Year of the Cobra – Ash and Dust
Album Review By Adam McCann
Prophecy Productions/Psychedelic Doom
Every now and then, a band appears that manages to do something just that little bit differently and that was the case when Year of the Cobra (YOTC) delivered their debut album ‘…in the Shadows Below’ back in 2016. Since then the Seattle two piece have endlessly worked, playing shows and promoting before settling down to work on and finally deliver their sophomore album ‘Ash and Dust’.
There was a thought when listening to ‘Ash and Dust of whether the band can recapture the magic and almost unique tone that was delivered on their debut album; the answer is of course they can. YOTC push the boundaries of what this two-piece is capable of doing and in doing so, ‘Ash and Dust’ is actually, pretty damned good. The sparse drumming from Johanes Barrysmith is perfectly juxtaposed by the fluid bass playing of Amy Tung Barrysmith and without a guitar, it allows the bass to take the forefront of the music which is neither ever dull or boring. Obviously here, the psychedelic doom has all the love for Geezer Butler and that evidently comes through in Amy Tung Barrysmith’s playing; but there is something else hidden in there, 70’s rock style vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Heart and more recently Lucifer, whilst the music also has a touch of very early Soundgarden and Melvins which all give enough of that sludgey undercurrent to keep the flag flying high for the Seattle sound that can be seen during the slow-burning opener ‘The Battle of White Mountain’, ‘Demons’ and the sombre closer ‘In Despair’.
YOTC have delivered an album that is once again nothing short of excellent. For those who love their music with a psychedelic fluid bass thud and melodic vocals should definitely check out ‘Ash and Dust’, there will be no disappointment.
Rating : 82/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
