Swiss heavy metal warriors Burning Witches are back with their ferocious new album Inquisition, released via Napalm Records in celebration of the band’s 10th year anniversary. A concept-driven record, it deals with themes of medieval persecution, religious oppression, and the indomitable spirit of resistance. Fresh from an electrifying Australia tour and gearing up for an upcoming US and European tour, the band shows no signs of slowing down. In this special interview with bassist Jay Grob, we dive into the making of Inquisition and what fans can expect from this next era of Burning Witches.
Welcome to Burning Witches
First of all, Jay, I want to welcome you here to Femme Metal Webzine, and I also want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. To begin, I’d like to ask how this whole period of promotion is treating you. How is it going? Is everything going fine?
Thanks to you, first of all, and yes, it’s all going fine. It’s always interesting for us when new music comes out, to see the reactions from people. On the 22nd of August, the album will be released, and then, yes, let’s see what everyone thinks about it. I’m always curious about that. And, yes, we’ve already released three or four video clips from this album, as well as from Inquisition, and we’ve been giving interviews. It’s definitely an intense and interesting time.
The production for Inquisition
Yes, and I wanted to ask you about the production of Inquisition. How did you start collecting the ideas for this new album, and how did you approach this new artistic phase for Burning Witches?
The production process is always more or less the same because Romana is the main songwriter, and she always has thousands of ideas. After every album, she already has new ones. She keeps writing riffs, goes to rehearse them with our drummer Lala, sends ideas to Laura and Courtney, and then everything starts to take shape. We are all very interested in history.
The Inquisition is, of course, a very sad part of human history, and Laura also loves fantasy themes. She always waits until she hears some of the songs before she begins writing lyrics. Once she has an idea, she works with Romana to decide what themes would fit. And Damir, who is Romana’s husband, also contributes great ideas and has a strong knowledge of history. That’s how we eventually came up with the theme Inquisition.
Inquisition as an album theme
Okay, so about the theme itself—it deals with medieval persecution, religious oppression, and the spirit of resistance. I wanted to ask if there was any academic research involved in preparing for it. Well, it’s definitely a huge topic to address. It has been examined in depth throughout history, with lots of academic research. So I wanted to know if you prepared in that sense.
Yes, Laura writes the lyrics, and I know she always prepares thoroughly when she does so. I’m sure she read books and searched for historical information online. But not every song is about the Inquisition.
For example, we have Mirror Mirror, which is about someone who needs to take a step back and look at themselves in order to improve their situation. Then there’s High Priestess of the Night, which is more of a fantasy story about Lilith. So yes, of course, when you write lyrics based on a historical theme, you do need to prepare, because otherwise, how could you write them properly?
The personal aspect on the lyrics
Yes, yes, I completely understand. Personally, I’ve always loved history, but I’m also very interested in how an artist’s personal point of view blends into it. Because at the end of the day, you can gather as much academic information as you want, but I think there’s always a personal perspective involved. So how much of the personal side is present in the lyrics?
That’s a really good question. I personally don’t write the lyrics, you know [laughs]. Yes, it’s difficult for me to answer because I’m not involved in writing them. But of course, I know there’s a ballad on the album that’s about the very painful process of letting go of someone you love. That idea came from someone in the band. So yes, there’s definitely personal material in the lyrics, but also historical elements and fantasy.
The 10th anniversary of Burning Witches
Well, this album also marks the 10th anniversary of Burning Witches. How does that feel? Because when you start a new band, you never imagine, “Oh, I’ll still be here after 10 years.” It feels like a milestone to celebrate.
It’s honestly a crazy feeling. I never thought we would come this far. When Romana founded the band, I was the first member. Back then I thought, “Maybe we’ll have six shows a year,” because she started the band mainly for fun. We appreciate everything that has happened since.
We couldn’t believe it when we played Wacken and , or when we started touring all over the world. It’s a crazy feeling—we’ve come really far. But we’ve also had a lot of support. Without the fans, we wouldn’t be here today.
10 years as a family and together with the fans
Without their love for our music and their support, it wouldn’t be possible. It’s crazy, but it’s also wonderful, because we’ve grown not just as a band, but also as a family.
It’s not only about going on stage to play music. When we are together, we go out in different countries, we go sightseeing, shopping. When we’re in Switzerland, we have barbecues. It really is a family thing that combines music and fun, and it’s great.
The big achievements of Burning Witches
You know, 10 years is a long time. What would you consider one of the best achievements during these 10 years?
As I said, we appreciate everything. Of course, before joining Napalm Records, we signed with Nuclear Blast. That was huge for us—as an all-female band from Switzerland, being signed by such a big label, and also getting the chance to play outside Europe. That was a major milestone.
Yes, we’ve had many amazing experiences, and it’s all been wonderful because we love what we do and we enjoy it. It’s not like we’re sitting here demanding things. Not at all.
The Austrialian tour
On that note, I know you recently toured Australia, which is another big achievement for Burning Witches, since not every band manages to tour there.
Yes, it was fantastic. I can now say that we’ve traveled all over the world. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to see the country properly. We had four shows, I think, and then the next day some of us had to leave because we also work outside the band. But the people there were very nice, we loved the food, and we had meet-and-greets. The only downside was that it rained heavily in Sydney at first.
That was a bit disappointing—we wanted to cuddle koalas, but we didn’t have the time. Still, it was a really nice experience.
The ballad Release Me from Inquisition
Back to the album—I really love the singles, especially High Priestess of the Night. But one song stood out for me among the top three, and that’s Release Me, the ballad. I was positively surprised, because it’s not so usual for Burning Witches to include a ballad. I’d love to hear more about this song.
Actually, we’ve included ballads on most albums—out of six albums, four have them. But Release Me really stands out. I don’t know why, but that song touched me more than the others. Of course, the other ballads are also great, but Release Me feels truly special.
Release Me is the song I mentioned earlier. It’s about the painful process of letting go of someone you love, because in the end, staying together might hold you back. Some of the lyrics came directly from one of our band members’ personal experiences. And I also think it’s one of the best ballads we’ve written. When I listen to it, I get goosebumps—I can totally feel that song.
The cover artwork of Inquisition
Yes, I completely agree. It’s a beautiful ballad. I’d be very curious to hear it live. It’s really powerful. I also wanted to ask about the cover artwork, which I love. Who created it, and how did you come up with the concept?
For this album, the artwork was created by an artist named Gyula Havancsák. He has actually done five of our six album covers. We’ve been working with him for a long time, and he knows us very well. He also works for other big bands. The cover features a witch with fire, snakes, spiders, and skulls. It’s connected to the Inquisition theme, but also includes a little bit of everything.
The vinyl version of Inquisition
Yes, that’s why I like it—it brings all the elements together. And I imagine that on the vinyl version you can see all the details even more clearly.
Yes, exactly. I just opened some vinyls today for signing, and I kept looking at the artwork. On vinyl, you can really see every detail. And the fun part is that every time you look at it, you discover something new. That’s really cool.
The upcoming US tour for Burning Witches
Yes, it’s an amazing cover. I also read about the upcoming US tour, which unfortunately had to be delayed due to visa issues. But it will be one of the biggest tours for Burning Witches. What are you looking forward to the most?
Oh, I’m looking forward to every single place we’ll play. Honestly, I never really check the venues in advance. This will be our third US tour, and some clubs we’ve played before. I’ve heard we’ll add more, but I don’t know which ones yet. I’m simply excited for all of it, because playing in the USA is amazing. We love the country, the culture—we really feel a bit at home there.
My dream is to play even more festivals there. We’ve already played three, and that was incredible. As a teenager, you see American festivals in movies, and then suddenly you’re there in real life—it’s an amazing feeling.
The upcoming headline Eu tour for Inquisition
And of course, I don’t want to forget the big European headline tour that’s coming up between January and February. For example, the venue in the Netherlands this time is bigger than on the last tour. So it’s surprising.
Yes, that is surprising. Honestly, I haven’t checked the venues yet. For me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a huge stage or a small one—I love both.
What I enjoy about small venues is that the audience is closer, and you can really feel their emotions. But of course, large stages are also fantastic.
The more the merrier
I just haven’t looked into the venues yet, because it’s still a little far off. But yes, I do feel that we’re getting bigger, and it’s crazy. I’m very thankful, because that means people love our music.
And that’s the best part—going on stage to play the music we love, and seeing people love it as well. That’s the most important thing.
Closing words
Well, I want to thank you for your time, Jay, and thank you again for agreeing to this interview and answering my questions. I hope you enjoyed the chat.
Thank you again for your time. Yes, thanks a lot to you.