Review COVEN JAPAN ‘Earthlings’

Sometimes good stuff just finds you. That’s how you could describe the new album from Coven Japan. They are a relatively young band from the land of the rising sun.

It was in 2016 when guitarist Akihiro Ito and singer Taka founded the band. Coven Japan allowed them to provide an outlet for their passion for traditional metal. Inspired by bands from NWoBHM and 80s metal in general, the japanese duo started their work.

‘The Advert’ is the title of the EP, which was released in 2017 and set the foundation for the debut album. With Toshikuni Komuro and Takachika Nakajima, the band gained even more support and since a label, No Remorse, showed interest in the band, the first steps towards the full-length debut could be taken.

In the meantime, the band has finished work on ‘Earthlings’ and what the album has to offer is definitely deserving credit. Without a doubt, bands like Angel Witch and Satan have had a major influence on the sound of Coven Japan. Add to that catchy 80’s melodic lines and you have a masterful debut album.

In addition, ‘Eartlings’ is a bilingual album and if you’re wondering why you can’t understand the verse, you should know that Taka sings in Japanese. In doing so, the band wants to strengthen their Japanese identity, which is certainly achieved. The chorus, however, is in English, which makes it much easier to sing along, especially at the band’s concerts. For Coven Japan, singing along is also an essential part of a metal show and English enables this on a global level.

It makes little sense to pick out specific songs on ‘Earthlings’ because the density of hits speaks for itself. No matter where you put the needle, it’s always well-crafted, traditional metal that you will hear. From the melodic ‘Return of the Souls’ to the fast ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’ and the anthemic ‘Eartlings’, this album contains everything you would expect from a very well-made record.

With ‘Earthlings’, Coven Japan are following in the footsteps of bands like Loudness and Anthem. However, the band is also developing its own identity and it will be interesting to see when and where we can welcome the band live in Europe for the first time.