Customer Reviews

Eater of Birds

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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This is possibly one of the best black metal releases I have ever heard come out of America. This duo from Colorado take the raw aesthetic of Darkthrone, fused with the free-form song structures of modern Mayhem, and put together a solid slab of riff-driven metal.

The album is structured oddly, with all-out assaults interspersed with quieter, more introspective tracks mostly composed of ambient noise and acoustic guitar. The music goes from traditional black metal to beyond, with groove and death metal moments. "Blood Eagle Sacrifice" starts with a Darkthrone-style riff, only to move into traditional black metal territory with tremelo picking and blast beats, then to a groove-laden breakdown, then to the song's climax. "Witherer" is a riff inferno, a showcase of Cobalt's varied influences; it moves from riff to riff to interludes with ease. Cobalt's grooves and tribal drumming come out in full force in "Invincible Sun", which opens with a tribal beat and the segues into a full-force black metal attack - complete with blastbeats - and then back again.

The song structures on "Eater of Birds" are deceptively complex and free-form. Unlike other bands, the sparse instrumentation and straight-ahead riffing makes the changes seem to flow. The drums are tight and competent, but even the blastbeats have a "roll" than is distinctly American, and you can't help but move your head to it. The guitar sounds are amazingly full bodied for black metal, with plenty of midrange and a simple, clear production. The vocals are typical black metal, rasped and pretty much unintelligible.

Don't get fooled: this isn't your classic Norwegian-style black metal party. there are no inverted crosses or corpse paint. But the essential elements of old-school black metal are here, in a very sparse and dark aesthetic. Enjoy.

I don't usually write reviews, but I recently got this CD and love it, and I see there are currently no reviews, and so I'll help get the word out.

This music is hard to classify... some songs are speedy death metal, while others are atmospheric acoustics. Each song is a bit different, providing nice variety and contrast.

This music is not vocal-driven... instead, the guitar and drum are the major components. Some songs have death-metal vocals, but it is not emphasized and some songs have no vocals at all. The lyrics are not intelligible.

The drumming is clearly not programmed. It is thumping, and sometimes tribal-sounding. The guitar is driving, sometimes sounding like a chainsaw, and technical. I don't hear a bass or keyboard.

The songs have non-conventional structures, and each sounds distinctive. Some have a live feel, like a jam session that builds into a peak and back down again. The death metal songs are fast, with some melody and a strong beat. The slower songs have guitar and atmospheric sounds, which make a nice break and contrast. Most songs are in the 5-10 minute range, and the total time is around 70 minutes, with no filler.

I'm not sure what bands to compare with Cobalt... the mixture of hard and soft music reminds me of Opeth. The guitar work reminds me of Vreid or Tool. The vocals and open song structure remind me of Enslaved.

This is a very interesting CD, and I'll be playing this one quite a bit. I don't understand why this band is not more well-known and popular. I highly recommend this.

i agree with the other reviewer, this is a difficult album to classify. imo however, it is nothing short of amazing. it's super-heavy at times and atmospheric and dark during others. the non-acoustic tracks positively rock. cobalt is the closest thing you're going to get to a death-metal jam band with long, driving songs full of intense breakdowns that just don't seem to stop. f'ing rock! the acoustic tracks are eerie and dark with classically influenced guitar work that really help intensify the overall album experience. check it out, you won't be disappointed.

ps, those of you with fast cars might want to plug the radar detector in for this one!