REVIEW: Interrupting Cow – Rebirth (EP/2013)
Artist: Interrupting Cow
Album: Rebirth (EP)
The sky is grey—cloudless, but grey—and it’s been that way for months, or maybe even well over a year now. The sad truth is, you can’t really remember when they arrived, so much as they did arrive, immediately slaughtering and subjugating every species and race which they deemed inferior to their own. This included mankind. Since then, humans have had to thrive underground, daring to exist above ground for mere hours at a time, and only to obtain things needed to survive. Man, the species which once lived above all others must now persist as insects, despite countless attempts at resistance. The oppressors have become the oppressed—much as the latest EP by comically named deathcore outfit Interrupting Cow, Rebirth, oppresses the listener. Comprised of stunningly technical and remarkably detailed instrumentation which is punctuated by slaughterous slams and belligerent, back-splitting breakdowns, Rebirth is an oppressive, admonishing dictatorship over the listener’s sanity which favors brutality above all else.
When they arrived doesn’t matter—the absence of the sun and scarring of the earth’s surface has made it practically impossible to keep track of the date. Even if you had known what day these monstrous, hate-filled abominations began their purge of the human species, the current date remains a mystery. This same mysterious, labyrinthine quality can be attributed to the stunning technicality behind Rebirth’s instrumentation. Intricate segments of furious tapping and shred-heavy fretwork leap from murky abysses of soul-squelching heaviness, only to be squandered by bass-heavy slams and electronic effects minutes later. “An Evening with Shaggy Marts” makes brilliant use of this guerilla-style musical warfare; raunchy grooves give way to jarring seconds of shred only before lurching into thrashy, metallic riffs. The same tactics are employed to perfection on “Desecration of the Universe,” which teases the listener with tidbits of entrancing electronics between bouts of pulverizing percussion and lacerating lead guitar which makes mince-meat of the listeners sanity. In spite of such intense and aggressive technicality, Interrupting Cow manage to avoid crafting an obtuse or overly-dense experience—this is largely due to two factors: diverse vocals and devastating heaviness.
How they arrived is much more important. There was no façade of peace, no détente. They came quickly and conquered even more so—human weapons were useless, as pelting them with rocks yielded the same result as bombarding them with weapons of mass destruction: that is to say, there was no result. Likewise, Interrupting Cow are completely unstoppable with their rampage upon the listener’s ears that is Rebirth. From the very beginning of “Indubitably,” (which has a stunning guest appearance) to the echoing seconds of “Enemies of Freedom,” there is a constant, cutthroat crush. “Xenomorphs,” for example, has poppy and pervasive bass which roars alongside the guitars, providing a continuous low-end which keeps even the more atmospheric sections of the track from straying far above ground level. Even the serene introduction to the bizarre (but brilliant) outro, “Enemies of Freedom,” features blisteringly fast kick drum which leads into a slam so devastating, it will force the listener to prolapse. The constant reign of terror which is Interrupting Cow’s penchant for brutality is what Rebirth such an oppressive ruler over the listener’s ears. It enables for a dynamic which blends heaviness and technicality so well that it turns the listener’s mind to mush.
Why they’re here is a mystery, plain and simple. The same can be said for efficacy of Interrupting Cow’s marvelous dynamism. Rebirth carefully crafts intricate and enormous obelisks of tedious technical mastery—only to topple them with a well-placed slam or over-the-top breakdown. “Promethean Vessels” is especially guilty of this—although guilty implies that it’s bad—with simply stunning fretwork which carves glorious statues and paints beautiful frescoes of deathcore perfection, only to smash and burn them to dust with breakdowns heavier than ten elephants. Over and over again, Interrupting Cow deface their own masterwork—and it hardly gets old. Each stunning soundscape is unique: some more electronic and inclusive, while others are carried by extreme proficiency in only one aspect. Likewise, each breakdown, each slam, each moment of injurious heaviness is markedly different and disastrous in its own way. By doing this, yes, Rebirth is a touch repetitive, but far from monotonous. Interrupting Cow take what they know, and they do it to damned-near perfection. Plain and simple.
How you fight back is up to you—and frankly, it hardly matters. No matter when, where or with what you retaliate, there is nothing that can save you from Rebirth, the tool of Interrupting Cow’s mass oppression. From a band where each release is exponentially more well-crafted and dynamically written than the rest, Rebirth is a release which should have mankind terrified of what Interrupting Cow will accomplish next.
9.8/10
For Fans Of: Thy Devourer, Infant Annihilator, The Battle Within, Beneath the Wake, Sentenced to Dissection
By: Connor Welsh
