Style: Technical Death Metal/Deathcore (Harsh vocals)
Review by: Chris
Country: US (NJ)
Release date: 16 June, 2021
I’ll be honest, I’ve been extremely busy lately outside of the blog so this is my first review in a good while. As such I’ve decided to stick to my roots on the blog with the latest output from New Jersey all-things-death outfit Cognitive. These guys have been going in some form for over a decade and bring Malevolent Thoughts of a Hastened Extinction with some new member force (most notably, in my opinion, the addition of drummer AJ Viana of Hath) but a definite air that comes with knowing what you’re doing. Malevolent is a crushing, unrelenting typhoon of death.
“Eniac” opens the album, giving instant nostalgia for any of us unlucky enough to have experienced dial up internet with its dial-up tone immediately loading into the fury that pretty much will never let up from that point on. There is definitely a sense for a need for some underlying groove in these first riffs, but really above all it is destructive in nature. An early break in the pure riff nature of the song into more melodic guitar lines allows a sense of breath before descending more into a core style breakdown section. This gets across the aforementioned “all-things-death” drop for Cognitive – they really will hit all the moments you would expect from any of the death-tinged genres.
In some slight contrast, “The Maw” is probably the most straight up face blasting death song on the album, with little time for detours or tricks along the way. Every riff here is….well, gross. The vocals really begin their own tour of sounds on this song as well, with truly brutal gutturals married with higher shrieks and squeals. The album shines most though in my opinion with tracks like “Feed the Worms”, where the melodic stylings of the guitars are allowed to give some space amongst the chaos. The melodic choices and underlying instrumentation maintain the core ferocious feel but do help with the normal issue for any tech ish album in this style, which is listener fatigue.
My favorite track by far would be “Destitute”, with its subtle clean vocal layering, dark chord based riffs reminiscent of some of my favorite tech albums I’ve reviewed in my time here (I’m a sucker for these techy chord based riffs, I’m so sorry), and culmination in a gloriously melodic lead line. Here is where I hope to see Cognitive spend more time in the future.
Malevolent is definitely not inventing anything new or bringing a fully new voice (as I’ve said many times, that just feels like inevitability in the genre space at the moment) but Cognitive definitely have their craft down. It’s a solidly great album for those extremely into the genre or into death bands of any kind. Looking to get pummeled across the head on your morning train commute? When I have been the last week or so I’ve chosen this.
Recommended tracks: The Maw, Feed the Worms, Destitute
Recommended for fans of: Hath, Lorna Shore, Fit For an Autopsy
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Unique Leader Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Cognitive is:
– Shane Jost (vocals)
– Rob Wharton (guitars)
– Harry Lannon (guitars)
– Tyler Capone-Vitale (bass)
– AJ Viana (drums)
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