Cobalt/Slow Forever/Profound Lore/2016 CD Review

  Cobalt  are  a  duo  based  in  Colorado  that  has  had  an  album  reviewed  before  by  this  zine  and  plays  a  progressive  form  of  black  metal  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Slow  Forever"  which  was  released  by  Profound  Lore.

  Clean  yet distorted  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  desert  feeling  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  radio  rock  while  being  a  lot  more  heavier.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  all  instrumental  while  some  songs  also  show  the  vocals  utilizing  aggressive  post  metal  style  shouts  and  you  can  also  hear  all of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

 When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  while  some  of  the  riffing  also  starts  incorporating  more  melodies. and  when  the  music  finally  speeds up  it  brings  in  a  Norwegian  black'n'roll  vibe  as  well  as  a small  amount  of  blast beats  and  the  riffs  also start  bringing  in  more  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  there is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  the  last  track  also  brings  in  melodic  chants

  Cobalr  creates  a  recording  that  retains  a  great  amount  of  their  black  metal  roots  while  also  incorporating  more  progressive  and  post  metal  influences  as  well  as  a  very  heavy  Tool  influence  to  create  something  very  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover    dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cobalt  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  and  post  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hunt  the  Buffalo"  "Beast  Whip"  "Elephant  Graveyard"  and  "Slow  Forever".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/COBALT 

Cobalt/Landfill Breastmilk Beast/Profound Lore Records/2008 CD REVIEW

 Cobalt are a 2 piece band from Greeley, Colorado that started out as a war metal band that has evolved more into an experimental black metal band with this release and this is a review of their 2008 ep "Landfill Breastmilk Beast" which was released by Profound Lore Records during the year of 2008 a few months before the releases of their newest full length "Gin" which I have not heard yet.

Drums on this recording are mostly slow beats with some occasional fast blast beats while the bass playing has a very heavy sound that is mostly slow and you can actually hear it on this recording, and on the last song there are a lot of effects in the ambient noise vein that sounds very ritualistic as well as nature orientated.

Rhythm guitars are mostly slow with a lot of noise and distortion that has influences from noise rock, crust, sludge and black metal, while the guitar leads are noisy and chaotic with some primitive sounding guitar solos, while the acoustic guitars use full chords and contain a very dark feel that has a lot of sorrow and depression.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some deep death metal growls and some spoken word samples, while the lyrics are kind off ritualistic with a touch of philosophy, as for the production on this ep which was recorded at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado with Dave Otero sounds very professional and you can hear all of the instruments.

Cover art on this album kind of has an artistic feel to it but it it is ruined by having cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon on it which looks all white trash and backwoods American redneck, and I would say that it is the most pathetic black metal album cover I have ever seen.

In my opinion this is an ok recording, even though I preferred their earlier material, if you like experimental black metal you might like this ep, and while I cannot agree with some of the band members views on a lot of things, I feel they are a talented band and this is a good release.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK "Ritual  use  of  Fire".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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