1142 - Cobalt Arsonry 2009

Cobalt is certainly an interesting pair: on one side you have the talented multi-instrumentalist Erik Wunder meticulously writing and arranging instrumental tracks at home while his co-conspirator Phil McSorley continues his life in the United States Army (most of his 2009 having been spent right smack in the middle of Baghdad), using his time on leave to write tortured poetry and lay down on tape some of the more anguished lead vocals you’ll ever hear.
ocalist Phil McSorley talks about playing ‘war metal,’ it’s not because he thinks it sounds cool. The man is a professional killer.
McSorley is an infantryman in the U.S. Army and spends most of his days in Baghdad. He claims to love his job, and the nature of that job makes McSorley a decidedly unsettling figure. McSorley’s contributions are most disquieting when they reflect his daily life. When he repeatedly howls “burn me down/shoot me in the chest” on “Arsonry,” one realizes with a jolt that in his line of work, being lit aflame or shot is a genuine concern.
Melding black metal, blood-curdling crust punk, introspective passages reminiscent of Tool, and the ominous tones of both Swans and Johnny Cash, and boasting lyrics that veer wildly from harrowingly personal to downright eloquent, the record "Gin" is extreme music at its most forward-thinking, cathartic, and exhilarating.
Black metal turns into a cathartic liberation.