Hey there tech-fiends, it's that time again for my favorite day of the week, Tech-Death Tuesday. Once again, I'm happy to say that the early album stream train continues forth again today. But before we dive into that, here's the usual weekly reminder that all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Cognitive – Deformity
After nearly seven years together as a band, Jobbstown, New Jersey wrecking crew Cognitive are hardly a new act, yet so far they've yet to become a household name. Hopefully their upcoming full-length, Deformity, set for an October 28th release through Unique Leader Records, will help rectify that in some sense. As this is definitely the group's best release to date, and a quite a step up all around for them to boot.
Overall, Cognitive have come from a brutal death metal background, but continually evolved and stretched the bounds of their sound with each release. In 2016 on Deformity, they seem more in line with fellow UK brutal tech beasts Unfathomable Ruination, as both groups have embraced a mix of technical death metal and progressive death metal elements in order to further evolve their sound. Add in some horrific and dark black metal chords and you've got a fine twist on an old staple on your hands. Although on Deformity, I often hear a chaotic and violent old school Cryptopsy element winding its way through their sound more than anything else. Which to be clear, is perfectly fine by me as I frequently find myself yearning for new bands to carry on the chaotic and sensory overload inducing take on technical death metal that Cryptopsy pioneered.
All in all, Deformity scratches multiple sub-genres itches for a tech-death critic like me. It's a perfect mix between brutal, progressive, and chaotic that all melds together into one singular form with only one goal: sheer destruction. So make sure to give the full early stream of Deformity we have below a spin, you might be surprised at how much you enjoy this. If you dig what you're hearing, the album can be pre-ordered through IndieMerchStore in a variety of formats and bundles here. Be sure to follow Cognitive over on their Facebook page as well here.
