB: I’d like to say we’re delighted to play with the Lamp of Thoth too.
GP: Nunchucks wouldn’t work on sharks.. you’d need a katana with sharks so you could be like… Urrrrg!
HN: I was led to believe you punch them in the eyes and on the nose. That upsets them.
JB: Well you shouldn’t upset them! I’ve swum with sharks, they’re…
GP: You cut them in half with your bare hands. Then you ate them. They’re endangered now, we’ve been through this. You shouldn’t.
JB: I tickled their chin! Actually!
GP: Anyway… Asomvel offered us the return gig when they came down to play with us, and that’s how this happened.
JB: I love them. I love the ‘Asomvel experience’.
HN: I do too. I’ve never seen anyone lambast a sound tech quite so viciously.
JB: Hahaha, our gay PA down south wasn’t enough for them. The tech was so worried that all his speakers were going to blow!
GP: It went all distorted.
 
HN: What have been your best live experiences?
JB: Well, my top 5 moments in my life...
GP: You have a top 5 moments?!
JB: One of them was singing with Manowar onstage in Japan, and another one was sleeping at the Sydney cricket ground to see my mighty team the Parramatta Eels win the rugby league grand final, which is why I like to be in Yorkshire… actually… there are too many good ones.
HN: How about LIVE experiences, with a ‘v’?
JB: Oh!! Ok. My proudest moment was taking the stage at a place called the Star, which is where I did my first ever mortal gig in a cover band. I was there doing the thing it had been my vision to do I always wanted to be a part of it, and it was my proudest moment. It just took meeting this guy to make it happen. It was a magical night, we had over 100 people there. I used to run the Demonsgate metal night, and a lot of those people supported us.
GP: I liked playing in Kings Lynn, on the big stage. We’re a big stage band really. All the kids had been saying ‘ohh, is it the REAL Stuka Squadron from Metal Hammer’?
HN: As opposed to some crap rip-off version formed in the 1800s?
JB: Yes, it’s the real one, not the tribute band, the Stuka Squaddies!
 
HN: Well, it’s good to be adored. What are your plans for the rest of the year?
JB: Hard work, gigs, recording and hopefully a record deal.
GP: This is just the start, early days, lots of work to go. The start of doing what we’re supposed to do, and that feels true… so I’m happy with that.
JB: Got to keep it working, with our balls on the line. I’ll go up tonight and I’ll crumble!
GP: We’ll give you your adrenaline shot.
JB: I just want to say also, thank you to all zines, including you; we’ll always be at your beck and call to do interviews and other more boring stuff.
GP: And I’d like to say that we’re really into the deep, dark forests, and that’s where we find out inspiration.
JB: That’s what it’s all about.
GP: We’ll put our corpsepaint on now.
  
You’re very funny. A huge thank you again to James and Graham for giving up so much of their time to talk with us, to the Lamp of Thoth for not minding too much that we were full of flu and remarkably uncommunicative when we were introduced (as you can see, James had talked our hind legs off) and to the 2/3 of the werewolf brethren of Asomvel present for their typically warm hospitality.

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