Coven (band)

Coven

Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1967 in Chicago, United States
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Key people	Jinx Dawson (lead singer), Greg "Oz" Osborne (bassist), Chris Neilsen (guitarist), Rick Durrett (keyboardist), John Hobbs (keyboardist), Steve Ross (drummer)
Products	Music albums, singles

Coven is a rock group from the United States that originated in Chicago during the late 1960s. They gained recognition with their 1971 top 40 single "One Tin Soldier", which served as the theme for the movie Billy Jack.

The ensemble features lead singer Jinx Dawson, bassist Greg "Oz" Osborne, guitarist Chris Neilsen, keyboardist Rick Durrett (later succeeded by John Hobbs), and drummer Steve Ross. Coven is regarded as a pioneer of occult rock, incorporating themes of Satanism and witchcraft into their lyrics and visual presentation. Metal historians credit them with popularizing the "sign of the horns" hand gesture within rock and metal communities, particularly showcased on their 1969 debut album Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls.

History

Before forming Coven in Chicago around 1967, Jinx Dawson and Oz Osborne were members of the Indianapolis band Him, Her and Them. Alongside drummer Steve Ross, they toured alongside notable acts such as Jimmy Page's Yardbirds, Alice Cooper, and Vanilla Fudge. Signed by Mercury Records, their first album released in 1969 delivered underground rock infused with dark, diabolical motifs. Songs like "The White Witch of Rose Hall," "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge," and "Black Sabbath" exemplified this style. The album concluded with a 13-minute "Satanic Mass" incorporating Latin phrases including "Ave Satanas," representing one of the earliest introductions of such occult elements in rock music and influencing subsequent Satanic metal genres. Additionally, it featured a provocative Black Mass poster depicting the band engaged in ritualistic performance.

Following its association with the counterculture's fascination with the occult—especially amid the Charles Manson case highlighted by Esquire magazine in 1970—the album was withdrawn from distribution due to controversy.

Jinx Dawson lent her vocals to "One Tin Soldier", which climbed to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1971 and was credited to Coven. Originally performed by the Original Caste, Coven’s rendition also secured a top 10 position on Cash Box charts and received significant radio play across the United States. This track appeared on their self-titled second album released in 1972. Their third studio effort, Blood on the Snow (1974), produced by Shel Talmy under Buddah Records, included a music video for its title track created by Walt Disney Studios.

After numerous unauthorized CD versions of Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls circulated, an official reissue was released in 2007 through Coven’s own Nevoc label. In 2008, they issued Metal Goth Queen: Out of the Vault 1976–2007, compiling previously unreleased tracks, followed by Jinx in 2013 featuring new recordings. For Coven’s inaugural European appearance at the Roadburn Festival held in the Netherlands in April 2017, Dawson assembled a fresh lineup.

Influence

Within the heavy metal subculture, there is ongoing discussion regarding how much influence Coven had on British metal pioneers Black Sabbath:

• Coven was among the first to integrate the sign of the horns gesture into their musical identity shortly before Black Sabbath’s bassist Geezer Butler adopted it, popularizing it further when he encouraged Ronnie James Dio to use it.
• Music critic Lester Bangs from Rolling Stone characterized Black Sabbath’s debut as a fusion of influences from both Cream and Coven, dubbing them "the English answer to Coven."

However, Black Sabbath’s guitarist Tony Iommi has denied any direct inspiration from Coven, asserting that they became aware of Coven only after releasing their own debut album in 1970. Meanwhile, contemporaries such as King Diamond suggest that Black Sabbath distanced themselves from acknowledging Coven’s impact to avoid connections with the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by the Manson Family, which coincided with Black Sabbath’s formative years and their first three albums (Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality).

Discography

Studio albums

• Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls (1969, Mercury)
• Coven (1972)
• Blood on the Snow (1974)
• Metal Goth Queen: Out of the Vault 1976-2007 (2008)
• Jinx (2013)

Box sets

• Half A Century Of Witchcraft (2021, Prophecy) – a collection of five albums featuring the initial three Coven records alongside Rarities and Esoterica