If you are someone who enjoys your music blacker than the dead of night then I suggest you look no further than Coven.
Coven came to life in 1969 with the evocatively named album 'Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Souls', making them one of the first Rock bands to embrace occult imagery and lyrics. Singer Jinx Dawson is the first to offer the hand sign of the devils horns, something the Heavy Metal community may have taken for granted, and credited to Ronnie James Dio!
The album presents Wolfpack 44 plus original members of Coven, all contributing to the diabolical arsenal of songs on offer, and start off in eerie fashion with 'Prelude', before flowing into 'Out Of Luck' – an infernally twisted vocal, offset nicely with a seventies Rock vibe.
Drums like canon fire with unforgiving Industrial guitar overtones is the musical mark stamped upon 'To The Devil A Daughter', while Dawson's vocals which evoke her wicked sense of pleasure seem to work well. Who says you can't dance with the devil! 'Wicked Women '13' is a song driven by possessive vocals and an overload of razor sharp guitars battling for dominance.
If you can imagine Jefferson Airplane writing songs after attending a black mass, then 'Epitaph' would be the result. 'WDMRS' is a cauldron of cackling laughter, banshee screams and stabbing guitars that lay down the songs evil intent.
The majestic 'Black Swan' rides a psychedelic carpet of haunting keyboards and dreamy vocals and gives us many wonderful musical moments, while 'Quick And The Dead' jumps between Chamber Music and 1970s Doom Rock, complete with a super organ solo. Finishing with a ritualistic piece entitled 'Ave Satanas' you'll realise Dawson takes her art very seriously.
If you are someone who enjoys your music blacker than the dead of night then I suggest you look no further than Coven.
Ray Paul
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