June 27th, 2011 
James Shotwell 
Artist: Book Of Black Earth
Album: Cold Testament
Genre: Metal
Blackened thrashy, sometimes melodic Gothenburg-inspired, slightly hardcore-tinged death metal. How many bands can you think of that fit that description? And of those, how many do you think could actually pull it off? Well, add one more to each of those categories as Seattle, Washington’s Book Of Black Earth is exactly that–and they’ve further proved their worth on their latest album The Cold Testament, the band’s second album on Prosthetic Records.
Even after numerous listens to The Cold Testament, it’s still mind-boggling how many style changes and sub-genres that Book Of Black Earth stiff into a thirty-six minute album and yet somehow avoid it being too eccentric. The most crucial in helping this cause is the band’s consistent sound: a mixture of raw, but not low-fi, guitars; vocals that float somewhere between traditional black metal, death metal, and heavy thrash, and gargantuan toms paired with a really tight snare sound.
If you were to only consider how smooth the transitions are between the band’s influences are, this would still be a pretty solid album. Beyond that, the moments of brilliance from section to section and song to song are absolutely fantastic. The first minute of “Irritating Spectre” is perhaps the best example of this on the album, as it is filled with great riffs, vocal lines, drum fills, and thunderous bass–each coming from a totally different stylistic center.
The shortcomings of The Cold Testament are few and far between, the biggest of which is probably the fact that album is only thirty-six minutes long and features only eight tracks. Beyond that, the lyrics at a couple points on the album approach a critical level of cheesiness, such as the chorus of “Research And Destroy” repeating (you guessed it) “research and destroy” a bunch of times.
The Cold Testament is indeed a roaring, cold testament to Book Of Black Earth’s understanding of what makes a great and original metal album, and you’d be remiss to not give this album a few listens, as each time it’s better than the last. Surely to be ranked among the top albums on many year-end lists, The Cold Testament is not an album easily forgotten.
Score: 9/10
Review written by: Jordan Munson
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BOBE is from Seattle, WA.
You’re definitely right. I haven’t the slightest clue why I decided to say they’re from Portland, it definitely doesn’t say that anywhere…embarrassing (thanks for pointing it out, though)!