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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Rafa Martinez of Black Cobra

The first time I saw Black Cobra was in a Manhattan basement club called Lit Lounge at a show I put together in 2005, and it was a genuine “Oh shit” moment. The duo of guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian (ex-Cavity) and drummer Rafa Martinez (who was also still part-time bassist for Acid King at that point) were among the rawest and meanest heavy bands I’d ever come across. Later that year, I’d catch them in a shoe museum in Los Angeles with Torche and to this day it remains one of the heaviest shows I can (barely) remember. Their debut album, Bestial, was released on At a Loss in 2006, and the band relocated from the East Coast to San Francisco, though really, for several years they were nomadic, never seeming to stay too long off the road between tours, hand-delivering punishment to an increasingly devout audience. Southern Lord picked them up for 2007’s Feather and Stone full-length, and their run continued at a gallop as fierce as their own thrashing riffs. 2009’s Chronomega followed and 2011’s Invernal (review here) brought a conceptual edge to their approach, taking the Polar explorations of British researcher Ernest Shackleton to dark and monstrous places, thematically and sonically.

They remain a force on the road, having just completed a week-long West Coast run with Weedeater after having made a stop in Miami to share the stage with Holly Hunt and Shroud Eater in December and another right after the New Year to play Brooklyn’s St. Vitus bar with Throaat and Blackout.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Rafa Martinez

How did you come to do what you do?

I’m assuming you mean playing music. Growing up I copied everything my older brother did so when he picked up a guitar I followed right behind. He introduced me to metal and punk music. We had a couple bands together but he slowly stopped and it became my life.

Describe your first musical memory.

When I was three I remember learning how to use a turntable with Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Sharing the stage with Sleep and Neurosis at Hellfest this last summer was very memorable.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Once we were about to go onstage and the stage manager told us our set was being cut by 15 minutes. I told him that we would do no such thing and that his un-American censorship would be protested by our fans and that they would more than likely do things to him. We did our full set and as the crowd cheered for more, the stage manager obliged to their supplicant cries.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Evolution.

How do you define success?

Feeling good about what you do never compromising your ideals. Getting free pizza once in a while is nice too.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Seeing that sorry-ass excuse of existence,  waste of space,  fetid effluvia emitting piece of gonorrhea the world knows as Creed winning a Grammy for Best Rock Performance in 2001. I know it was a slow year and all but there’s no logical reason for something like that to happen.  But then again George W. Bush got elected twice so we’re all slowly getting used to events like these that make absolutely no sense.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Free energy.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I heard a rumor that both Police Academy and Footloose are being remade at the moment. Looking forward the their premieres.

Black Cobra, “The Crimson Blade” official video

Black Cobra on Thee Facebooks

Southern Lord Recordings

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One Response to “The Obelisk Questionnaire: Rafa Martinez of Black Cobra”

  1. RalphSanrt says:

    Dude, Footloose got remade like five years ago or something.

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