Russell HughesKobra And The Lotus – Prevail I (Napalm Records)
Genre: Metal
Kobra And The Lotus have not wasted their time since their last album High Priestess was released back in 2014. The Canadian metal outfit hopped into the studio, received 134% of their target funding via PledgeMusic and wrote two albums.
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Plevail I will be followed shortly by Prevail II as the band continue to pump their music out into the ether at an impressive rate.
Lead singer Kobra Paige is so vital to any work that the band does and her presence reigns supreme over the whole album. She’s got a voice that wouldn’t seem out of place in Nightwish or XANDRIA and it contributes to give the record such an impressive range and depth of emotion.
But that doesn’t mean Paige carries the rest of the album through the album. The rest of the band have an equal role in making sure that the first instalment of 2017’s work is the blistering, rolling juggernaut of a hard rock/metal album.
Kobra And The Lotus have been through their fair share of band members since 2009, but the current line-up of Jasio Kulakowski, Brad Kennedy and Lord Marcus Lee have been in place for the last three years at least and that gives Prevail I the continuity that it needs.
KATL are so good that they don’t even need Paige to write a thunderous metal song as Check The Phyrg proves as their lead singer is relegated to the substitutes bench. Instrumental songs can be risky but it works on Prevail I, partly because it gives you an excuse to bask in the collective talent of the rest of the group.
However, it would be madness to leave such as fine vocalist out for long and her voice is impeccable throughout the rest of the record. Specimen X (The Mortal Chamber) is a rolling, cacophonous wall of sound while Victim comes screaming out of the blocks like a drugged up Russian athlete but ebbs and flows superbly.
Kobra And The Lotus have set themselves a big task for 2017 and a high benchmark to match it. Fans have a lot to look forward to.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 8/10 Hard rock hallelujah
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