So I finally decided to listen to the first Ludicra album and I suddenly realised, everything that John Cobbett has touched since he left Unholy Cadaver is gold.
So i decided we needed an appreciation thread because what he has done does not get a lot of attention here save for his work with Slough Feg.

Personally I think a major reason why so much of what he is involved in is so good is because after Unholy Cadaver he just split up all the things he wanted to make instead of combining it all in 1 band which resulted in good ideas but a bit disjointedly put together.

http://www.metal-archives.com/artists/J ... bett/22928

So what do you guys think? What is your favorite band/release of his?

Yeah bro, Cobbet is the fucking man. An immensely talented guitar player with a penchant for epic, powerful riffs. Ludicra is a band I really love, and Vhol is quite awesome, too (he obviously has a lot of chemistry with Dekker). Down Among the Dead Men is easily my favourite Slough Feg record and I think he was a big part of what made it so brilliant. Hammers are cool from what I heard, the August Engine was great. Need to look more into that band. Also, the dude gives some of the funniest and most insightful interviews I've seen coming from a metal musician.

All I know of his work is Vhöl, and that band is pretty decent. Never heard of Ludicra. I'll check the project out. What's his most recommendable contribution?

Slough Feg are always brilliant, but he really brought those monster, crushing riffs to the table.

Hammers of Misfortune were also really good, up until that double album they did which I thought was terrible. I should check out some more of his shit since then - he's a great guitarist.

Love the guy, Hammers of Misfortune are awesome and all their albums are so good (especially the aforementioned The August Engine.) I've seen them live and they were impressive as well. I kinda miss his presence in the Feg, he's a great guitarist.

Edit after Emp's post: 17th Street is decent but not as good as their early stuff, Vhol is more interesting for modern Cobbett.

Fun fact, he composed some music for the Sims! http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2010/11 ... hilarious/ Pretty fun stuff, cool to hear Mike Scalzi sing gibberish lyrics haha!

The only reason I've heard one Ludicra album (the Tenant) is because I was looking through Ross Sewage's other bands (Ghoul/Impaled). It's a pretty cool album, but I'd guess it wasn't just Cobbett that made it awesome (no idea who writes the majority of Ludicra's stuff).

Also, vote Ross Sewage for metal genius!

I can't remember where I read it, but I saw someone refer to John Cobbett as "Riff-finder General," and I think that title pretty much nails it. There aren't many distinct riffing styles in metal today, but Cobbett definitely has one and it's a huge part of why his bands are so good.


I have it on good authority that Ludicra's music was written fairly democratically. Cobbett certainly had a huge hand in making them who they were (and you can definitely pick out which riffs are his), but that band was ultimately the product of everyone involved.

Speaking of collaboration, does anyone else feel like Vhol would have been better if Mike Scheidt had been involved in the songwriting? It's a good album, but it's obviously written mostly (if not entirely) by Cobbett, and while that works for Hammers, on Vhol it feels a tad one-dimensional. Having input from the others - especially Scheidt IMO, though that might be my love for Yob talking - would have helped, I think.

I really only know Cobbett for his connection to Scalzi, but I will say that The Locust Years is one of those albums that just really sticks with you for years after hearing it. There's a very smart, eclectic, timeless quality to it that very few albums from the mid 00s seem to have.

My favorite memory of him though has to be his interview with Sargon for MetalCrypt. He was a massive Slough Feg fanboy (as everybody (yours truly included) was required to be over there) and kept asking questions about Slough Feg and treating Hammers of Misfortune like a side project. You could feel John's enthusiasm just being decimated through text with each question when he realized that the interviewer really didn't know much about him or his work and was basically treating him like a consolation prize to Mike Scalzi. It's super awkward.

Ludicra's The Tenant was really cool on first listen...weird, moody, gloomy songs with those hooky riffs and a lot of somber melody. Some of it sounded very 70s and other times it was very oceanic and doomy.

Trying Vhol too now - sounds like something Fenriz would love. Filthy, punky sort of stuff, but with very intricate metal riffing.

You need to check out the Ludicra album Fex Urbis Lex Orbis. It's a really special album and one of the highlights of american black metal.

Agreed, the man is amazing. I'm currently working on reviews for the full Hammers discography and it's great going back and listening to his older work so intensely. Ludicra will always be one of the most unique USBM bands, but I feel like I was in the minority with not really enjoying Vhol that much. For people searching for some of his more obscure stuff, check out the Sims 2 soundtrack. He wrote a bunch of jokey metal songs for it and it's fucking amazing:

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2010/11 ... hilarious/

Definitely agree on Vhol, re: something Fenriz would love -- though to my ears, the harmony and actually riffing here is more complicated than most Darkthrone. Need to check out more of Cobbett's bands.

After taking the time to go back and listen to John's work with Slough Feg, HOM, Ludicra, Vhol etc. over the past few nights to research and put into context, I have come to the conclusion that this dude is pretty much my favorite metal guitarist besides Piggy from Voivod and maybe Demonaz in his pre-tendonitis days. Cobbett is a damn good songwriter and has great ear for melody, and I like how he takes classic metal/hard rock/punk guitar techniques and song structures and fuses them in more extreme forms of music.

Vhol is such a weird mix when you think about it. Black/crust mixed with 80s heavy/power.

I don't like what Hammers of Misfortune I've heard; it seems like Slough Feg's goofier, proggier cousin and given that SF are already prone to goofiness. Well, it's a bit much for me, even if some of it is well done (The August Engine, for example). I like Slough Feg's post-Cobbett material more, anyway, with The Animal Spirits being their best album for me.

This Hammers of Misfortune debut has great guitar playing and a lot of creativity in the arrangements, but I don't really like any of the vocals except Mike Scalzi's - the female vocals just don't gel with this music and Cobbet's rasping sounds a bit irritating to be honest. Interesting album though.