Lobotomy

Cold

Satanica Productions 2011

There is some sick and twisted music that crawls out from under the tombstones at the fringes of black metal, and the UK's Lobotomy is one such entity.  The bizarre and demented music that dribbles from my speakers is caught up somewhere between an industrial nightmare and the spirits of Beherit and Darkthrone.  Cold Winds, the first real track, utilizes a minimalist riffing technique, obscure vocals rumblings and intense electronic drum sections.  The whole feeling of the track is somewhat of a black metal blender being set loose upon your mind, lacerating and shredding your sanity.  A rhythmic assault of swaying riffs and grating vocals, spiked with elements of unnerving noise is unleashed upon your ears on Euthanasia.  A wailing siren breaks, and a putrid, grinding onslaught of drums, vocals, and throbbing guitars sprays out of the speakers on Lobotomy.  Whereas on Fucking Lazy Fat Bastard, a Transilvanian Hunger style melody is bastardized and then overtaken by a rapid-fire death metal rhythm.  Too Many Hippos is aural punishment in the form of annoying screams and simplistic Hellhammerish riffs, sped up and distorted.  Burning Church takes all the previous elements and pushes them to more extreme pinnacles; Nordic melodies, relentlessly hammering electronic drums, washed out noise and distorted vocal scrapings.  At times I find this album unlistenable, and at others I think it is a work of satanic madness, perfectly inserting a splinter of paranoia into your mind.  Cold is certainly not a release for the faint of heart or those who like their music easily pigeon-holed.  It's a full-on raping of your ears with an electronically corrupted seed of black metal.