{"id":72526,"date":"2018-06-15T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=72526"},"modified":"2018-09-09T18:09:55","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T18:09:55","slug":"album-review-co-op-co-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-co-op-co-op\/","title":{"rendered":"CO-OP – Co-Op (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CO-OP
Co-Op<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEMP (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Now, here\u2019s a record that will no doubt turn a few heads due to the fact it features Alice Cooper\u2019s son Dash. Put that aside though, and you\u2019ll be rather pole-axed by this immense groove machine that takes us back to the John Corabi era of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a> as massive, meaty dynamics churn and roll, giving off bluesy, dirt-driven fumes ala Corrosion Of Conformity and grungier aspects. <\/p>\n

\u2018N.O.W.\u2019 is the first track to be showcased; a huge sounding groove monster of dark, boiling riffs and gravelled vocal booms, Dash gives Corabi a run for his money with those soulful and slightly gritty displays of fire. The rest of the Phoenix-based band supplies unwavering muscular riffage from Jeremy Tabor and percussive wreckage courtesy of Nick Spann. <\/p>\n

The lyrical focus is very much on the state of the United States, and so the angry ingredients are certainly evident. Strangely though, this is not a record of flashing colours and vibrancy. Instead Co-Op operate on a sun-dazed and at times stoned level, bringing with it the likes of the hefty \u2018Sleep\u2019 which comes rich with slower, pensive flecks whereby a stark vocal reach is merely accompanied by a trickling rhythm before the posse embarks upon a doom-laden trudge.<\/p>\n

In a sense, there\u2019s that soulful yet rather stoned feeling displayed also on \u2018Never Whisper The Truth\u2019, which chugs nicely although in rather generic fashion. However, there\u2019s enough swagger and dare I say blues and sleaze to drag this one along nicely as Justin Swartzentruber\u2019s bass grumbles through the maze of stoned grunginess. Elsewhere, the likes of \u2018Howl\u2019 (featuring Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry), \u2018Condemned\u2019 and \u2018Secret Scars\u2019 provide ample moodiness and weighty flavour even in their slower passages.<\/p>\n

The combination of a classic 70s rock heaviness and tenacious mid-90s stodginess certainly doesn\u2019t go amiss, either. However, I\u2019ve no doubt that the obvious associations with Alice will no doubt provide the push required for Co-Op to get worldwide attention, and there\u2019s certainly been no harm done in the past by supporting the likes of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce. As tracks such as \u2018Old Scratch\u2019 \u2013 complete with guest vocals from Alice Cooper \u2013 wind themselves sublimely through a myriad of beefy riffs, one just knows that this combo will easily stand on their own two feet though. <\/p>\n

As debut records go, this is the sort of opus that will appeal to many. There\u2019s the feeling being that in spite of their rather gravelled approach, they may well be capable of striking up a hit and being the next big thing. Co-Op<\/em> isn\u2019t the most diverse of albums you\u2019ll hear, but for true grit, chunks of angst and slaps of grunge \u2018n\u2019 roll, this barrel-chested release packs a heck of a punch.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CO-OPCo-Op EMP (2018)Rating: 8\/10 Now, here\u2019s a record that will no doubt turn a few heads due to the fact it features Alice Cooper\u2019s son Dash. Put that aside though, and you\u2019ll be rather pole-axed by this immense groove machine that takes us back to the John Corabi era of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce as massive, meaty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-co-op"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72526"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72528,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72526\/revisions\/72528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}