THE COVEN (Beltane) MCD-R
'Beltane' is THE COVEN's second demo release and they're playing minimalistic heavy flowing, occult-driven Doom Metal, which draws influences from Saint Vitus, Cirith Ungol and Reverend Bizarre. Like the last mentioned band, THE COVEN are also living in Finland and their line-up consists of three guys with a singing bassplayer, whose voice is responsible for the similarity to Reverend Bizarre. Among the included three tracks, the title-track is possibly the best one here, certainly the most intense anyway, due to its varied paces and different themes.
While M. Lorraine has tendencies in exaggerating his dramatic vocal style, here it fits really good. The opener is solid, but without any highlights, while the last cut is more interesting, because the group has integrated an atmospheric up-tempo part. For my taste, THE COVEN should work stronger on their arrangements, their riffs and especially on the vocals, which are sometimes just too much. The potential is there, and it's up to this guys to make the best out of it. Maybe in one or two years.....
(KK)
www.the-coven.org