So you like riffs and heavy metal born of the old school? They might be among the newer crop of stoner / doom bands, but Australia's Witchskull faithfully worship the sounds of heavy metal's glorious past and they've delivered yet again with their second album, Coven's Will, which can be streamed in full below a day in advance of its June 2 release on Rise Above.

As you run through the album's riff-intensive eight tracks, you'll hear elements of Black Sabbath, Confessor, Clutch, Cathedral and other staples of the stoner / doom scene. While there's plenty of worship bands out there, Witchskull have already fleshed out their own distinct sound, especially with the watery vibrato of singer-guitarist Marcus De Pasquale. There's a dramatic flair to it all with a bombastic vocal performance set against guitar passages dripping in blues with a big band drum sway anchoring it all.

“From the start we only wanted to play primal music from the gut,” asserts drummer Joel Green. “We all have very similar tastes from our youth, so it was easy to focus on what we grew up on… and put our own spin on it. There was no specific direction, just anything that was heavy with a healthy dose of groove and swagger! It all came pretty naturally, we just let the songs evolve over time in rehearsals and they kind of arrange themselves.”

As for the influences on the sophomore record, frontman-guitarist Marcus De Pasquale cited, "The occult, fantasy, dreams, the moon and the elements, isolation, loneliness, depression, mental illness, regret and time… all the good, bleak things in life!”

Take a listen below and pre-order your copy of the album here. To stay up to date with Witchskull, follow them on Facebook.

Witchskull, Coven's Will

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