Ten years after their last studio outing, Cosmosquad come roaring back to unleash more scorching riffs and instrumental virtuosity on The Morbid Tango.
Gone is original bassist Barry Sparks, replaced by Kevin Chown who plays with guitarist Jeff Kollman in Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats. Meanwhile, Shane Gaalaas, who has played with six-string heroes Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Schenker, remains behind the drum kit. The new album is packed with gnarly, complex, instrumental prog/fusion to sink your teeth into as the trio manage to be both remarkably heavy and yet confoundingly agile. The title track starts with an Argentinian tango played on an acoustic guitar before launching headlong into a whirlwind of riffage, reaching new heights of genre-melding excess. Recollection Epilogue flits between metal riffs and a funky bass breakdown, the ballads Always Remember The Love and Still Life prove the band can do more than just shred, while Sangfroid sways to a slow, sinuous jazz funk groove before Kollman uncorks another rousing guitar onslaught. An album of more mercurial mood swings than Donald Trump’s Twitter account, The Morbid Tango is an invigorating, enriching experience.
