It’s been 8 years since Jason Landrian (guitars, vocals) and Rafa Martinez (drums) started making noise together as Black Cobra. The two-piece sludge metal band, having just released their 4th CD Chronomega last year (check out our review), are getting ready to unleash their fangs on tour in 2010. Before they hit the road, I was able to exchange a few quick emails with Rafa to get the scoop on what he thought about their recent successes and what they had in store for us this year.

It’s been a few months now since Chronomega came out. From over here, it seems to be at the top of everyone’s radar, including ours. How has the reception been towards the album so far?

Everything has been very positive. People who like the earlier albums as well as new fans have been very receptive to the new album.

In celebration of the vinyl release of Chronomega, you’ll be playing select venues in California for the first half of February. Tell us a little about these shows.

We’re very excited about this release and we wanted to give people the opportunity to see us in a live setting for free. Southern Lord was able to set up some in-store appearances which we felt would be a perfect way to present the new album.

It looks like there were about 2 years in between Feather and Stone and Chronomega. Do you expect to continue that trend of releasing an album every two years?

More or less.  After every release we’ve had the tendency to support the albums with extensive touring.  With time,  we’ve been getting more opportunities to tour places like Japan and Australia, and more countries in Europe too.  That, plus all the tours in America and  it usually ends up taking us about 2 years to circumnavigate the globe and write an album.  We’re taking things as they come.

Has your approach to drumming in Black Cobra changed over the years? I imagine that there are many pros and cons to being “half of the band”.

It has definitely changed.  With the amount of touring we’ve done,  I’ve been able to hone in on certain aspects of my drumming that I’ve been wanting to elaborate on.  More specifically, in the polyrhythms and counter rhythms Jason and I are engaging in.  We are always trying to expand on our sound.  It seems simple because there are only two of us,  but  there’s a lot of ground that we have to cover sonically.

2009 was a big year for you – releasing a new album, switching record labels, touring – it looks like 2010 is shaping up to be that way as well. You guys are playing Hellfest this summer – will this be the first time playing at a huge European metal festival?

Yes it is and we can’t wait to do it. The line-up is incredible (KISS, Sepultura, Godflesh, Agnostic Front, Gwar, Twisted Sister and a ton of other great bands) and we’re glad to be a part of it.

Are there any bands in that list in particular that inspire or have inspired you guys? Besides Twisted Sister, of course? (kidding)

I grew up listening to Kiss.  Love them.  Agnostic Front was one of the hardcore bands from the 80’s that really stuck out for me.  ‘Cause For Alarm’ and  ‘Victim In Pain’ are awesome albums by them.

Lastly, what else can fans expect from Black Cobra in 2010?

We’ve got a week of in stores in California to commemorate the release of ‘Chronomega’ on vinyl in February.  March, we’ll be heading down to Texas for SxSw followed by a 6 week tour in the states.  Then  the European festival tour in June/July.  We are planning a headlining tour in Europe for the fall.  There are a couple of American tours in the works and we got some offers for Japan and Australia later in the year.

Get the latest news, tour dates and album information on Black Cobra from their website, and hear some of their tunes on their myspace page.