SATANIC MASS
Every once in a while, I encounter the above album by Coven, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (1969) in a rack at a record store; and it scares the crap out of me every time. Three faces and a skull stare implacably from the cover; in fact, the way the lettering is laid out, it is not clear whether it is witchcraft or Coven itself that is doing the destroying. Inside the gate-fold album cover is a nude woman lying on an altar (with the skull strategically placed); I have read that a black mass is held that way. The album ends with a 13-minute cut called “Satanic Mass”. I recently purchased a compilation album that, unbeknownst to me, has a song from this album on it. I cannot seem to find it now, and it is just as well.
(June 2016)
