TORCHE:
Stoner pop? Beach Boys-like doom? Whatever

COBALT:
I don't really consider us black metal in any sense of what black metal is.

DODSFERD:
Motivated by desolation,
despair, hate, irony, death,
loss, betrayal, etc

PYGMYLUSH:
Between the delicacy of
gorgeous acoustics & the
ugliness of noise rock.

TRACTOR SEX FATALITY:
The most active defunct garage band in Seattle answers our questions.

MERCILESS DEATH:
Thrash metal revivalists  
speak out against false metal

JONAH JENKINS:
The man behind the voice of some of the most underrated underground American bands. 

THE PAX CECILIA:
Giving their music away for free. And it's damn good too.  

WORLD COLLAPSE:
Hardcore has always been about self-expression and
that's exactly what we do. 

U.S. CHRISTMAS:
North Carolina psychedelic hard-rockers acquire
'band to watch' status..

INTRONAUT:
The best self-indulgent odd metered prog metal band around.   

GENTLE VEINCUT:
German angular punk rock/post-hardcore for lack of a better term. 

THE INTELLECTUALS:
Italian garage rock you must know. 

NACHTMYSTIUM:
Spearheading a new wave of  extreme American music.  

BARONESS:
Men of a few words. 

MOTHER TONGUE:
On their beginnings, their first record and their first demise. 

FLATTBUSH:
Extreme world music via San  Francisco.

TOTIMOSHI:
Six drummers & four records later the band unleashes its finest.

HOLY HEART FAILURE:
Shitty emo puss-pop bands & a short tale of Wild Turkey.

THE JONBENET:
Bar recordings and a meaningless moniker.

MORE INTERVIEWS

For those who had the pleasure of hearing 2007's brilliant Eater of Birds, I am sure your ass was irked with an anxiety of learning who the makers of such brilliance were. With an upcoming recording about to be unleashed on our sorry souls, here we present an interview with this excellent Colorado duo, COBALT. Read on and spread the word!

- Eater of Birds; great album, astounding guitar work. There is beauty at work there, which many black metal musicians seem to want to run away from. As for Cobalt, what is your attitude in regards to what your black metal should evoke? Is there an adjective that can’t be attached to it because it is black metal?

I'd say 'Black Metal' is that adjective. I don't really consider us a black metal band in any sense of what black metal is. If you are going to bring your sound under one genre's helm, then I think it should be done in the purest sense. And what we are now doing with Cobalt is not black metal in my opinion. Sure those influences are there, and I see a lot of common ground dealing with atmosphere and feeling in the music, but I would not call our last album a black metal one. I appreciate your comment on beauty, though. Anyone seeking to further the boundaries of music has to have the courage to put different emotions into the songs, even if they aren't immediately associated with their given genre. If you can write songs about life's troubles, tribulations, and woes, then you should also be able to interject a smile here and there.

- Jarboe contributed vocals to “Invisible Sun” and “Androids, Automations and Nihilists” how did that come about?

We became friends over email, and I introduced her to some of the earlier Cobalt material. She was very positive about it and immediately offered her vocal help if we ever wanted it. By the time this was happening I was tracking for Eater of Birds, and I jumped at the chance of having such a well rounded, established, long-standing musician contributing to the record. She has been a great friend, and we have worked together since then as well. I made a guest drum appearance on her Stream Enterer album, which I believe she is now selling on her website. (www.thelivingjarboe.com).

- Eater of Birds was produced by Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage), how did you guys get to him? Did he have much saying in the end result?

The process took somewhere around a year. I spent a week tracking drums, guitars, and bass parts. Then Phil came home over the holidays for leave from the army. During this time we worked out vocal parts and lyrics, and he went into the studio to lay those down. The next few months was a process of mixing, sending songs off to Jarboe to be done, and mixing in Phil's Ritual Use of Fire ambient piece into the album. We've known Dave for years and have recorded all of the Cobalt albums with him. We met him when were young, and we've enjoyed growing in our music, as well as watching him grow as a sound engineer. He's quite good at what he does.

- If you had to choose another female vocalist to contribute to some of your newer songs, who – besides Jarboe- would you choose?

That's a question that assumes too much. It's not really a process of saying you want a certain person to be on the album for this certain reason. It's something you have to feel out. We wouldn't have someone else on a new recording just because she was a female. That's not the thought process. That aside, maybe Shakira?

- There are three acoustic instrumentals with the same title in Eater of Birds, is their purpose to function as a breather, or a mere segway into the hard stuff?

That depends on personal interpretation. That's the beauty of music. “The Ritual Use of Fire” songs are actually chunks taken from an entire ambient/noise album Phil made entirely on his own. We felt an integration of that project and Cobalt could form something powerful. But as far as segway/breather, I suppose that all depends on your state of mind when you're listening to the album. Are you sober? Did you smoke or eat anything weird? It's quite subjective really. Maybe it's neither a segway, nor a breather. Maybe it's the muscles holding the bones together.

- To you, what’s the key to great black metal?

My favorite black metal bands always had heart. That is the key to any real music. Creating feeling, mood in what you are doing. Taking an audience and putting them in a different state of  mind/consciousness than they would normally be. Great black metal bands always had that mood. That ominous, atmospheric cloud of sound. For me it had nothing to do with the shock rock aspect of it.

- Under which non black metal parameters does the music of Cobalt fall?

Most of them. I listen to all different kinds of music, so I really wouldn't say there are parameters at all. Now, keep in mind I have personal taste and 'parameters' in that vein I suppose. I mean, I'm not gonna put out some shitty pop album just because I don't want to 'limit myself'. No, no nothing like that. But I don't have much of a beef with trying out new ideas in songs if I am really inspired by them. So far we've integrated a lot of the more rhythmic, tribal, hypnotic, dare I say psychedelic elements of music into our original style. It's come out very well and once you start trying out these expansive ideas in your songs, and they start sounding great, it's a powerful incentive to continue on that route.

- Where do you see Cobalt’s black metal falling in the wide gamut of BM?

Jesus, that's hard to say. Somewhere on the perimeter. Something that linked a certain kind of music with another. A hybrid. I'd like to think an original forerunner of some kind.

- Phil is currently in Korea in the military, how does this affect Cobalt?

It's something we are used to now. That's how we've operated for a while now. There isn't a lack of material, that's for damn sure. We're making a new album as we speak, so there haven't been many negative effects on creativity. It's an original situation, I suppose, that we are using to our advantage. Phil is done with the army in a year or so, however, and there is a possibility of touring, etc... if things fall into place.

- How did your signing come to Profound Lore? The label is definitely putting some of the most interesting extreme stuff of the last few years.

Yeah, I like what Chris is doing too. I think Profound Lore is one of the only labels out there anymore who is putting out real music for the right reasons. I think Chris contacted me initially, and after a period of conversation and sorting through various album offers we decided to go with him. We're very happy with Profound Lore so far.

- Favorite albums:

Today is the Day- Sadness will Prevail, Neurosis- Times of Grace, Inquisition- Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult, Swans- Children of God, Melvins- Houdini, High on Fire- Surrounded by Thieves, Tool- first 4 releases, Immortal- Battles in the North, Deadboy and the Elephantmen- If this is Hell Then I'm Lucky, Primordial- To the Nameless Dead, Nausea- Extinction, Pink Floyd- The Wall, Black Sabbath- Vol. 4, Lustmord- Heresy, Damad- Burning Cold. I am also interested in hearing the new Angels of Light album. Apparently, it's some of
Gira's best work in years.

- What’s next for the band?

Currently recording music for an upcoming EP and full length record.

Read our review of Eater of Birds