With the recent crop of bands drawing inspiration from the 70s era of counterculture and exploration into darker subject matter, few are travelling down the occult rock path and producing a genuinely authentic sound to back up the overused imagery.
Thankfully, West Virginian four-piece Brimstone Coven have set the bar higher with their third album. Drawing richly from the wellspring of heavy 60s/70s acts while avoiding the cheese and clichés of many of the band’s contemporaries, Black Magic employs a no-nonsense approach of skilfully played smoking heavy rock in the vein of Bang, early Pentagram and Wishbone Ash. At its heights it packs a harder punch without resorting to the slow and low of doom metal, whilst still conjuring a memorably darker mood and swagger. Most notable are the expertly delivered haunting vocal harmonies, no doubt absorbed from the bands regional bluegrass and country upbringing as well as countless 60s folk and Americana acts.
