My first experience of this uncompromising and intense technical death metal outfit was back in 2018 in the much beloved and missed Maguires Pizza Bar when they played with Neuroma in their final ever hometown show. The band were a total unknown to me and watching them live was incredible: the flawless execution of their music pulled no punches as gravity blasts, incredibly complex guitar and bass lines and a commanding vocal display captured the attention of all in attendance and from there, they were a band I had promised to keep an eye out for. That promise obviously never happened as I was totally caught off guard when their name popped up on the review list and I discovered that ‘Abhorrence’ would be the bands 5th release! So without further exposition, let’s see what the New Jersey Technical Death Metal machine has come up with this time.
Title track “Abhorrence” opens up with a thunderous riff which churns away with some serious weight to it. The crushing delivery as it shifts into the verse is spot on, allowing the vocal screams to lay siege as it churns away. The chorus picks up the pace with some relentless blast beat work and the vocal shift reminds me a little of Cattle Decapitation in how it has that tortured edge to the ‘clean’ lines. It’s a maelstrom of activity and as the track shifts towards its conclusion, the massive breakdown section just adds to the intensity. This opening effort is a statement of intent and I am fully on board with it!
“Insidious” is full speed from the start. The wild but controlled delivery is slammed into you with little warning and it doesn’t let up. Rapid fire riffing, blasting and roaring persists throughout the track, slowing down to add some dissonance in to add an extra edge in what sounds like a chorus section but even if you can’t quite keep up with or identify the stand out sections of the track, the sheer power and ferocity behind the delivery more than makes up for feeling overwhelmed. Throw in some slick lead work delivered with a crisp sound which adds some class and you’ve got one hell of a song. “A Pact Unholy” keeps up the theme of non-stop intensity. More frantic and with a wilder edge than the previous track, it has quite the unhinged edge to the vocal delivery and riff compositions. The ever reliable drums keep the assault going with a barrage of double kick bursts and blasting spells of dominance but it’s definitely all about the vocal work on this track. The tortured screaming shifts to that unhinged Travis Ryan-esque clean and then to some raspy screams before some big guttural roaring. Throw this over some technical edged breakdowns and you’ve got a monster of a song.
“Ivory Tower” has some serious grooves loaded into it. The commanding harmonic laden verse riff will have heads banging and the way the drums subtly build in activity before it surges into the complex maze of chugging and intricate fills is a great touch. Much later in the track it slows down to a dissonant melodic section which has some superb and stylish guitar theatrics. “As The Light Fades” marks the halfway point of the release and it is intense from the off. Dissonance and sweeping guitars shift into a brutally heavy vocal led flurry of buzzing riffs and blasts before the atonal breakdown chug riffs come in hard. It’s rather expressive, with a sorrowful air woven into the delivery of the chorus sections and the dissonance which permeates the track and it’s surprising at how effectively it actually triggers a kind of emotional response. On the 3 minute mark the whole air of the track shifts. A cleaner sound and slow build slips into an expressive guitar solo over the more restrained approach and it works perfectly, capping the track in style and making it one of the best moments of the release.
“Savor The Suffering” is a massive track. Its opening chugs delivered at a slow pace hammer away and let the raw vocal roars lead the way before the pace picks up significantly and things get frantic. Rapid tempo shifts from angular chugs to frantic blast bursts and buzzing riffs keep you on your feet and the torture samples during the later phases of the track add to that intensity. “Containment Breach” is back to the more familiar, fast paced musical assault. The precise delivery and intense blasts fuel the straight up technical death metal approach and the cleaner singing sections later in the track add a nice touch to add some diversity to the sound. “Rorschach” brings back the atmospheric use of dissonance to aid in adding that cutting edge to the atmosphere and when combined with the fast paced assault, it creates an intense listening experience. The chaotic bursts of intricate riffs and straight up buzzing blasts gives the track a chaotic feel when it’s going at breakneck speeds, and when it slows down, the heavier edge of the low tuned chugs and raw screams keep the intensity up as the music shifts to a more controlled delivery with some expressive lead work and atmospheric arrangements under it before it all comes slamming down with intensity once again.
“Lunar Psychopathy” is the penultimate track and it swings things back to the intense and rapid fire technical death metal approach again. The drums on this track are huge. You can hear the precision in every hit and the way the double bass pummels away is extremely enjoyable. The touches of melodic compositions to add some extra atmosphere round the lead works nicely, letting things dial back slightly to allow the cutting lead time to shine before the hammering begins once again and the vocals once again are fantastic and pull no punches. Closing the release is “Cold Dead Hands” and it’s what you have come to expect by now from Cognitive on this release. It’s a slice of technical death metal which is delivered with precision and style. A great groove runs through it, tightly entwined with the relentless blasts and frantic delivery sections. It’s a well-oiled machine which doesn’t pull any punches in its unrelenting attack and it wraps things up nicely.
In all, Cognitive have put out a fantastic release here. Their musicianship is unquestionable as the entire band works in synergy, knowing when to unleash the intense gravity blasts or the stylish soloing or the wild and unhinged vocals. Everything fits into place and feels rather organic, something which most technical death metal seems to be missing. Unrelenting from start to end, “Abhorrence” is absolutely one of the best records you will hear this year.
(9/10 Fraggle)
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