Cobalt-Gin (2009)
Black Metal. Not one of the most endearing of genres and even being a fan of Metal myself, I rarely venture into the genre but this album is something else. In the grand scheme of things It's barely a Black Metal album with the trappings usually associated with the genre (intense speed, harsh vocals) kept to a minimum on the album and if truth be told I would class it as a Progressive metal album.
The production and riffs are much more pronounced than on many Black Metal albums with the musicianship very much to the fore but certainly not to the detriment of their sound. All too often bands of this ilk lose sight of actual song structure thus presenting incoherent albums with moments of greatness. Gin is different. It stands up on it's own and you don't need to be a fan of Black Metal to enjoy it. It avoids many of the cliches inherent in the genre and instead it is one of the most individual, enjoyable and easy on the ear metal albums I have heard for a long while.
If you are looking for something other than the multitude of groove based metal bands with no identities of their own then you need to hear this album.