Sweet Cobra

Hardcore guys with heavy hearts finally embrace their late ’70s groove rock influences to the fullest. Sweet Cobra may be rooted in the testosterone-fuelled emotion of Tragedy but by intertwining Forever with the steady metre of Pentagram, the fuzz of Black Sabbath and incorporating gritty, disgruntled frustration with the world as captured by Coliseum, the album truly is a unique approach to the genre. These eight songs range from menacingly slow and lugubrious bits of introspection to thick, expedient bouts of tormented rage. The rhythmic staccato that’s defined Sweet Cobra on past efforts is in its prime here, the band rarely diverging from their downbeat approach. Still, it only serves to ensure that each song is engaging.