Veteran Metal Duo Headlines BBQ Show At Bottom Of The Hill
By Dave Pehling
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Bashing out its hectic, corrosive brand of sludgy thrash metal for going on two decades, heavyweight Bay Area duo Black Cobra headlines the Subliminal SF barbecue Sunday afternoon at the Bottom of the Hill.
Reviving a '90s tradition of Sunday afternoon barbecue shows at the Bottom of the Hill, the regular weekend matinees sponsored by Iron Man Moving and local show promoter and design company Subliminal SF provide free barbecue for attendees in addition to a diverse array of heavy sounds.
Founded in 2001 after former Cavity guitarist Jason Landrian relocated from his Miami home base to San Francisco, Black Cobra paired Landrian with drummer Rafa Martinez (who had played guitar in stoner-rock outfit Gammera). Churning out a furious onslaught for a two piece, the duo established a reputation as a fearsome live act that touched on elements of doom, sludge and thrash metal echoed by Bay Area contemporaries like High on Fire and Saviours.
The band's eponymous self-released EP led to a deal with At a Loss Records, who put out Black Cobra's savage debut Bestial in 2006 and follow-up Feather and Stone a year later. While Martinez split his time between Black Cobra and playing bass for SF doom icons Acid King for a couple of years, he would return his focus to his main band for their third album and first for noted metal imprint Southern Lord, the acclaimed 2009 effort Chronomega that featured Martinez's ferocious drums propelling a dizzying blitzkrieg of riffs from Landrian.
The band has mostly been quiet since issuing its fifth album Imperium Simulacra for French label Seasons of Mist in 2016, though Martinez has returned as the bassist in the current line-up of Acid King, but Black Cobra has returned to activity in the past year with a steady string of shows. For this afternoon barbecue show at the Bottom of the Hill, the group is joined by Charger, a new local power trio anchored by Rancid/Operation Ivy bassist Matt Freeman that takes it cues from Motörhead and early Iron Maiden.
The threesome -- which also features drummer Jason Willer (who also plays in Jello Biafra's Guantanamo School of Medicine) and guitarist Andrew McGee -- recently released a self-titled EP that captures the locomotive power of Charger's pulverizing live sets. Molten, a new blackened thrash/doom metal outfit featuring Floating Goat and Hazzard's Cure guitarist Chris Corona, opens the festivities.
Black Cobra with Charger and Molten
Sunday, July 7, 2 p.m., $10
Bottom of the Hill
