HARDWARES

Issued exclusively on vinyl in 1987 and finally seeing a CD release in the here and now of 2012, COVEN's Worship New Gods is, from the depth of its pagan soul, charming in the same way BATHORY is, this Detroit band (later to be known as COVEN 13, and even later changing the brand to 1066) playing the same rudimentary-but-effective card Quorthon did so well in his creation of what was to eventually morph into black metal. Coven stays way from the black themes however, and instead is more in line with NWOBHM and the doom of CIRITH UNGOL or PENTAGRAM, Coven writing tracks that, at times, head into seriously righteous directions, as 'Burial Ground' will attest. Though it admittedly suffers from some serious inconsistency, Worship New Gods is the sort of classic metal that's a stark reminder of where this genre came from and is a record that is important in terms of its archival value, 'cos GHOST's inspiration came from somewhere, ya dig? I just recently bought FATES WARNING's Night On Brocken on vinyl and Worship New Gods is what could have been playing while I was in the record store: the other patrons would have nodded their heads in appreciation of Coven, in the process making their faded jean jackets and IRON MAIDEN-circa-Paul-Di'Anno shirts proud.