Review Summary: Coven is a Cult Classic
If we really want to go back to the roots, we need to look at one of the bands that created the entire heavy metal aesthetic before there was heavy metal and were the first to open the door to women in metal, or at least edgier rock. Yes, the one and only Coven, endlessly imitated but rarely equaled. The first truly satanic rock band, the precursor to Black Sabbath, the spiritual mother of all occult rock bands.
Coven was formed in the late 60s by Jinx Dawson, a classically trained rock singer and daughter of coven leaders, who were apparently the creators of the horns sign. Along with a revolving cast of musicians, including a bassist named Oz Osborne, she released four albums, but the first one, “Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls”, is absolutely the best.
It’s more accurate to call Coven a proto-metal band, or more precisely, a psychedelic/blues rock band with a darker edge unseen at the time. That darker edge is created by the fact that they were real Satanists, but also by the peculiar sound of their music. For example, the very first song, called “Black Sabbath” sounds like a pretty typical psychedelic rock song, but there are those lyrics, Jinx’s weird high-pitched singing and ghostly vocalizing. You get the feeling that something creepy is right about to happen.
And indeed, the other tracks take you to darker places. There’s the “Dignitaries of Hell”, with its sinister but memorable riff and lyrics describing the most powerful demons of hell. “Portrait” is quieter, but alo has some nice, creepy lyrics about an evil painting. “Wicked Woman” is a particular highlight. With its heavy riffs and high pitched, powerful vocals, it sounds like a clear predecessor to a lot of 80s metal. Its lyrics about a witch/serial killer also feel very 80s metal and very Coven. But the purest example of what Coven is all about would be “White Witch of Rose Hall”, about a wicked noblewoman’s murderous rituals. The song has a great hook that goes “The white witch of Rose Hall, the Devil she could call”, that feels like the description of a legendary character, and immediately gets stuck in your head. Some of Coven’s lyrics, like “Wicked woman, you will go to hell” and “The white witch of Rose Hall, the Devil she would call” occasionally pop up in my mind.
On other songs, the band manages to sound both upbeat and creepy at the same time. “Coven in Charing Cross” is about a cult that practiced human sacrifice, were executed for witchcraft and came back as demons, and has some rather creepy incantations/spoken word part by the entire band. Yet, its main riff is pretty upbeat, and it has a weirdly catchy outro, with Jinx dementedly singing “La la la la” at the top of her lungs. “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” (get it?) has a nice, kind of seductive bluesy riff, and a pretty good duet between Jinx and a male guest singer.
It’s time to say more about Jinx’s voice. She has clearly influenced every 80s metal singer, with her clear, powerful soprano, her belted notes, raspy singing, occasional screaming, evil cackling and whispering. But at the same time, she sounds very much like a 60s singer, kind of like a younger Grace Slick, except, again, with a more mysterious edge. Her voice is clearly the focal point of this album, and its undeniable highlight.
It’s what makes some songs at least a little entertaining, because the album has its weak points. Again, “Choke First Die” is only notable for her vocal performance, and while I like “Pact With Lucifer” for its folky storytelling, it’s still missing a little something to be really great.
But I know what you're all here for: the last track, “Satanic Mass”. This is the farthest any band has ever gone into portraying satanism in their music, doing a 13-minute reenactment of Jinx’s initiation. I have so much to say about this. It’s like a corrupted version of a Catholic service, with all the Latin singing, English incantations, but in praise of Satan. To many of us today, it might sound like something from a really cheesy horror movie. But in the 60s, it must have sounded absolutely terrifying, and it still feels a little eerie today. The cultists’ singing sounds eerie. If you listen to how the initiate has to promise her full loyalty and fear punishment if she doesn’t, it feels a lot like indoctrination into a cult.
But there is something hypnotic about this track, very enjoyably creepy, very satisfying for your morbid curiosity. You wanted to know what a satanic ceremony is like, here’s a real one for you. You’re in on the secret, and hearing this mysterious album by an obscure band that influenced the entire metal genre also feels like discovering a secret. This album may not work for some of you, since it’s not exactly metal, and some of the songs are not as good, but it’s still something you need to hear, to understand the roots of metal, or simply, to hear something special. But I’d say, if you can get into it, it’s a really good album, with some great songs, Jinx Dawson’s amazing voice and presence, and all the references to witchcraft you could ever want. To me, it belongs in the same conversation as Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut. These are 2 similar and yet different albums, each truly one-of-a-kind, both albums you can listen to a hundred times and still be under their spell.
It’s also the one Coven album you need to hear. Their career after this was not so great and includes some truly strange and embarrassing moments. This, along with their obvious imitators (there would be enough of them to do a Covenmania series), gives me a lot of material for future reviews, but that’s for another day.
