Review Summary: Comfortably Cobalt.
Only Cobalt sound like Cobalt. The band has cultivated such a distinct brand of metal, composed of animalistic guitar riffs and explosive drumming, that fans and journalists routinely have trouble pinning their sound down to a single genre label. Most choose instead to list a number of styles that inform their sound, from black metal to crust punk to folk. But even those lists need to include an et cetera, a tacit admission that no combination of influences quite captures the elusive beast that is Cobalt’s sound. Thus, it’s appropriate, and a little comforting, that the most accurate way to describe
Slow Forever, Cobalt’s follow-up to 2009’s
Gin, is that it sounds like a Cobalt album.
Slow Forever delivers a familiar collection of wild, pummeling riffs, with just enough changes to keep Cobalt’s signature sound fresh.
Among those changes are a greater incorporation of bass guitar and folk elements, but perhaps the biggest change to Cobalt’s sound is the result of a lineup change: Original vocalist Phil McSorley, who was kicked out for posting a misogynistic and homophobic tirade on Facebook, has been replaced on
Slow Forever by Lord Mantis transplant Charlie Fell. Where McSorley’s vocals were merely competent enough to fit neatly into Cobalt’s animalistic aesthetic, Fell’s visceral howls propel it to brilliant new heights. The unhinged scream with which he enters opener “Hunt the Buffalo” is absolutely stunning, and later in the track, his frenzied delivery imbues the lyric “I am not a man, I am just a dog” with a degree of depth and pathos that McSorley never supplied.
These changes aside, however,
Slow Forever sounds how any listener would expect a Cobalt album to sound--which is to say, gloriously untamed. Guitars churn out beastly riff after beastly riff, chaotic drums pounding away alongside like a rhinoceros stampede. A variety of tempos and different permutations of the styles and influences that form Cobalt’s DNA--black metal, crust punk, dashes of early Neurosis, and that indescribable et cetera--prevent the onslaught of riffs from ever growing stale. The maelstrom is regularly interspersed with brief quieter passages, which provide additional variety without overstaying their welcome. In many cases, those quieter moments build to the breaking point where the ferocity is unleashed again, ultimately making the frenzy feel earned. By keeping all the elements that have defined Cobalt’s unique sound throughout their career,
Slow Forever is consistent without being stagnant, familiar without being formulaic, and comfortable without being safe.
Until the last track, that is. “Siege” is a different beast, one that progresses not from riff to riff but through a minimalistic build surrounding a single guitar note. Instead of feral howls, Fell delivers tortured wails and chant-like singing. It’s a shocking departure from the previous eleven tracks, yet it’s undeniably Cobalt, with its frenzied guitars and primal drumming. It provides a hint of Cobalt’s potential, suggesting that they can expand their sound to new frontiers while remaining uniquely Cobalt. But until they decide to explore that potential, there’s always
Slow Forever, an immensely enjoyable album that showcases Cobalt’s familiar, unique brand of animalistic metal at its strongest.
