Mare Cognitum

Phobos Monolith

Written by: MST on 29/10/2014 22:13:07

The existence of one-man projects performing the roles of full bands is an interesting phenomenon. Certain creative individuals feel that their art should be expressed straight from their own vision, unaltered by the minds and hands of likeminded yet slightly different artists. Naturally, this often yields terrible results because of the natural lack of criticism. However, a surprising amount of solo artists accomplish the impossible: playing every single instrument in a 'band' and ending up with a result that far exceeds what many full bands achieve in a lifetime.

Mare Cognitum is a black metal solo project from the US, created by one Jacob Buczarski. Much like Spectral Lore, another one-man project with which Buczarski has previously released a split, Mare Cognitum explores the vastness of space on his third album entitled "Phobos Monolith", through long, melodic pieces of atmospheric black metal. Through four tracks clocking in at a total of 50 minutes, Buczarski takes the listener on a cosmic journey accompanied by magnificent riffing and enchanting ambience. From melancholy through blazing euphoria into eternal despair, floating through the endless vacuum, "Phobos Monolith" manages to surprise in new ways with every song. "Entropic Hallucinations" is a monolithic ambient black metal track of almost Darkspace-y proportions that utilizes a combination of almost exclusively blasting drums, desperate riffs and keyboards as though to portray the overwhelming enormity of the universe. And then, what follows in "Noumenon" is a melodic track that instead brings to mind images of beautiful galaxies, and a delight to flow freely through time and space. This ability to navigate seamlessly through emotions while maintaining a natural flow is what makes Buczarski such an impressive composer; each individual instrument is handled to near perfection, but what makes the album the delight that it is, is the way in which each song manages to vary from the next without sounding the least bit out of place.

Indeed, "Phobos Monolith" is a great album in a genre already overflowing with goodness. The very idea that a single person can compose an entire album in such an impressive manner is beyond me, but it only proves how much potential a truly creative person holds within, waiting to be unlocked. These days, there appears to be an endless array of talented individuals, eager to prove themselves amongst their peers without the help of likeminded band members. I don't know about you, but I intend to discover as many of them as I can, and Mare Cognitum's "Phobos Monolith" is an excellent place to start.

Download: Entropic Hallucinations, Noumenon
For The Fans Of: Spectral Lore, Darkspace, Chaos Moon
Listen: Facebook

Release 05.10.2014
I, Voidhanger Records

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