Cope, Kinsell and bassist Rod Hawkes had all been colleagues school band Electrode, with Zeeb Parkes acting as roadie. In the wake of this band Kinsell forged Medway, prior to reuniting with Parkes and Cope with Johnny Fisher on bass to forge Witchfinder General, their inaugural live performance taking place at The Crown public house in Dudley.
Fisher would soon be superseded by Kevin "Toss" McReady, who in turn was replaced by Woolfy Trope. During December of 1980 Witchfinder General announced they were to record a single, 'Invisible Hate', for release on the WFG label, but this never happened. Instead, the band signed to Heavy Metal Records in 1981 and released the poorly produced 'Burning A Sinner' 7" single. The group split with their rhythm section whilst in the studio and quickly added bassist Rod Hawks (a.k.a. 'Hawk Eye') and drummer Graham Ditchfield. A 12" EP, 'Soviet Invasion', followed.
The 1982 debut album 'Death Penalty', produced by Pete Hinton, attracted publicity as the sleeve featured Page Three model Joanne Latham being ritually 'executed' on a Wednesbury cemetery gravestone. The second album, 1983's 'Friends Of Hell' saw the group split with their former rhythm section whilst in the studio and quickly adding bassist Rod Hawks (a.k.a. 'Hawk Eye') and drummer Graham Ditchfield (a.k.a. 'Derm The Germ'). Once again the sleeve rather too predictably followed up on this theme. The group fractured, with Graham Ditchfield subsequently forming a reggae band, Chico in Cognito. A later Witchfinder General member bassist Zakk Bajjon created Bajjon, later joined Lionsheart and would produce Cradle of Filth. Bajjon had only rehearsed with the band, never recording or appearing live. Witchfinder General officially ceased to be in November 1984.
In later years Witchfinder General enjoyed posthumous respect from numerous death metal and doom bands. 1990 found Japanese label Teichiku Records re-issuing 'Death Penalty', although clad in an inoffensive plain gold sleeve. That same year Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich included the track 'Witchfinder General' on his NWOBHM collection through Phonogram, 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited'.
With the swell of interest in NWOBHM across Europe it looked as though the Witchfinder General albums would unfortunately be never re-issued as Heavy Metal Records label boss Paul Birch is now a born again Christian and objects to the band's lyrical stance. However, after much pressure 'Death Penalty' finally saw a 1996 CD release. By 2000 Bajjon was a member of Rainmaker 888.
A rather oblique tribute was paid to the band when infamous Japanese Grindcore band Bathtub Shitter's 2003 opus 'Lifetime Shitlist' found the band tackling 'No Stayer'. Coventry Doomsters Cathedral would cover Witchfinder General's 'Rabies' on their 2004 archive collection 'The Serpent’s Gold'. US label Nuclear War Now! dug up archive concert recordings to issue as the 'Live '83' album in 2006.
In 2007 the band reformed for studio work with vocalist Gary Martin replacing Zeeb Parkes. The band stated that they did not plan to perform live, and in 2008 released 'Resurrected', the bands third studio album.
R.I.P
Witchfinder General Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are from Hell
Things lurk in the churchyard and rise from the soil
Those who dwell
They come from a cult of evil and bad
No relent
To search for the body they seek there that night
Whose consent
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Messing with the sacred way
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Searching out bodies for prey
The corpse it is taken to Satanist's Hill
For it's fate
Where hundreds of demons and creatures from Hell
There do wait
Its heart does not beat but it's body is given to Hell
The air it is silent and all that you hear is his bell
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Lucifer drives in today
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Leaving a hole where he lay
With many strange ways here on this earth
I fear
For many a soul that rests in the church
It is clear
Although they are dead and cannot move
They can't rest
For when darkness falls, the snatchers from Hell
They do quest
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Messing with the sacred way
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Searching out bodies for prey
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Lucifer drives in today
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
Leaving a hole where he lay
The song "R.I.P" by Witchfinder General is a haunting expression of the terror of death and what may come after. The lyrics describe the screams and nightmares that seem to come directly from Hell, and how evil forces lurk in the churchyard and beyond. The actions of the "grave snatchers" and "church gate-crashers" are depicted as sacrilegious, as they disturb the bodies of the deceased and transport them to a satanic hill where demons and other hellish creatures await.
The imagery the lyrics evoke is dark and unsettling, as they suggest that not even death brings peace. With phrases like "those who dwell" and "Lucifer drives in today," the song implies that evil forces constantly surround and haunt the living and the dead. The frantic and urgent tone of the music only adds to the sense of foreboding and unease. The overall message of the song is that death has no respite, and that even "resting in peace" is a delusion.
Line by Line Meaning
The screams and the dreams and the nightmares it seems
Despite its unreality, the sounds and images from the subconscious in one's sleep can be terrifying.
Are from Hell
The source of these terrifying images and sounds is an infernal one.
Things lurk in the churchyard and rise from the soil
The graveyard is a place where sinister things can emerge from the earth.
Those who dwell
The entities that lurk in the graveyard are of a permanent, malevolent nature.
They come from a cult of evil and bad
The forces at play that disturb the spirits of the dead come from a purposely malevolent, life-hating entity or organization.
No relent
There is no mercy from these forces, working tirelessly to achieve their nefarious ends.
To search for the body they seek there that night
The search is on for a particular body, sought with a sense of urgency.
Whose consent
The departing soul did not willfully surrender to the forces, but was taken against their will.
Grave snatchers, church gate-crashers
The forces responsible for the unearthly sounds and activities are ones that are pillaging graves and gatecrashing holy sites.
Messing with the sacred way
The forces are taking away from the dignity and sacredness of the final resting place of the dead.
Searching out bodies for prey
The forces are in a sense hunting the bodies of the dead, and those who were buried there are their prey.
The corpse it is taken to Satanist's Hill
The body in question is brought to a hill that is identified with satanism and evil.
For its fate
The body has a predetermined fate already awaiting it at that site.
Where hundreds of demons and creatures from Hell
The site is also home to a large number of apparitions and entities that are of a demonic and/or hellish nature.
There do wait
The numerous creatures are anticipating the human sacrifice that is about to take place.
Its heart does not beat but it's body is given to Hell
Although the body is no longer animated by life, it is still used to placate the demons and underlying evils in the vicinity.
The air it is silent and all that you hear is his bell
The atmosphere is so tense that even the tolling of a bell can be heard with utter clarity.
With many strange ways here on this earth
There are several mystical and unexplained phenomena here on earth.
I fear
The singer has a gnawing sense of fear about these strange occurrences.
For many a soul that rests in the church
Many dead souls are chained to earth and have not passed on to the afterlife.
It is clear
The artist has no doubt that there are many souls trapped and suffering on earth.
Although they are dead and cannot move
Dead souls are not mobile and cannot physically move about.
They can't rest
The dead cannot rest in peace, due to the evil and malevolent spirits that plague them in life and beyond.
For when darkness falls, the snatchers from Hell
In the absence of light, the satanic entities emerge with pale malevolence.
They do quest
The entities from Hell are on a mission to satisfy their sinister desires.
Lucifer drives in today
Satan, the ultimate villain, is arriving on this particular day.
Leaving a hole where he lay
Satan leaves a permanent mark of destruction, even in his temporary abode.
Contributed by Emma P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.