Black Cobra Bestial
At a Loss Recordings aal020 April 25th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
The results are in! Four out of five dentists recommend Bestial over just regular brushing. Black Cobra a collaboration between ex-Cavity associate Jason Landrian and ex-16 affiliate Rafael Martinez are yet another find for At a Loss Recordings, which, if you remember, released the stellar Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead Nor Alive by Minsk last September. And yes, the 36-minute album on hand does indeed fall squarely into the nebulous subgenre that remains nameless, or without a proper name, though I wouldnt worry as much about its classification as I would the actual music, which is about as sturdy as it gets without being truly wonderful.
The term doomcore has been thrown around quite a bit, as of late, and Im fine labeling Black Cobra as such. In league with artists such as The Abominable Iron Sloth, Deadbird, and of course Minsk, the duo have reinforced their doom base with -core netting. Fuzzy guitars rain down on everything, while the vox are garbled making Bestial a gritty record that seems guitar-driven overall, as every other instrument comes across as supplemental. More often than not, the guys will begin with a fast-paced tempo (One Nine, Thrown from Great Heights, Omniscent), but will eventually tug on the reins and elongate a splooge-worthy riff. As you may infer by just how guitar-centric this is, the grooves shelled out are amazing, and I love how a handful of numbers simply ooze out of the speakers, like Beneath and The Cry of Melora, attempting to slither their way to your eardrums. Once Broken on the Wheel touches down, however, Black Cobra parallel Mouth of the Architect as far as delivery is concerned they use the slow, timid build-up, too. Plus no review of this particular style would be complete without a cameo from virtual goliaths Isis, and Im pleased to say that El Doce de Octubre contains the lonely, seafaring traits of the formerly mentioned, which also make an appearance in Sombra de Bestia before Kay Dur Twenty tumbles down the hill at full throttle.
So in the end playing devils advocate for a sec Bestial doesnt improve upon what weve already seen from the groups cited above, nor does it do anything radically new. But, it doesnt have to because the elements presented here are rewarding enough. This fine concoction of sludge, doom, and -core was expertly mixed, plain and simple, and for me thats plenty. I dont think I could reasonably ask for more, nor do I want to. My nod still goes to Minsk, but Black Cobra are a promising unit with a solid debut on their hands. Though you wont sink your teeth into them as much as theyll sink their teeth into you: we are talking about cobras here.
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Black Cobra Website
Official At a Loss Recordings Website
At a Loss Recordings aal020 April 25th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
The results are in! Four out of five dentists recommend Bestial over just regular brushing. Black Cobra a collaboration between ex-Cavity associate Jason Landrian and ex-16 affiliate Rafael Martinez are yet another find for At a Loss Recordings, which, if you remember, released the stellar Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead Nor Alive by Minsk last September. And yes, the 36-minute album on hand does indeed fall squarely into the nebulous subgenre that remains nameless, or without a proper name, though I wouldnt worry as much about its classification as I would the actual music, which is about as sturdy as it gets without being truly wonderful.
The term doomcore has been thrown around quite a bit, as of late, and Im fine labeling Black Cobra as such. In league with artists such as The Abominable Iron Sloth, Deadbird, and of course Minsk, the duo have reinforced their doom base with -core netting. Fuzzy guitars rain down on everything, while the vox are garbled making Bestial a gritty record that seems guitar-driven overall, as every other instrument comes across as supplemental. More often than not, the guys will begin with a fast-paced tempo (One Nine, Thrown from Great Heights, Omniscent), but will eventually tug on the reins and elongate a splooge-worthy riff. As you may infer by just how guitar-centric this is, the grooves shelled out are amazing, and I love how a handful of numbers simply ooze out of the speakers, like Beneath and The Cry of Melora, attempting to slither their way to your eardrums. Once Broken on the Wheel touches down, however, Black Cobra parallel Mouth of the Architect as far as delivery is concerned they use the slow, timid build-up, too. Plus no review of this particular style would be complete without a cameo from virtual goliaths Isis, and Im pleased to say that El Doce de Octubre contains the lonely, seafaring traits of the formerly mentioned, which also make an appearance in Sombra de Bestia before Kay Dur Twenty tumbles down the hill at full throttle.
So in the end playing devils advocate for a sec Bestial doesnt improve upon what weve already seen from the groups cited above, nor does it do anything radically new. But, it doesnt have to because the elements presented here are rewarding enough. This fine concoction of sludge, doom, and -core was expertly mixed, plain and simple, and for me thats plenty. I dont think I could reasonably ask for more, nor do I want to. My nod still goes to Minsk, but Black Cobra are a promising unit with a solid debut on their hands. Though you wont sink your teeth into them as much as theyll sink their teeth into you: we are talking about cobras here.
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Black Cobra Website
Official At a Loss Recordings Website
