Electric Wizard to many, are just another in the long line of underground occult horror-obsessed hard rock/metal bands that began with Black Sabbath and incorporated Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep, Witchfinder General, Mercyful Fate, Saint Vitus, Cathedral and a host of others, however to the initiated they are so much more than that. They started out with the aim of being the most monolithically heavy, stoned rock band on earth, however they grew beyond those early aims into the biggest occult doom band on the planet. This book covers their rise to prominence and everything that has happened along the way during their 31-year reign as the chosen few.

The book starts off in 1960s Wimborne with the birth of Electric Wizard vocalist/guitarist Jus Oborn and follows briefly his young life. As part of this opening chapter, author Franklin and Oborn relive memories of his young life during a visit to Wimborne. This opening chapter gives us an insight into the pre-Electric Wizard Oborn, Wimborne itself sounds like the sort of rural town that should feature in a folk horror movie, all folk music, old traditions and morris dancing. The book then moves onto the early days of the band and in particular the first classic lineup of the band featuring Oborn and his Wimborne friends Mark Greening (drums) and Tim Bagshaw (bass). The three were using alot of weed and a lot of psychedelics to get themselves into the correct headspace to make what amounted to an unholy amalgamation of the music of Black Sabbath and Hawkwind on Mogadon. Influenced heavily by the occult, 60s and 70s horror movies and the final days of the hippy dream when things had turned sour, the band began to push into a niche all of their own. The music was a cavalcade of dark psychedelics, motorbike movies, black magic rituals and video nasties. Interestingly, as well as describing the lives of the band during this phase in their careers, Franklin can get quite tied up in the band’s recording and performance techniques, the equipment they used and the way they recorded. This adds an extra layer of interest for fans of the band that goes beyond the usual rock biography. The story continues on through the split of the original power trio and all the subsequent lineup changes, including the addition of American guitarist, Liz Buckingham, who Jus immediately identified as a kindred spirit and the person with whom he would forge a new version of Electric Wizard as the band moved into their next evolutionary phase.

Overall, Come My Fanatics is an excellent read, a comprehensive look at the music and lives that have gone on to create the band we all know and love as Electric Wizard. Franklin is a longtime fan of the music and often this can lead to a book that follows a narrative that the band want to sell, however, in this instance that is not the case, he writes in great detail about the band's history, both the things they may want you to know and those they might not, although to be fair to Oborn, he has always struck me as a fairly open sort of guy, happy to talk about pretty much anything. Come My Fanatics is a pretty sizeable tome that reads really well, drawing the reader in and not letting go until you reach the final page. It’s a compelling story of a band that is more influenced by the dark side of sixties and seventies culture, motorbike gangs, The Process Church of the Final Judgement, LSD, Marijuana, cult horror, the occult revival of the late 60s and early 70s and the darker, heavier side of that era’s rock music. Fans of the band, as well as those with an interest in the darker side of Western Culture (particularly the 60s and 70s) will enjoy this book, it really does read like the perfect companion to the band’s music.

Come My Fanatics: A Journey into the World of Electric Wizard is a thrilling motorbike ride through the band’s career to date, one that I very much enjoyed reading, the hardback from White Rabbit books is beautifully illustrated with a wealth of great photographs detailing the band’s history and a great front cover image designed by JusOborn himself. If you’re a fan of Electric Wizard, do yourself a favour and grab a copy of this tome, you won’t be disappointed. Even if you’re not a fan of the band, but are interested in the counterculture of the late 60s and early 70s then there is still lots to interest you here.