V.E.G.A.

"Cocaine" is a straightforward title for a black metal album that is anything but straightforward. Originally released in 2002 as a limited-edition vinyl long-player on Legioni dell'Arcangelo Productions, the album was re-released on CD format by Debemur Morti Productions in 2006 and now available in North America thanks to the mighty Moribund. The Italian trio deftly blends black metal savagery with smartly incorporated industrial touches and electronic spookiness. The result is a disc that may not stand alone in the ever-increasing world of experimental black metal (although V.E.G.A. are certainly not new to the game),but is an impressive work in its own right.

Hardly the kind of album that an act like XASTHUR would create, "Cocaine" holds tightly to the core elements of black metal, meaning that blasting carnage and traditional black metal speed picking and guitar harmonies constitute a substantial portion of the music. In those cases though, tempo changes are abundant (but not excessive in any way) and everything is shrouded in a spine-chilling atmosphere. Sometimes it is as simple as anchoring the song in speeding carnage, and then tossing in some creepy spoken vocals on "Perspectives" or moving from blasting to a kind of industrial cadence and croaky spoken bits on "Beton #1". In other instances, one hears a slow, simple riff played repeatedly and supported by a mechanized beat on instrumental "Kill Me". "Marching Off…" in particular is nicely arranged, offering a propulsive rhythm alternated with speeding mayhem and chanting/spoken vocals. "Burning in my own Dream of Life" utilizes a similar mixture, this time featuring a peculiarly melodic guitar. The 14-minute closer "Vacuum Era Gellid Atmosphere" is the album's most heavily electronic piece with a dark, synth-led instrumental section, followed by a long, uneasy silence and a nightmarish techno-esque segment to finish off the listener

That "Cocaine" should work to satisfy the needs of both the traditionalists and the experimentation junkies is its biggest strength. I am not of the mind to stamp a "classic" label on it, as I have experienced more severe black metal brain damage, but the disc is surely worth your time and money.