Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: CobraKill – Cobratör (2022)

Well I’m not gonna lie, I had no clue what I was going to cover this week. Nothing really caught my attention, so I went digging around a bit in my more obscure avenues, and this album cover stuck out to me. Super retro 80s throwback look, the sound fits and it turns out the band is from Germany. So while they can’t win wars, they are usually effective at making things.

CobraKill is: Nick Adams (vocals), Randy White (guitar), Tommy Gun (guitar), Crippler Ramirez (bass) & Toby Ventura (drums). Not the most German names, but hopefully the music checks out!

• Artist: CobraKill
• Album: Cobratör (2022)
• Label: Iron Oxide Records
• Total Track Length: 32:55

Silver Fist starts off with a modified guitar intro of classic/stereotypical Kung Fu movie music, before transitioning into something that sounds pulled straight out of 1983. First blush they sound a bit like W.A.S.P. or Motley Crue. The music is very retro and rocking, while the story really does seem to be like a cliché Kung Fu movie about fighting servants of the dark and “All Hail to the Fist”. Good fun. Deathstalker starts with that Motley Crue Wild Side guitar slide that sounds like a revving motorcycle, before changing the timing up a little. It still really drives with the Rhythm guitar and Bass, so it feels like a chase scene song. There is a line in this song about ‘working my way up inside you’ or something like that. It’s just fast, fun and has that 80s metal sleaze that the time period was so well known for. Cobratör now title tracks are hit and miss sometimes, so I’m curious what they do with this. So the instrumentation is a little lighter and more deliberator, reminds me a bit more of like Whitesnake. But I think what I get from this, is Cobratör is like a mechanical cobra terminator. WOW, there’s a really 80s slow break for the bridge of “its coming to get you“. A lot of fun classic 80s elements used through these first 3 songs.

Desperados this song does a solid job at pushing them a little away from the straight forward Hair Metal sleaze. It’s a little quicker paced and attacking. Like a happy medium between say Judas Priest and Megadeth (think So Far…So Good…So What…, era). Again just a fun song, I think about taking drugs to Mexico? But it’s just a good time, the lyrics have been a little inane when it comes to the bigger picture so far. This album seems to be more about the 80s nostalgia ride. Electrifier has almost identical timing and chord progression with Looks That Kill for the opening few licks. Could just be that they are both 4/4, but hell there have been a lot of Motley Crue vibes so far, might as well snake a riff or three.

Bring It, Sugar starts with a bassline and drum kick only for the first few seconds. Very similar to Prince of Darkness from Megadeth. And much like the album that Prince of Darkness was on…this is not one of the stronger efforts so far. It does this weird thing where it tries to maintain the sleaze in the lyrics, but the instrumentation is more open and melodic, so it feels like trying too hard. Lavender Haze Gypsy stays in the 80s but shifts a little to sounding more King Diamond. Which honestly is a nice adjustment from the last song. A little more chilling with the vocal delivery, telling a compelling enough story with fun complimentary instrumentation. We’ve Just Begun starts with what sounds like nearly tribal drumming and really slow akin to Ghost Riders in the Sky. While there’s nothing bad or annoying about the song, I never understand the urge to take an album that is 80% sleazy rocking good fun, and end on some sort of pseudo-ballad. That’s not range, that’s a momentum killer.

Okay, well there’s a beauty in albums that only last about 30 minutes I suppose. Even though that last song felt like it should’ve been a bonus track and missed the final cut, it’s not a bad album. For a newer independent band just trying to strike out to get some attention, I’m not mad. Solid work if not a “little” too 80s. They will have to evolve their sound to be more of them and less of 80s hair metal with a touch more speed, but it was fine.

Did it end on a sour note for me? Yes. But like I said in the main portion, it’s like coasting to the finish when you’ve been going full throttle the entire time. Just makes no damn sense. Figure it out for yourself though! If you like 80s Glam/Hair metal, this is probably your thing.

Final Judgment: 6.5/10