Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls
| Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Studio album by Coven | |
| Released | 1969 |
| Recorded | 1969 |
| Genre | Psychedelic rock Acid rock |
| Length | 45:55 |
| Label | Mercury Records |
| Producer | Bill Traut |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls (1969) is the first album by the psychedelic rock band Coven. It was unusual in that it dealt with overtly occult and satanic themes, and was removed from the market soon after its release due to controversy. (Even today, CDs of Coven's albums are sold only on the band's site at CafePress.com.) However, it remains a classic of its genre, and in some ways set groundbreaking trends for later rock bands. In this album appeared for the first time things which today are ubiquitous in occult and heavy metal rock music, such as the sign of the horns, inverted crosses, and the phrase Hail Satan. The album track "Black Sabbath" may have also had a subtle influence on the much more successful group Black Sabbath (whose debut album, also called Black Sabbath, appeared just a few months later); according to rock journalist Lester Bangs, "...[in England] lie unskilled laborers like Black Sabbath, which was hyped as a rockin' ritual celebration of the Satanic mass [...], something like England's answer to Coven." [2]
One of the songwriters, James Vincent, used the name "Jim Donlinger" on the album. He actually was not a member of the band, but was asked by Bill Traut, Coven's producer, to write, arrange and co-produce the album together with Traut. Vincent describes the event in negative terms, as a "bizarre album project":
- "Bill brought me a large box full of books about witchcraft and related subjects. He told me to read them and start writing some songs ... Sometime before the sun came up, I had completely written all the material requested of me for the entire album ... Coven also contributed one or two songs to the project."[3]
Contents |
Track listing [edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Sabbath" | Donlinger | 3:32 | |
| 2. | "White Witch of Rose Hall" | Donlinger | 3:08 | |
| 3. | "Coven in Charing Cross" | Donlinger | 4:04 | |
| 4. | "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" | Dawson, Ross, Wilkerson, Osborne | 4:41 | |
| 5. | "Pact with Lucifer" | Donlinger, Wilkerson | 3:32 | |
| 6. | "Choke, Thirst, Die" | Donlinger | 3:32 | |
| 7. | "Wicked Woman" | Dawson, Ross, Wilkerson, Osborne | 3:01 | |
| 8. | "Dignitaries of Hell" | Donlinger | 4:09 | |
| 9. | "Portrait" | Dawson, Ross, Osborne | 2:37 | |
| 10. | "Satanic Mass" | Traut | 13:19 | |
|
Total length:
|
45:55 | |||
Personnel [edit]
- Jinx Dawson: Vocals
- Jim Donlinger: Guitars, Vocals
Original keyboardist: Rick Durrett
- Jim Nyeholt, John Hobbs: Keyboards, Organ, Piano
- Alan Estes, Oz Osbourne: Bass
- Steve Ross: Drums, Percussion
Production [edit]
- Produced By Bill Traut
- Engineered By Mal Davis
References [edit]
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Lester Bangs, in a 1970 article in Rolling Stone Magazine
- ^ Vincent, James, Space Traveler, A Musician's Odyssey, 2003, p 43.
