In heavy music the most prevalent trend of the past decade has been a return to the time of psychedelic rock. Arguably of all of the acts to come out of this new wave, Finland’s Jess and The Ancient Ones seem to have garnered the most attention internationally. With their memorable 70s grooves, occult-laden lyrics, and powerful female vocals they found acclaim for their self-titled debut album in 2012.

They recently completed their first North American tour as personally-selected support of legendary Danish metaller King Diamond. I sat down with guitarist and co-songwriter Tuomas Karhunen (aka Thomas Fiend) before the band’s Toronto show to talk about their deep connection to the occult and how their future music will be bereft of all heavy metal influence.

Jess and the Ancient Ones’ new 10” release ‘Castaneda’ is available on Svart Records.