Witchfynde were formed in Derbyshire, England, in 1974, by bass guitarist Richard Blower and vocalist Neil Harvey. Richard Blower discovered Montalo in a band called Atiofel. When Richard left the band in 1975, they reformed Witchfynde with lead guitarist Montalo, bassist Andro Coulton and drummer Gra Scoresby, and soon recruiting vocalist Steve Bridges. The band released their first single, "Give 'Em Hell" in 1979 and released its first full-length album, also entitled Give 'Em Hell, on Rondelet Records in 1980. A major attribute to success may have originated by the frequent airplay on the Friday Rock Show, hosted by Tommy Vance on BBC Radio 1. The band gained some exposure by touring the United Kingdom with Def Leppardin the summer of 1980. The band's sound incorporated a mix of influences, such as progressive and hard rock, with various aspects of the heavy metal sound as well as prominent use of satanic imagery.
In 1980, the band released their second albumStagefright. Like their debut, it was recorded at Fairview Studios in Willerby, East Riding of Yorkshire, and is considered their most experimental work to date. During the period the album was released, bassist Andro Coulton was replaced by Pete Surgey.
Around the time of the band's second release, the relationship with their label Rondelet Records became increasingly strained, to the point where the label withdrew the band's funding. This made things very difficult for Witchfynde and eventually led to the departure of vocalist Steve Bridges. The band then recruited new singer Luther Beltz and began working on third album Cloak and Dagger; it was released on the small label Expulsion Records, but owing to bad production and the fact the label went bankrupt shortly after the album's release, it did not receive good promotion.
The band signed a deal in 1984 with Mausoleum Records to release their fourth album Lords of Sin. During the recording of the album, bassist Pete Surgey left the band and was replaced by Edd Wolfe, who had played in one of Luther Beltz's former bands; however, by the time the album was released he was replaced by Al Short, who played in the band Race Against Time. Although the band considered the album their strongest to date, it received very bad reviews from critics, with the final blow delivered when Mausoleum Records went bankrupt; as the result of the album's bad promotion, the band became totally disillusioned with the music business and split up.
Reunion, 1999–present
In October 1999, Montalo, Gra and Luther began to discuss the possibility of a reunion, owing to a resurgence of interest in the band after the release of the Best of Witchfynde CD in 1996, which sold well. Pete Surgey rejoined the band on bass. However, during rehearsals Luther Beltz announced that he no longer wanted to participate in the reunion; the band replaced him with vocalist Harry Harrison, a longtime fan of the band that was introduced by Pete Surgey. The band then began to work on their fifth album The Witching Hour, which they released on Edgy Records in 2001. Their first three albums were re-released by Cherry Red and Lemon Recordings. A new Best Of album was released in 2007 by Lemon Recordings. The band then began work on their sixth studio album called Play It to Death, which they recorded at Bandwagon Studios and released in July 2008. Towards the end of 2008, owing to Harry Harrison's ill-health and other commitments, Luther Beltz returned to front the band for the Play It to Death UK Tour. July 2014 saw the addition of second guitarist Tracey Abbott from Overdrive, which created a more solid and powerful sound. Witchfynde played the Metalcova Festival in Barcelona on 28 November 2015. It was one of the first shows they ever played in Spain. Witchfynde played at the Alpine Steel Festival in Innsbruck on 22 October 2016. It was Witchfynde's first show in Austria. Witchfynde played the HOA Festival in Germany and the Sweden Rock Festival in 2019 and where joined by Ian Hamilton on Bass who has replaced Pete Surgey. Witchfynde played the very first Metal Conquest in Rome in January 2020 and the Brofest warm up show in February at Trillions in Newcastle
