Black Cobra Bestial

Before I say anything else, I need to preface this review with the following statement: The new Black Cobra album Bestial is very good. That said, I hate writing reviews for bands of this style (sludge/stoner/doom/metal/whatever) because it's very hard to get the point across and undoubtedly someone will misconstrue what I'm trying to say.It does an injustice to bands like Black Cobra to try to make only one sub-genre moniker stick, or to say they simply fit in the vein of some other band's style. It's not that cut and dried, and this is not one of those promotional stickers on CDs that says if you like Hatebreed, Pantera, Neil Diamond, and Jay Z, then you'll fucking LOVE Black Cobra! Regardless, many people just won't be happy unless comparisons are made, so here you go. Black Cobra has former members of 16 and Cavity, and those bands influences are not necessarily lost in the current material. To go a few steps further, Black Cobra embodies the devastating heaviness of Graves at Sea, at times the dirge-like qualities of Electric Wizard, at other times the pissed off punk intensity of Discharge, the riff worship of High on Fire, and the enraged despair of Eyehategod. Hopefully by now, you're at least in the same ballpark. And if you're familiar with these bands, you should know that Black Cobra does it a little heavier, and with a lot more piss and vinegar. The guitar and bass are tuned down very low, and exhibit a very warm, full, and crushing sound. The drumming is well placed and executed. And the vocals are not spoken or shouted, but full on screamed the whole album. Much of the songs on Bestial revolve around a couple riffs that are subtly explored - variations on a theme, if you will. However, this doesn't mean that it's repetitive. The songs are catchy in a very good way, and there is plenty of variation within the album to beg repeat listens. Bottom Line: Fans of this style will immediately love this offering, while others may find this is the album that finally allows them to see the light.