In their first new release since the ambitious two-part ‘Clockwork Saga’, Gandalf’s Fist have left Cogtopolis behind to explore the history of superstition on Widdershins. Instrumentalist Dean Marsh and vocalist Luke Severn explain why the cosmic steampunks opted to keep things compact on a standalone album that pays tribute to their favourite records of the 70s and 80s.

Words: Rich Wilson

Gandalf’s Fist are now a firm fellowship of five.

Images: David Wala

“Even though this is our eighth album, we think of it as our killer second album that we never made.”

Dean Marsh

“We take our music seriously. We’re not a novelty act and anybody who has heard any of our songs will know that,” says Gandalf’s Fist’s multi-instrumentalist Dean Marsh, in a robust defence of the notion that the band’s name could be off-putting to the uninitiated. “We’re all about enjoying ourselves. I think once things have been around for a while, the weirdness of names tends to rub off anyway. To me, there’s nothing sillier than an overly serious band name. So, let’s have more bands with names like Spock’s Beard, The Pineapple Thief, Gandalf’s Fist and Porcupine Tree.”

As with Porcupine Tree and even The Dukes Of Stratosphear, Gandalf’s Fist’s name originated as a joke, conceived in the pubs of Newcastle back in 2005 when Marsh and lyricist/ vocalist Luke Severn were at university. That developed into creating a fake band, replete with imaginary members, as Marsh explains.