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Brimestone Coven: Brimestone Coven
Brimestone Coven 2014 Self-titled CD Album Review

Brimestone Coven: Brimestone Coven

Heavy/Doom/Stoner Rock/Metal
3.5/5.0

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Metal Blade Records
Words: Craig Hartranft    Added: 30.07.2014

It's no small feat for a young band to get signed to a major metal label like Metal Blade Records, especially when your chosen genre is generally underground. West Virginia's Brimestone Coven plays classic heavy and doom metal, quite retro in fact that it sounds like early proto-metal. But they have some talent for it, ergo some label interest. The result is Coven's first full-length album, with 10 new songs and the seven tracks from their debut EP, remastered.

Brimestone Coven Band Photo

Brimestone Coven: spaced out.

Typical of this sub-genre of heavy metal Brimestone, develops a deep and dark, sometimes foreboding, atmosphere with slow groove, chunky riffs, and spirited but spooky vocal delivery. Guitar leads vie between traditional lines and things akin to space or psychedelic rock. It's not all dark and down tuned as even a fearful song like The Grave can have some up beat, even groovy, moments. One of the distinguishing features in both composition and musicianship is the strength of the bass line throughout. Frankly, it's astonishing in it's clarity as it should be. A good bass line can make or break a doom metal band if it doesn't have that steady creep worthiness necessary for the gloom. Listen for more in the fine pieces Lord & Master, The Black Door, or from the EP, We Are Forever.

Yet most anything related to heavy, doom, or stoner rock is an acquired taste, if you don't get the historic roots of the music. Brimestone touches base with Black Sabbath, while also adding some nods to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, their groove and guitar leads, respectively, while not sounding like any of three. Well, Cosmic Communion does seem to borrow a few sounds from Sabbath. What takes the band beyond darkness and swampy sludge of the genre is that their sound lends more towards the Pentagram and Candlemass form of doom metal. In other words, Brimestone Coven effectively blends the up beat notions of classic and early melodic heavy rock/metal with doom tones. Check out The Seance, The folly of Faust or, again from the EP, Children of the Sun for validation of this point. Of course, if not familiar with the genre, this does not mean you should be shoveling a plateful of this music into your brain on a regular basis as it can creep you out or, worse, have you reaching for the Zantac. Otherwise, as alluded to earlier, you'll be difficult to find better modern purveyors of heavy/doom metal than Brimestone Coven. Recommended if you like the genre.

Brimestone Coven - The Grave





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In Short

You'll be difficult to find better modern purveyors of heavy/doom metal than Brimestone Coven. Recommended if you like the genre.

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