Cog

I was anxious to see Cog before they depart for a brief stint in the U.S., and I almost didn’t make it to Wollongong because of transport difficulties, but managed to sort it out right at the eleventh hour.
I entered the University of Wollongong Bar near the end of Sunk Lotos set, unfortunately missing out on Mammal (fronted by Ezekiel Ox, ex- Full Scale) who I was looking forward to seeing. Brisbane metal outfit Sunk Loto was rather un-entertaining from what I had seen; the lead singer seemed quite arrogant when addressing the crowd, the vocals itself were quite harsh and I noticed that the crowd were unresponsive. For the last song, the singer told the crowd told to make a circle so they could all “go f-ing crazy”, however I thought the song itself was hardly mosh worthy, as did most of the crowd, who put in little effort.

The background music playing during the setup for Cog was not unlike something out of ‘War of the worlds’. The lights dimmed and the ethereal music carried on for a couple of minutes. The bar was now packed out, and the crowd was calling for Cog.
The trio from Bondi finally came out, and launched into the explosive ‘Anarchy OK’ with great intensity and the crowd was lapping it up.

Cog followed that up with a track from their first E.P, (Just Visiting Part 1), ‘Moshiach’ which was a nice surprise. Flynn Gower produced an amazing finger-tapping solo on his guitar which drew a loud cheer from all those present.

Throughout the 75 minute, 12 song set, Cog played four new tracks, ‘Look Who’s Laughing’, ‘What If’, ‘Town of Lincoln’ and ‘Altered States’. The new songs sound amazing, and feature all the characteristics that Cogs music is renowned for; outstanding vocal harmonies, great build-ups and breakdowns, and amazing instrumental fills.

After ‘What If’, Flynn touched on some political topics which had the mostly uni student crowd cheering. Cog then went into ‘The Spine’ which really got the crowd moving.

I felt ‘Silence is Violence’ was disappointing, the vocals weren’t very strong and I question its inclusion in the setlist. I would have preferred to hear ‘Run’, probably Cogs most recognized single from ‘The New Normal’, however I was more than satisfied to hear ‘Moshiach’, the four new songs, and ‘Just Visiting’ which the band closed with, to the crowds delight. Also included in the set were ‘Real Life’, ‘Resonate’, and ‘My Enemy’.

All in all, it was a fantastic show; I wholeheartedly recommend you see Cog before they go off to the United States. The lighting show was terrific, and the music is indescribable, and rivaled by no other.

Share this review on Facebook