RELEASED FRIDAY 6 DECEMBER 2024
Presented on Double album on green and red vinyl
To give you some idea of what Cowardice sound like, Atavist exists somewhere on the spectrum between the sombre strains of Bell Witch and the tormented tones of Body Void, with the first half of the album ("Suzerain") erring more towards the bleakly melodic style of the former, while part two ("Sentinel") shifts the focus towards a darker, dirgier approach.
Perhaps inevitably, it's not quite that cut and dry - the gut- churning grind of
"Unforgeable Key", for example, is just as nasty and gnarly as anything found on "Sentinel", while the desolate disharmonies of "The Diminutive Principle" channel a similarly angst- ridden aura as much of "Suzerain" - but this distinction between the two halves, subtle as it may be, plays a big role in giving the whole album its sense of direction and progression.
And while I'll always recommend listening to the totality of Atavist so as to get the most out of it - especially if you're a fan of the likes of Cavernlight and/or Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean, both of whom also serve as useful touchstones for any prospective listener - I'd also draw your attention to the gorgeously gloomy slow-burn of opener "To the Hilt of Humanity", the haunting melodies and heaving grooves of the sludge- soaked "Clairvoyance Anxiety", and the morbid majesty of "Hall of Ages", as some of the record's major highlights.
Indeed, it's this last track which will both test your resolve and prove, once and for all, that Atavist is more than worth every second you've invested into listening to it so far, with every crushing, cathartic chord and ringing, harmonic note... every tortured, suffering snarl and trembling, melancholy melody... coming together over the course of seventeen absolutely massive minutes to demonstrate that, despite its imposing size and intense sound, Cowardice's new album is nothing to be afraid of.
For fans of Thou, Eyehategod, Bell Witch