Fuck yes.
Sometimes I get bored with metal music as a whole. I just can't get into it, it just doesn't engage me. Lately I've gone through a major postrock/postmetal phase where I just listen to lots of stuff that is ambient and has tons of atmosphere. The only real 'heavy' stuff I've been lapsing into has been Pig Destroyer for my ADD 'I NEED SOMETHING HEAVY AND I NEED IT NOW' fixes while at work.
Funny enough, I found out about Cobalt by seeing "Invincible Sun" on Paper Thin Walls. PTW is a site that is either really hit or miss with the singles they post, but for some reason on this day I pulled the plug from my mp3 player and plugged it back into my PC. I was kinda bored with everything I had and needed something new. I listened to a bunch of indie stuff, some good, some shitty, some just there, when I decided to take a crack at something metal.
This seemed like a way too obviously choice, as it looks like its Jarboe's latest "I feel like doing vocals with some metal band" project. I've always had a soft spot for the Swans, and of course Jarboe's album she did with Neurosis will always be near and dear to my heart. Needless to say, this is leaps and bounds different than what she did with Neurosis, she only appears on a few tracks, and her voice can barely be heard through the screaming guitars, pounding drums and crazy vocals.
Black Metal can wear thin on me I find, and I don't even know if its fair to call this straight up black metal. The album starts off pounding the shit out of the listener with "When Serpents Return" and "Ulcer" but then brings it down to a really mellow 5 minutes with "Ritual Use of Fire." This mellow doesn't last long, as it bleeds right into the next two tracks. "Ritual Use of Fire" is a title used for 3 tracks, creating a leitmotif of epic proportions.
Jarboe's most distinct track on this album is "Androids, Automatons and Nihilists" which only lasts briefly, but is just about as perfect of a 4-minute segue as you are going to get. The album rounds out with a 10+ minute epic title-track, which shows just how much potential to kick ass this band has. I know I'm being rather brief, but I'm just trying to collect my thoughts quickly on this album. I'm sure I'll be able to add to this later on, but for now I want to give this a few more listens.
You should too.
