Black Cobra – Invernal (2011)

As hard-hitting as a bag of bricks, today we have Black Cobra’s fourth full-length release “Invernal”. Following the same devastating path as in “Chronomega”, the band delivers 40 minutes of relentless riffing and crushing drumming all packaged in eight well balanced tracks. Not reinventing the wheel or anything, Black Cobra excels at what they do and do not try anything pretentious a very effective approach due to their own sound and power.

Getting right down to business, “Avalanche” delivers punishing riffs and well paced drums. The band’s power is made known since the first track and never goes too soft or two slow, like most Sludge/Doom bands these days. Jason’s vocals are very fitting of the music and deliver the band’s message in a powerful way. But his guitar skills are what make this release quite interesting to the ear.

“Somnae Tenebrae” and “Corrosion Fields” continue in the same vein as the first track, but on “The Crimson Blade” we get a nice change of pace since the opening riff and some very punishing sections. The thick and very sludgy “Beyond” is our favorite track of this very well crafted release. In this song Black Cobra delivers a very thick atmosphere that embodies what the genre is all about, and how good the band really is in creating an enveloping sound.

Closing this release with “Obliteration”, the band almost goes into Death Metal mode with such a brutal song. The riffing is powerful and Rafael’s drumming is just right on the money. Much of the album is very well crafted to sound thick and powerful. The guitars are very nicely mixed and sound devastating and natural at the same time. The drums are very well balanced and never overshadow the vocals or guitars.

After the very solid “Chronomega”, Black Cobra shows that with “Invernal” they can keep pushing their sound further and perfecting their trade. If you are looking for a powerful and natural sounding release featuring crushing Sludge songs, look no further and get “Invernal”.

Release: October 11th, 2011

Country: USA