San Francisco's Black Cobra bring us now Imperium Simulacra, their first new album in four years. I must say, this was an album that caught me off guard with little time to review it last month. The promo didn't come to me until the day it was released, and I don't recall seeing any advertising prior to this time. It's really a shame too, because the album is quite good. There is a solid mixture of styles at play featuring the grit and groove of Godflesh mixed with the stoner sludge of High on Fire, and a little thrash for good measure. Hopefully this late summary will convince a few more people to check it out.
There are a few things that struck me about this release, but I think the vocals jumped out first. They can almost be prefectly described as some sort of halfway point between Tom Araya and Al Jourgensen. They have the harsh intensity of the former with the effects of the latter, and a shared love between them of very deliberate use of cadence. The style very much complients the overall groove of the other instruments perfectly, similar to the way Meshuggah utilize vocals as added percussion.
Speaking of groove, Imperium Simulacra is positively dripping with it. The guitar lines are, to quote the great Jesse Ventura in Predator, like a "sexual Tyrannosaurus." I want to move, and I want it to be in unison with a scantily clad person of the opposite sex. I want to sweat, and I want primal urges to take over. These confusing, raging hormones are further emphasized by the giant erection of snare strikes and pounding toms. There is a sense of urgency as if the world depends on getting down right now to populate the human race. You don't have to ask twice.
As far as criticism goes, I have little. The tracks are pretty uniform, and at base there is not much new here...but it works. It works well enough that I wouldn't even change anything about it. I don't necessarily see this as an album I'll be talking about for days on end, but it's certainly something that I want in my shuffle rotation. And every time it comes on, you'd better count on me unbuttoning my shirt and growing some chest hair. Stream below.