#1 – Black Cobra – Chronomega
Our vote for the loudest album of the year, and one that probably needs little introduction, goes to an album made by two friggin’ dudes. It’s hard to believe one guitar player and one drummer make this much noise, but believe it, because Chronomega is fast, fuzzy and loud!
Chrono is 9 tracks of in your face, down-tuned rock and metal. Drawing inspiration perhaps from bands like Motorhead, High on Fire and Southern groove metal in general, Chrono tears out the grooves and riffs along with some gnarly screaming vocals and furious drum beats, in true Cobra fashion. High-energy tracks like Storm Shadow, Glacies En Spiritu and Chronomega are sure to be crowd favorites. Who are we kidding? They’re ALL high energy tracks! A sentiment best summed-up from this show review from Hard Rock Chick:
After probably five failed attempts at seeing local metal duo Black Cobra, I finally made it to a show. Man, had I been missing out. First off, these two guys are loud. It should be illegal for two people to make that much noise with only a drum set, guitar, and screams….at least, that’s the only way it could be made more fun to see. Second, it’s heavy and frantic. Guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian delivers some sludgy tones while screaming like he’s trying to claw his way out of a garbage disposal. He takes a stance on occasion where he looks like he’s about to run offstage. Drummer Rafael Martinez plays like he’s working out to save his life- shirtless in athletic shorts and sweat dripping everywhere.
Chronomega is available from Southern Lord recordings and a few tracks can be heard on the band’s myspace page. Black Cobra will be playing a few shows to close out 2010, go check ‘em out!
Well, that does it for the Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009. Many thanks to the Hard Rock Chick and you all out there for recommending some great bands! See you in the pit!
Tags: Black Cobra