Back in 1987 a self released debut album named "Worship New Gods" was unleashed to the old US Metal scene. However, it came out only on Vinyl format thus making it hard to the old cassette nation that had already spread vastly around the world to further experience this supposed gem. Back in 1987 I was five years old and I don't think that even this LP reached my country, so I can't say I experienced it myself or knew anyone that did. Nonetheless, twenty five years passed and there this album, and only album by this mysterious band, COVEN, was finally being released on a CD format for the first time. Shadow Kingdom Records enabled old school mixture of Heavy / Doom and first wave of Black Metal fans, which probably have been sharing common admiration to BLACK SABBATH, MERCYFUL FATE, VENOM, PENTAGRAM, CANDLEMASS, CELTIC FROST, HOLOCAUST and several other dark NWOBHM obscurities, to feast their ears to past sounds barely released to vast audiences. Yet, I have to admit that after I whirling this album many times, I couldn't find the same magic that folks talked about regarding this album.

At first I thought that it is going to be classic Doom oriented Metal with slow tempo rhythms, sorrowful dripping riffages and howling vocals from the dungeons of the deep. Well, I was surprised because COVEN sounded more energetic than expected. Their sound production reminded BLACK SABBATH pattern throughout the 70s and early 80s with gloomy sounded guitars, punching drums, heavier fuzzy bass and right in the middle of all that clutter, the vocals weeping, howling and deranging with madness in the vein of Ozzy Osbourne meets Messiah Marcolin with slices of Tom Warrior and King Diamond. Leaving the production and orientations behind, I can't say that "Worship New Gods" is what I hoped for. Most of the time it repeated itself or others before it like the obvious BLACK SABBATH's "Black Sabbath" semi-rip-off of the tri-tone opening, though it continued also later, riff of the starter "Riddle of Steel". This is an average song nonetheless but that tri-tone was easy to recognize. "Kiss Me with Blood" presented me with a CANDLEMASS like song but with what occurred to me to as off key notations bythe vocalist David Landrum. With a dirge like voice, he didn't seem to be connected with the overall song thus relegating it downwards. I wasn't that satisfied with "Burial Ground" and "Wicked Day" as well, though the latter had something good going but with a repeating sense.

Though I wasn't too impressed with this album, it did share a few promising ventures that kept me listening like the Metal anthem of "Ruler" that made feel empowered as if I was this sovereign COVEN sang about. "General's Eye" sounded slightly mysterious. It was rather awkward but it also shared its own power with catchy riffing and simplistic chorus. "Jail House" was a quicksilver with cool riffing, less than three minutes but it made its point in the basic of ways. Generally, it is an average album and I couldn't possibly call it a classic. Nevertheless, I congratulate COVEN for finally getting this release out on a CD format.