Band:	Cobalt
Album:	Slow Forever
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	March 25, 2016
Guest review by:	VIG

Disc I
01. Hunt The Buffalo
02. Animal Law
03. Ruiner
04. Beast Whip
05. King Rust
06. Breath
07. Cold Breaker

Disc II
01. Elephant Graveyard
02. Final Will
03. Iconoclast
04. Slow Forever
05. Siege

So not all Cobalt fans were really feeling the hype with Slow Forever, as Phil McSorely, the now former vocalist of the band, had backed out on the project. Apparently I read that there were some "personal differences" between Phil and Erik Wunder, the mastermind behind the band playing all the instruments. So who did Wunder replace Phil with? None other than Charlie Fell, who some may remember for his drumming in bands like Abigail Williams or his performance on vocals on Lord Mantis's Pervertor (fuckin' gnarly). So did they do a good job with this record? In my opinion, yes, they did.



But... does it live up to the good 'ol days of Cobalt? No, not really. After Eater Of Birds, the album that launched their popularity back in 2007, they took a somewhat of a different direction with Gin. There were a lot more prog influences from bands like Tool here, and while I liked it, it felt a little weird at first. I was kind of hoping they would back away from that style a little with the new one, but they didn't. But they did take a step up with it. I feel the Tool vibes work better on Slow Forever than Gin. Keep in mind, this album is really long though, a double album, so yes, it can be hard to listen to the whole thing at times.

Now, back to Charlie's vocals. They were definitely my favorite part about the whole record. His performance, to me, was outstanding. He is becoming one of my favorite vocalists. It kind of bums me out that he left Lord Mantis, but he's even better with Cobalt. Most of the time he doesn't really have the same sound as Phil at all, but he does sound a lot like he did with Lord Mantis, which, along with some elements of the music, adds a sludgy feel to the album. Musically, it can be repetitive, but it's not that boring to listen to. I would definitely say that this album is too long. I felt kind of dizzy while listening to this record once, which is weird, as it's really not that complex, but the production just kind of did that to me, I can't explain it.

So again, the album is good overall. I felt a lot of sludge elements at times, in both the music and the vocals, which I quite enjoyed. It is too long for it's own good in my opinion, but I prefer to listen to it one disc at a time, instead of listening to the whole thing (as I said, it's a double album). If I had to pick, I'd say disc 2 has the better tracks. Anyways, it's a fun and exciting record, and I enjoy it quite a lot. Another great one from Cobalt.

Favorite tracks:
04. Beast Whip
02. Final Will