That title doesn’t really do their set justice. What I wanted to say was that prior to the laid back grooves of Pelican at The Highline Ballroom, Black Cobra ripped into my body, took my soul, and pounded the shit out of it. It felt good, like a well-needed metaphysical massage. Reign in Blood reinterpreted by Eyehategod.
Black Cobra play with a tech finesse that seemed hard to pull off with any band that fields less than four members, let alone the two they put on the stage. Lead singer Jason Landrian, who used to be in the almighty Cavity, barked like a hellhound in both Spanish and English, and made me want to run home and make an iTunes mix of Obituary and Los Crudos. Drummer Rafael Martinez sounds like industry at full throttle, just banging the fuck out of the drums, filling out the cavernous Manhattan venue. I walked away before Pelican hit the stage, because I didn’t think there was any room to improve on the show I had just witnessed.
