An Introduction To The Black Arts, the joint venture from two of doom's modern giants, Richmond druglords COUGH and UK occultists THE WOUNDED KINGS, is now available for pre-order from Forcefield Records.

The limited run of 1,500 (300 green/1,200 black) dwells within 180 gram slabs of virgin vinyl, and features two rituals of cripplingly heavy doom. The official release date is November 16th - abandon all hope here.

On Side A, Cough's 'The Gates of Madness' crawls through nearly twenty minutes of distorted, tortured doom, dragging leaden feet towards a half-dug grave. Heavier than sin and as hopeless as a murderer's prayers, this Richmond quartet recently joined forces with Relapse Records to release their second full-length, Ritual Abuse, and are gearing up for two massive live actions - one to span the States, one to cross the sea and infiltrate Europe's borders. The cursed influence of ELECTRIC WIZARD, GRAVES AT SEAS,, drug lust, hard living and lonely Southern nights have coalesced into a many-headed beast that wishes nothing but ill unto its fellows. So high, so dead...

Side B summons the gorgeously crafted, mournfully executed notes of Dartmoor, England's The Wounded Kings, whose deeply affecting, occult-laced take on the traditional side of doom has earned them an outpouring of accolades including an invitation to last year's edition of the prestigious Roadburn festival. 'Curse of Chains' will grab you by the heartstrings and drag you to your knees - fifteen plus minutes of doom as it should be done. Haunting words soar high above a crushing swath of riffage and deathly tempo, draped under a veil of apocalyptic sadness, occult ritualism, and sweet melancholia. Fans of WARNING, CANDLEMASS, REVEREND BIZARRE, rejoice; this is a love song for the end of the world...