title: Cog
URL: http://www.timeoff.com.au/archive/1179/interviews/4.html
date: June 2004
writer: unknown
It’s been almost three years since clinical rockers Cog burst onto the scene with debut EP Just Visiting – Part One. And what a different scene it was!
Bands like Tool and System Of A Down were in their ascendancy and, as much as they rejected the prog-metal tag, the Sydney three-piece would have taken a lot of confidence from overwhelmingly favourable comparisons. Of course, the world has changed a lot and nowhere is this more apparent than in the massive and sustained swing towards lo-fi, bluesy, meat and potatoes rock’n’roll.
Despite the shifting sands of musical tastes, Cog drummer Lucius Borich says the band won’t be deviating from the brand of tight, foreboding music they gleaned their early recognition from.
“We’re not trying to play music that sounds like something that was made in the 70s or 80s,” Borich says. “We’re trying to stay within the year 2004 and use what we feel are the kind of sounds and rhythms and melodies that are exciting to us now. We’re not trying to rehash anything or use the same three chords The Beatles of AC/DC played or whatever. To us that’s just ridiculous. I mean, why do something another band’s already done?”
It’s a question the band will have firmly in their minds as they approach the recording of a debut album in the coming months.
“I still don’t think we’ve really found our sound yet, to be honest. We’re really still searching to try and pinpoint even more of an identity, trying to write that song that doesn’t sound like anything that’s been written before. We don’t want to sound like anyone else. We want to sound like Cog.
“We don’t necessarily want to reinvent the wheel but we definitely want to have people hear our music and say ‘That sounds like Cog!’.
And exactly what that sounds like will perhaps begin to emerge during the band’s upcoming string of Queensland shows.
“We’ve finished the pre-production for the album and we’re basically trying to play the songs in, get them to settle and feel as right as they can before we go in and record them. We’ve kind of been taking our time – we toured down to Melbourne and we did some Sydney shows as well. It’s pretty much just a way to showcase the new songs to the people who dig our music and who’ve been coming along [to shows] for a while… give them another taste of what we’ve got to offer. Then next month, or the month after, we’ll be in the studio recording. We’re pretty excited about that!”