Cognitive – Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction (Unique Leader) [Liam True]
I was unfamiliar with Cognitive before hearing their latest full-length, titled Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction, out now on Unique Leader. The New Jersey technical death metallers are now on their fourth full-length, a decade after forming. The technical death metal scene is very saturated at the moment, particularly in that part of the world, meaning that several bands are currently going under the radar. ‘Good’ no longer cuts it – you have to be doing something really special to receive any widespread attention. For an extreme band to release an album, saying it’ll be their best mix of technicality/groove/melody/brutality, seems an old adage by now. Cognitive, however, hit this nail square on the head with a sledgehammer. It is safe to say that Cognitive stand above their contemporaries – and here’s why…
An old modem dial tone opens Eniac before Cognitive set the scene quickly, with an uncompromising sense of brutality. With furious blasts, face-contorting breakdowns and irresistible grooves, the omnipresent technicality is proof that this is a tech-death album, but littered with all those elements that make death metal so great. Arterial Red is a great example of how Cognitive don’t dilute any of the heavy, brutal backbone to the record with their dizzying sense of technicality. Yet they appreciate the simpler, more primal aspects of death metal, too. Cognitive have plenty to keep the chug fans happy on this record, especially on the likes of From The Depths and To Feed The Worms. The Maw has riff work that seems to snap your head from its neck before you know it, and a sludgy, groovy breakdown midway through From The Depth is nothing short of genius – but still with that impressive technical edge. AJ Viana’s drumming really stands out on his first outing for the band – take that opening fill in Oroborous and he keeps the band under control whenever they frantically pick up in pace. Cognitive certainly aren’t afraid to break the speed limit. They have all those classic, charming brutal elements to stunning effect.
Cognitive are more than just a collection of heavy riffs, though. Many of the songs have sections that are fairly different to the others in that same song in isolation, but the band seamlessly float between them with their masterful grasp on song writing. From The Deaths cleverly starts and ends with chugging, intelligently bringing the song writing full circle at its conclusion. The lead guitar work is really tasteful as well. Cognitive use it as a fantastic component of To Feed The Worms, to contrast with its other sections, which are just ridiculously brutal. Yet, these wouldn’t hit as hard without the sense of light and shade that Cognitive do not shy away from. Over Eniac the solo manages to balance both melody with dissonance, and provides a real sense of emotion to the melodic Destitute, a long song that features powerful vocals within its mix that aren’t quite ‘clean singing’, but closer to that sort of thing than at any point over the record. Malevolent Thoughts has a clever sense of musicality as well, that requires several listens for it really to sink in. You get the impression that as musicians, Cognitive really know what they’re doing. It helps them stand from the crowd tenfold.
It’s hard to find fault in Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction. It’s almost unlucky for Cognitive the way that 2021 has been so strong for so many metal releases so far, with several bands outdoing themselves. By now, though, it’s unfair for any self-respecting death metalhead to sleep on Cognitive any longer. A rare mix of technical prowess, well-considered songwriting and, most importantly, memorability. 8/10
Wizardthrone - Hypercube Necrodimensions (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Yep you read that right, Wizardthrone, it's a silly name for what is a silly band. Belying any one genre, their long awaited debut album Hypercube Necrodimensions is a blistering fusion of furious melodic death metal, galloping power metal, cinematic symphonics along with folk/black/groove and multiple others. The entire record is based around wizards and Lovecraftian sci-fi horror while the band itself is made up of members of Alestorm, Nekrogoblikon and Gloryhammer, so there's a lot of elements thrown around everything culminating with the 13 minute final Beyond The Wizardthrone (Cryptopharmalogical Revelations Of The RiemannZeta Function).
It has everything that the band bring to the rest of the album over a longer run time, though the longer runtime isn't that required because the rest of the album manages to be incredibly dense musically rarely letting up with the explosive audio assault. It's breathless stuff no doubt and despite the virtuoso performances and the tongue-in-cheek all-out extreme sound favoured by Devy back when he was heavy in SYL, I did think that occasionally it needed to strip back a little to stop the songs blurring into one long blast of craziness. Hypercube Necrodimensions is a bubbling pot of metal influences that rages without relinquishing even for a moment, however it can be a little tiring. 7/10
Weston Super Maim – 180-Degree Murder (Self Released) [Liam True]
Weston Super Maim has been lurking in the shadows as a one-man recording project spearheaded by UK musician Tom Stevens (All Of Space, Brown Stratos) for some time, however 180-Degree Murder marks a new level of intent, with US-based Seth Detrick of Los Angeles thrash outfit PDP uniting with Stevens to handle vocal duties. Drawing inspiration from the abstracted time signatures of Meshuggah, the groove and dissonance of Will Haven, and the riffs-above-all-else approach of Crowbar – as well as the boundary-pushing musicianship of bands like Car Bomb and Humanity’s Last Breath – the EP is an ultra-heavy, surprisingly melodic journey through the extreme metal landscape.
Written as a single track, 180-Degree Murder traverses caveman heaviness, tech-driven grooves and shifting melodic patterns to create an immersive experience that rewards multiple listens. The writing process for the EP began in 2019. By the time the pandemic hit, an early instrumental draft had already been recorded, but it wasn’t until Detrick joined the project in June 2020 that things really began to take shape. Making use of extra time at home in London during the first UK lockdown, Stevens re-tracked instruments for the EP at his home studio while Detrick developed lyrical ideas and vocal patterns from his home in Eugene, Oregon. Vocal tracking was completed in early 2021, and the mix not long thereafter.
Thematically, the EP is on one hand a disdainful take on the state of contemporary society and collective human behaviour, with a healthy apocalyptic vibe. On another, it has a more complex, introspective element, with the epic sections of the music offering a counterpoint to the nihilism in the lyrics. Binding it all together is the work of UK collage artist JoyPolloi, somehow translating an intangible fifteen minutes of music into a single piece of abstract art, representing the final piece of the Weston Super Maim jigsaw. 8/10
Ison - Aurora (Avantgarde Music) [Matt Bladen]Ison is a project that was created by Daniel Änghede and Heike Langhans, many will know Daniel from his time in Crippled Black Phoenix and Heike is the longing voice of Draconian. In 2019 Heike left the band but Daniel had the urge to create more music for the project so he continued by himself bringing in several guests on vocals. Aurora is the 4th album by ISON with Daniel writing/recording/producing and mixing all of the music here. Additional bass lines come from Katatonia's Niklas Sandin and synths from Mark Furnevall who is also ex-Crippled Black Phoenix. Ison's music is not for balmy sunny days, the ambient, multilayered cosmic, post-metal is emotional and cathartic. Underpinned by an uncomfortable sadness driven by an electronic thump, whispered spoken words and sterling performances.