Gin [PA] (CD - 2009)

Specializing in a brand of metal that they like to call "extreme war metal," the Colorado-based two-man band Cobalt merge moody, mid-paced riffery with death metal screams, as evidenced throughout their 2009 offering, Gin. A simply punishing and sonically dense release from front to back, Gin is one fierce beast -- which manages to do so without bowing down to your run-of-the-mill extreme metal tricks. As the Cobalt chaps prove throughout -- especially on such ditties as "Arsonry" and "Stomach" -- you don't have to have the speedometer cranked all the way to the top to get your point across if you're an extreme metal act. Also included are two tracks on which former Swans singer Jarboe drops by -- "A Clean, Well Lighted Place" and "Pregnant Insect." With most extreme metal bands adhering to the same game plan nowadays, it's good to hear a group attempting to put its own stamp on the genre, and as evidenced by Gin, Cobalt are one of the few bands brave enough to do so. ~ Greg Prato minimize