Brimstone Coven Black Magic

The name Brimstone Coven strikes a chord. At once, the moniker feels like something out of '60s occult scene and the music that was influenced by it over the next two decades, starting with but certainly not ending with Black Sabbath's legendary debut. Musically, the quartet are cut from the same cloth as Black Sabbath, Pentagram, and Led Zeppelin, but Brimstone Coven are also informed by the psychedelic movements of, say, Pink Floyd. The West Virginians are heavy, heavy, heavy, but also have a penchant for pushing the atmospheric envelope when the mood fits. If it sounds like the Brimstone Coven's sonic witchcraft has familiar roots in today's contemporary scene, well, it does. Where most bands are content with to riff on an Iommi classic or an Osbourne vocal melody, Brimstone Coven open it up with three-part vocal harmonies, a trait more common with Mamas and Papas, Yes, and The Byrds. With songs like 'Black Unicorn', 'Beyond the Astral', 'Upon the Mountain', and 'The Eldest Tree', Black Magic is destined to rule. Not only because Brimstone Coven can sing their bloody hearts out either. This is an album that's hard to forget. It begs to be played, over and over. The strange allure is there, as if Brimstone Coven are summoning from the depths, while at the same time giving a wink and a nod to the Phantasm and Suspiria themes.