Given the current climate of all things heaviness, it should almost certainly go without saying that we're living in a true golden age for all things heavy. Whether it be in terms of psychedelia or overwhelming desolation that knows no bounds, there really seems to be something for everybody so long as fortune favors one's individual searching through the depths of all that is possible. When things are taken to the extreme is where we tend to get some truly fascinating pieces that can delve into the human condition and far beyond. On occasion, we are given a tremendous display of power of that very fact in action. With their first full-length in eight years, Cowardice taps into that grandeur.
When we are given a band that goes full-on, no-holds-barred into the realm where sludge and doom metal come together to magnificent effect, it's almost always guaranteed to be an intense experience that can only be likened to another work of the sound. Even then, each band in the style has its own flavors and leanings with some well and truly able to stand on their own like what Cowardice has managed since its rising in 2016. As if to further enhance their own prowess and particular brand of woe, its with the masterful showcasing of resolute fortitude that's seen throughout the whole of this nearly 90-minute double album of "Atavist" that Cowardice shows us just how adept they have already become with all that their sound can be. Divided into two distinct albums that carry on themes of hopefulness and despair in equal quantities, "Atavist" demands much of its listener. Nothing about the record was designed to make for an easy listen, making the feat itself of overcoming this album a real success in the face of a great challenge that is constantly lumbering with titanic power that knows how to precisely carve your flesh and spirit into an unrecognizable state as the raw nature of Cowardice's strong evocative motive constantly pushes everything forward into bleak nothingness.
A viciously dynamic record that takes its time in peeling apart the very dichotomy of hope and despair, "Atavist" is a work meant for those who endure it all. Where there's no room for the weak by the end and nothing but a special breed of darkness when everything's said and done, Cowardice stands tall, maybe not triumphant but nonetheless on top.
LISTEN to "Atavist" on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Cowardice on Facebook here.
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