Quello che segue è un lungo messaggio di Martin Walkyer, ex Skyclad e mente dei RETURN TO THE SABBAT frontman Martin Walkyier:

“Greetings my Brothers and Sisters, thanks once again for the endless source of support and encouragement you have all been to me in recent months. Though I have sadly had the time to reply to only very few of your emails, I have read each and every one of them I assure you. We have always been there for each other upon so many occasions in the past, and I dearly hope that this most mutual appreciation will continue long into the future. You are all very special people indeed, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As many of you will now be fully aware, several months ago now, a packed concert-hall at the Derby Assembly Rooms witnessed the reawakening of a monstrous entity which had lain restlessly dormant for longer than an entire decade. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve taken to the stage in the last fifteen years or so; yet the true intensity of the magick we encountered as RETURN TO THE SABBAT trod the boards at Bloodstock 01 is a memory which will undoubtedly remain with me forever. The atmosphere was completely electric that auspicious evening of May 28th 2001. So an immense thank you to the fans from around the world who courageously heeded our Call To Arms, and came along to make it a truly special day for us all to remember for may years to come. Horns! My fellow band members and I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the Amust4music team, who have fought concertedly together in order to promote Heavy Metal music here in the U.K. We are proud to have been a part of Bloodstock 01, and are assured that we will be asked back to play at the next of these noble events, which I now know is already in its early planning stages! More recently we were invited to play at the Bang Your Head! festival in the charming town of Balingen in South Germany. Our addition to the bill was a very last-minute affair; yet even this could not prevent a host of our most ardent fans hearing about this event, and coming along to offer their extremely loud and loyal support. We went on stage at the WOM Club at around 2.00 AM. The temperature in there was hotter than Satan’s codpiece, with sweat literally dripping from the walls and ceiling whilst we performed our show. How the audience had the stamina to demonstrate such rabid enthusiasm at that early hour of the morning was a source of total amazement to myself and my fellow musicians. We thank also the crazy ladies and gentlemen who attended Bang Your Head!, and look forward to seeing you again very soon when we are next granted the honour and privilege of playing in Deutschland. As well as the joy and elation of RETURN TO THE SABBAT’s rebirth, Bloodstock 01 will eternally remind me of the sadness and regret I felt whilst on-stage playing my final show with SKYCLAD. I feel so immensely proud of all the concerts and recordings we’ve done together as a band during the last ten years, and therefore could never bring myself to continue being a part of something which I no longer believed in completely and utterly with all my soul. I had dearly hoped that the memory of my time spent with this band was something that would be treated with the dignity and respect which I felt it rightfully deserved. It now unfortunately appears that this may not entirely be the case. I’m now certain that over the coming months I will be forced to witness things being done under the once-honourable SKYCLAD banner which have nothing whatsoever to do with our original dream all those years ago. I therefore would now like to take this opportunity to officially and completely disassociate myself from any future CD releases or other creative endeavors of my former band. They are each done without my knowledge or consent, and I feel that it is my duty to hereby inform you all of this fact. Those among you who have followed my career will certainly be aware that my lyrics were always far more than mere words; They are small segments of my life; My thoughts, experiences and emotions which I have endeavoured to share with you all throughout the years. I’m sure that you will appreciate just how much it would grieve me to have to helplessly watch as my verse was used in a disrespectful manner by persons who have absolutely no regard for, or real understanding of its true meaning. Upon all those who would do so I lay the following simple curse: They shall come to know first-hand the poverty, heartache, sorrow and loneliness that I once endured in order to be able to write it in the first place. On a far more cheerful note, we are currently starting to book some further shows for RETURN TO THE SABBAT, beginning in the month of October 2001. In particular we are greatly looking forward to the two concerts in Greece on the 19th and 20th together with our dear friends from the German band PRIMAL FEAR. It has been far too long since I last was in this wonderful country, and I sincerely hope that we will all have the chance to share a few beers together with you guys when we come for our all-too-brief visit in a few months time. There are several interesting plans in the pipeline at the moment, which you will be immediately be made aware of the very moment that they become more concrete. I am presently in the process of penning many new lyrics, and am beginning to feel immensely inspired by what I’ve managed to get down on paper/computer thus far. Exactly how and when this new material will be used I am as yet unsure. But judging by the ideas I’ve already had, I can faithfully promise that you’ll not be disappointed in the slightest by the end result.
Thank you all for sparing the time to read this update of the happenings in my life. Your continuing support is a source of constant inspiration to both myself and my fellow musicians. I eagerly await the day when we shall meet once again on-tour in the very near future. May your guardian-spirits be with you always!
Martin Walkyier 28/07/01