Honestly thought Black Cobra were on their way out with so-so last album ‘Chronomega’, but this newie sees them regaining their lost form and battering the shit out of us all over again. To say things have moved on drastically would be a bit of a fib, the San Fran two-piece instead sticking to their chosen punked-up sludge metal formula and honing it yet further, the insistent, winding riffs, relentless drum barrage and monotonous loudhailer vocals welded into something mean, purposeful and strangely nimble despite the undeniable heaviness of it all. The results are reassuringly sturdy, so if, like me, you were bummed out by the previous quality dip and want to reacquaint or are new to the game and fancy something akin to 16, Celtic Frost or a stripped-down High On Fire then this here latest winterscape is definitely worth a turn or two.
