Music should be a commitment for both the artist and the listener, as it forms a relationship that can enrich lives, salve wounds, and connect us to something greater. But we live in an era where people sample from streaming platforms more than ever, and that relationship to a record isn’t made quite as often as it used to be. We can drop in and drop out, no strings attached.
Metal listeners seem to be a different animal altogether, and the amount of bands that commit to epic-length songs and marathon records is plentiful. One of those is Jersey-based sludge/doom crushers Cowardice, who have not graced us with a full-length album in eight years. That ends with “Atavist,” an 11-track, 85-minute bruiser that does demand your time and energy and won’t just let you off easily after a track or two. The album is divided into two parts, “Suzerain” and “Sentinel,” that have slightly different personas but work perfectly to create a greater whole. The band—vocalist Mark Guiliano, guitarists Julian Cardazone and Nick Zwiren, bassist Stephen Edwards, drummer Chris Ward—is at the top of their game here, pouring all of their vitriol and power into this record that flies by and feels about half as long as it really is.
“To the Hilt of Humanity” opens the record and the “Suzerain” portion, dripping blackness before the heaviness arrives in droves, shrieks gutting amid melodic fog. The playing buzzes as the guitars numb, later soaring and taking on atmospheric sheen, lumbering as it adds bruising. Layers add textures, guitars surge and trudge, and ugliness burns into the ground. “Cloisters” emerges in a guitar cloud, pounding and boiling in melody, a beastly fury swimming into airy passages that cool the flesh. The leads quiver as guest vocalist Kate Parker’s singing adds new colors, elevating the already strong emotion into a tidal wave. “Panicle of Lowliness” is a quick instrumental piece that exists in shadows, guitars slinking and searching through the dark, leaving mystery behind. “Unforgeable Key” opens with drums echoing and the growls retching, clawing and slithering through the mud, doom glimmering during moody storms. The playing gets chunkier as the drums hit harder, the blistering pressure mounting, swimming even deeper into the murk, scraping across flesh, leaving blood trails behind. “Eastern Woodland Reverie” completely levels you right away, howls crushing before the playing gets colder, journeying through thickening weather, the strength reopening and getting deadlier. The atmosphere gazes and numbs, hellish howls belting out into the night, the sludge collecting before the temperatures drop again. The playing is elegant and easily obscures vision, flooding as everything is consumed by noise zaps. “Moss Stone” rounds out the first half, guitars hypnotizing, singing floating like a ghost, the brief track slowly disappearing into space.
“Clairvoyance Anxiety” begins the “Sentinel” portion, a darker beast that brings glowing leads, monstrous growls, and drubbing playing, a vile sentiment wrapped around every moment. Guitars add haze as the punches land harder, the playing tricking your mind, the howls decimating as the pace keeps pounding away. From there, the guitars catch fire and torch land, the heaviness growing more oppressive and laying waste. “The Diminutive Principle” slowly batters, the leads frying as they fold and burn into muddy waters. There’s a slight Western vibe to the melodies, guitars sliding as forceful howls erupt, lacerating as wounds flow openly. “Aphelion” is a glassy-eyed interlude, guitars making it feel like your legs are betraying you, your mind helplessly wandering into the darkest possible terrain. “Annulment” is dark and foreboding, Parker’s voice returning to haunt, the playing exploding as harsh wails enter the room. The force is massive and hulking, acidic gusts eating away at your flesh, ugly punishment having its way with your psyche. Drums combust as wrenching hell bubbles up to the surface, guitars lapping over bruising growls, drums encircling as echoes consume whole. Mammoth closer “Hail of Mages” runs 17:08 and makes the most of its time, developing slowly, thoroughly numbing, the growls ripping away at your muscles. The playing is stormy and battering, hypnotic guitars making your head spin, the drums coming unglued as every inch of this thing bristles. The pace gets deadlier as heavy blows take their toll, melodic lava spreads, and the final notes ring out into time.
“Atavist” is a record that demands your time and energy, and you will give up a plethora of both when committing to this journey. Luckily, it’s more than worth it as Cowardice serve a stunning display of sludgy doom that might not rewrite the book on this style but adds a steady and crucial element to this subgenre’s foundation. It aligns with all the personal darkness and torment in your mind and reminds you that you’re not alone, and that even though it’s part of your life, you can take hold of reality and bend it to your will.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/cowardicedoom/
To buy the album, go here: https://cowardicedoom.bandcamp.com/album/atavist
Or here (US): https://riffmerchant.bandcamp.com/album/atavist
For more on the label, go here: https://riffmerchant.bandcamp.com/
And here: https://www.burningworldrecords.com/
Meat Mead Metal 