Cobra Noir

Abode of the Dead is clearly a metal album, but one can’t deny that it is also the direct product of rock’n’roll thanks to a direct, down stroke-heavy drive and loose delivery. Elements of Kicked In The Teeth-era Zeke collide with Neurosis’ droning attack and the straightforward, albeit slowed down, rhythmic pulse of the Ramones to create songs that switch from hardcore bombast to punk rock’n’roll freak-outs within the course of a verse/chorus run. Lassoed together with a 50-packs-of-smokes vocal style that gives the album consistency, there is a definite appeal to Corbra Noir’s leftfield approach. Overall, the band stick too close to their mid-tempo vibe for the majority of this release though, failing to alter it up even within tracks, giving each of the ten songs here a general sameness that is broken far too late with the hyper pulse of "Road To Ruins,” a full one-third into the album. Were they to kick off with all guns blazing and alter between tempos, Abode of the Dead would be a far more abrasive affair, but as is, it’s relegated to that agonising good, not great world of mediocrity.