{"id":156592,"date":"2025-11-27T16:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/156592\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:30:07","slug":"suncraft-welcome-to-the-coven-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/156592\/","title":{"rendered":"Suncraft – Welcome to the Coven Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I first became acquainted with stoner rock while attending college and skiing in Salt Lake City. Whether carving the corduroy or taking face shots of bottomless pow, the raucous groove of the style made for a great soundtrack. I\u2019ve largely moved on to heavier and less accessible pastures, but once in a while, something brings me back. This time, it was Suncraft, a five-piece formed in Oslo, Norway in 2017; I couldn\u2019t let a genre tag like \u201cstoner\/black\/pop\u201d pass by unyoinked. We missed their 2021 debut, Flat Earth Rider, but I\u2019m here to give their sophomore effort, Welcome to the Coven, the proper AMG treatment.<\/p>\n

Suncraft has historically relied on mid-paced stoner rock, but their second LP sees the band move in a different direction. Welcome to the Coven is what happens when Queens of the Stone Age wields The Sword and walks The DOGS. It\u2019s riotous, retro, and downright groovy. With a triple-pronged attack, guitarists Veb\u00f8rn Rindal Krogstad, Sigurd Gr\u00f8tan, and Jens Henrik Kverndal let loose a wildly infectious salvo of stoner and garage rock. \u201cWelcome to the Coven\u201d and \u201cForgotten Goddess\u201d rip across the desert in an old convertible Mustang powered solely by diesel and sativa. \u201cLove\u2019s Underrated\u201d gives garage revival and a little Japandroids, while \u201cWizards of the Anger Magic\u201d opens on The Beach Boys and pays heavy tribute to The Ramones. Mixed into this strong foundation you\u2019ll also find riffage stained black (\u201cRagebait\u201d), pop punk angst (\u201cGreed Battalion\u201d), posty and proggy diversions (\u201cHigh on Silence\u201d), and even a millennial whoop or two. These are disparate elements to bring under one umbrella, but like fellow countrymen Kvelertak, Suncraft pull it off well.<\/p>\n

In a brew stereotypically known for wanton abandon, Welcome to the Coven succeeds through restraint. Post-black and pop punk normally make bridge- or hook-centered appearances, being used as means to build drama and release tension rather than ends in themselves. Drummer Tobias Paulsen utilizes a predominantly upbeat rock style, but he\u2019s got a full toolbox. He deploys d-beats, hooks and fills, blast beats, and tempo changes with precision for maximum emotional impact (\u201cLove\u2019s Underrated,\u201d \u201cWelcome to the Coven\u201d). The same can be said of bassist\/singer Rasmus Skage Jensen, whose strings feel elementally nostalgic, both in tone and in their intentionally dynamic grounding of hooks, leads, and rhythmic support. And by keeping a normally tight grip on his vocals, the moments when Jensen lets loose and pushes his pipes to their limit shine all the brighter (\u201cGreed Battalion,\u201d \u201cForgotten Goddess\u201d). Rather than employing an unchecked, maximalist style, Suncraft\u2019s tempered and deceptively meticulous songcraft elevates Welcome to the Coven far above the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

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Suncraft doesn\u2019t treat the incorporation of these various flourishes as puzzles to be solved. Instead, every element on Welcome to the Coven seems chosen and placed to best support a deliriously and irresistibly fun grand design. This approach and Suncraft\u2019s success with it grant them an inimitable air of sprezzatura. Krogstad, Gr\u00f8tan, and Kverndal spin around each other so naturally, offering inspired counterpoints (\u201cWizards of the Anger Magic\u201d), tossing in pristine fills (\u201cHigh on Silence\u201d), and passing leads and solos like a hacky sack (\u201cLove\u2019s Underrated,\u201d \u201cForgotten Goddess\u201d). I don\u2019t for one second believe that Jensen\u2019s interjectory \u201cfuck it\u201d on \u201cGreed Battalion\u201d or Paulsen\u2019s double bass in \u201cWelcome to the Coven\u201d are off the cuff; this album is far too good for that. But when I hear the killer solo in \u201cLove\u2019s Underrated,\u201d the exceptional back half of \u201cCharlatan Killer,\u201d or the barely controlled chaos that is \u201cForgotten Goddess,\u201d I can\u2019t help but be awed by the explosive synergy on display here\u2014and the casual effortlessness of it.<\/p>\n

I had high hopes when I picked up Welcome to the Coven, and from the first seconds of \u201cRagebait\u201d to the final cymbals of \u201cForgotten Goddess,\u201d Suncraft blew me away. The chorus of \u201cCharlatan Killer\u201d was the only exception, being merely good in a sea of great. Each track on Suncraft\u2019s sophomore effort fits together naturally and neatly in a singular, unified vision. Primally familiar like the mythical dog days of summer, Welcome to the Coven is an astoundingly fun ride. By the end of its 40-minute runtime, I\u2019m invariably left craving more. And if that isn\u2019t the mark of a great album, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n

Rating: 4.0\/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: All Good Clean Records<\/a>
Websites: Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: November 21st, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n