Black Cobra have quite an impressive sound considering they're only a two-piece band consisting of a guitarist and drummer. The duo consisting of Jason Landrian on guitar/vocals and Rafeal Martinez (ex-Acid King) on drums do a pretty good job of delivering a strong sludge metal sound that remains consistent throughout on their third album, Chronomega. Already with two albums under their belt, they are ready to be exposed to a bit wider audience with Chronomega being their first release under Southern Lord records.
Chronomega might only be nine tracks long but it definitely packs a huge punch in a short amount of time. Black Cobra plays a style of sludge/doom metal similar to bands like High on Fire with how they speed up a lot of the riffs to create almost a "wall of heaviness" as some would put it. Landrian really delivers with his riffs on Chronomega as he provides the backbone to just about every song on the record. His vocals are also pretty impressive as they almost act like an instrument with how they blend in perfectly with the music. Martinez's drumming is also very impressive on the record as he also provides a lot of power to the record with his beats that drive most of the songs.
All of the songs on Chronomega are a bit indistinguishable and all blend into one when listening to it the whole way through. They do change things up a little bit with "Catalyst" having an atmospheric intro to set the tone before the feedback kicks in leading to the drone-esque riff that begins the track. There's also "Zero Point Field" where Landrian gets a bit more creative with his riffs rather than the straightforward approach used for most of the album. The title track also has a few nice hooks that make also make it a bit more memorable compared to the rest of the album. That's specifically where this album reaches it's flaw. There just aren't enough memorable moments that blow you away. Black Cobra have a great sound going but there aren't a lot of stand out or "key" moments on this album that make it something spectacular.
Chronomega is sure to get Black Cobra's name out there a lot more now that they're on Southern Lord, and it will impress many listeners but not blow them away. Their style of sludge/doom metal is pretty unique and interesting but it doesn't leave a terribly lasting impression like bands such as High on Fire and Neurosis. However, I do feel that they can be as good as said bands in their next coming releases seeing how they can make such a strong and heavy sound with only two members.
