Looks like we'll be doing a review of another UK Metal act, this time hailing from the mighty London.  With two previous releases under their belt, COGAS drop their latest "Unconscious Sons of the Reptile God".  COGAS stands for "Witch" in Sardinian, and while I was reading through their bio I saw that one of their previous releases was called "Fuck Your Black Metal Scene", so this ought to be interesting.  I remember...I was there, all those three-thousand years ago, when the First Wave of Black Metal was aborted.  I've heard it all, so let's see if COGAS can deliver the nihilistic darkness.

Let's start with the production.  It's pretty tight.  The drums are precise and full albeit a little buried in the mix.  Guitars and bass are both present, but there is some muddiness in the lower register which blunts the attack somewhat, but it's still thick and meaty.  Vocals are great, right up front in the mix, with a good amount of clarity and best of all, they aren't drenched in reverb...that's so 90's

Right out of the gate COGAS are on a mission.  "The Mistress of the Damned" is some stripped down blackened Thrash nastiness.  Although there is a strong penchant for the band to embrace aesthetic BM idioms, they are more than willing to mix it up with other genres in the process.  Overall, this is more akin to early SACRAMENTUM than DARKTHRONE.  DARK FORTRESS would be another good example but the riffing here is much more groove oriented as opposed to constant barrages of blasts.

"Unconscious Sons of the Reptile God" cements my opinion of this band.  This is very reminiscent of early OPETH, I'm loving the bass solos and how it adds another dimension to the music.  Too many BM bands try dogmatically to adhere to the tried-and-true formulas of yesteryear, which makes the music to hum as we've all "been there, done that..." at this point.  COGAS do not suffer from this particular malediction, instead they say "f*ck it" and mash everything together, and it works.  It's crushing and punishing while always keeping a wary eye on the horizon.  Next on tap is "Sulfur",  and it basically eviscerates your ears. The blistering intro really rips into the listener before gearing down to embrace fist pumping thrash tastiness.  I like how the band shift gears with the tempo and the feel of each track.  They show a maturity in songwriting that is moderately rare in the super-saturated metal markets of today.  This song has everything, weird time shifts, blasts, grooves; COGAS are firing on all cylinders!

"A Dying Sun" and "Coffin Mandatory" keep the release moving forward nicely.  Whilst the first embraces a more old school approach, it's their first real song to approach the material from a historical BM perspective, and it's pretty awesome.  The progressiveness of the early album is contrasted beautifully with this more traditional arrangement.  Pretty sick stuff, especially when they drop it down a notch and let it get crunchy.  The follow up again, surprises the listener. Clean guitars and vocal theatrics greet your bleeding ears.  There are some echoes of TYPE O, "Bloody Kisses" stuff or possibly BETHLEHEM's now iconic "Sardonischer Untergang im Zeichen irreligiöser Darbietung" release.  They waste no time before slicing into the next cadaver "A Deceiving Light Through the Mist"

Wow, this is killer stuff.  I'm loving the Death Metal cross-over elements.  It just adds a juicy sub-text to the music.  COGAS have understood what many bands have not.  It's okay to have melodically engaging sections of your music for the listener to really dig into.  When your release is a cacophony of weirdness, it can hurt the listeners enjoyment of the material, not so here.  The more intense parts are well balanced with the thrashier ones.  Win win.

"Ettagramma" closes out the release and of course it rocks.  Blasts pummel you into a bloody pulp before raging double bass finish you off.  On this one, I'm getting a real ENSLAVED "Axioma Ethica Odini" vibe.  What else could you ask for?

I'll be brief.  This is a fantastic release.  Lots of replay value with this one.  It has moments where some of the instruments are a little out of tune (usually a major no no) but I can overlook it as the material is strong and engaging.  This band has a future and it'd be well worth your time to seek out and grab some of their stuff.  For fans of Progressive Black Metal, Modern Black Metal and Black Metal veterans alike.  Killer.