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Thirteen years after their last disc, the near-legendary Count Raven return with a new full-length effort. I have been avoiding this band for years because I heard they were a Christian band, and I have better things to do than listen to that kind of shit. But I got this as a promo, and a careful review of the lyrics shows them not to be Jesus themed, just hippy to the extreme. So the lyrics are nonsense, but what about the rest of it?

Black Sabbath. I mean, is this a surprise? Count Raven have made a career out of sounding just like Ozzy-era Sabbath. The only surprise here would be if you have not heard them before, you will be startled by just how much frontman Dan Fondelius sounds like Ozzy – I mean he sounds exactly fucking like him. The riffs are pretty good on here, and the songs are pretty memorable. The production job is workmanlike, with a good guitar sound. If you like Ozzy or old Sabbath you will probably like this fine. Me, I like to think Doom has evolved out of this kind of clone-band rut, and only weed-clogged burnouts will seriously argue with me. Mammon's War is okay, if you are really craving a Sabbath cover band.