Time Signature
All the way...
Genre: hard rock 'n' roll
Enter The Spittin' Cobras, an American hard rock band whose music is as dangerous as their name is. Year of the Cobra is the debut full-length from this Seattle-based band, and, if you like rock 'n' roll, then don't even waste anymore time reading this review – just go and buy the album!
Year of the Cobra is a massive slab of ferocious, in-your-face high octane rock 'n' roll with an OD injection of heavy metal and a touch of punk rock. And it's damn good. From the opener "All the Way" to the closer "Long Live Rock n' Roll" (a cover version of the legendary track by Dio-fronted Rainbow), the listener is pumped up beyond recognition. Don't be surprised if you find yourself in detention, having trashed up your town after listening to this album. What The Spittin' Corbras have done is they have basically taken the aesthetics and energy of bands like AC/DC and rammed steroids down its throat in the form of maxed up tempos, punked up aggression, and metalled up brutality.
Needless to say, this combination works extremely well.
If you don't believe me, then just check tracks like "10,000 Broken Bodies", "Criminal Mastermind", "Throw Your Horns", "Built for Speed" and the groovy "Hooker With A Heart of Gold".
One of the factors that really help make the already energized music kick ass even harder is the production, which is quite well-defined, but which is also characterized by a more heavy metal-like aggressive and heavy distorted sound. I must say that I also really like the vocals which sound like the outcome of a cloning experiment involving Bon Scott, King Ad-Rock, a bottle of Jack, and a dose of steroids. In case you're in doubt, this is meant as a complement, as the aggressive singing style fits perfectly into the hardboiled rock 'n' roll style.
2012 may well be the year of the cobra if this album catches on. I hope it will, because it totally rocks. If you like your rock 'n' roll hard 'n' heavy, then you owe it to yourself to check out Year of the Cobra.
(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)