The riff hits. The adrenalin kicks in. The darkness erupts. All heavy metal hell breaks loose. The Coven is awake...

The philosophy behind Witchskull's take on the essence of primeval heaviness is simple enough. Listen to the first few seconds of the Australian trio's brand new, second album Coven's Will and if the vibe doesn't instantly grab you by the balls and the synapses then maybe you walked in through the wrong door. Channelling the spirit of the metal gods and injecting every last moment of their rampaging anthems with a jolting dose of lysergic menace, Witchskull are the unstoppable real deal.

Formed in Canberra in 2014, Witchskull grabbed the attention of the hirsute, underground hordes with their first demo in 2015. The band's debut album, The Vast Electric Dark, emerged soon after to great acclaim: its thunderous, turbo-charged squall striking an instant, devilish chord with headbangers hungry for life-affirming riffs, a dash of grubby-fingered authenticity and lashings of supernatural venom. Honed and nurtured in sweaty practice rooms and on stages across the band's native Australia, the Witchskull sound has subsequently evolved, leading to Coven's Will: a sophomore outing that looks certain to thrust the three-piece to the upper echelons of the stoner world. Recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn, NYC, with producers Billy Anderson (Neurosis/Sleep/Buzzov.en) and Jason Fuller (Blood Duster) and mixed at Jason's Goatsound Studio in Melbourne, Coven's Will has mutated into a snarling, muscular acid-metal monster.

Coven's Will is out on June 1 through Rise Above Records - the label founded by Lee Dorrian of Cathedral and Napalm Death fame.