RBOTD #198: Коса
Metallum is in love with the Koca
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B0/34194
Country: Ukraine?
Location: Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast?
Genre: black metal
Formed in: 2004?
Status: unknown
By the Numbers
Коса is the:
77th band formed in the 2000s
Second band from Ukraine
12th band with an unknown status
Its genre tags have been seen:
Black: 54 times
Member Connections
Коса is a bandalone, maybe?
Know 'Em?
Nope. I am now 10/198.
Sketch Check
Welp, we'll talk about it.
RateYourMusic Scores
Коса's highest-rated album is 2010's Sintemptation, which achieved a 3.28 average on 5 ratings.
The adjusted score places Коса in the 55th percentile.
Adjusted scores are calculated similarly to the Trad Belt scoring system. Please read that column for more information.
Trifecta Tracker
Коса has not achieved the trifecta.
A band can achieve the trifecta by titling a song after itself on a self-titled release. Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" on 1980's Iron Maiden is an example of the trifecta.
OK. I'm forgoing the typical embed-first layout for reasons that will become clear in a moment. First, let's talk about names real quick.
To make ends meet, I do some license verification work as one of my day jobs...because you will be shocked to learn that my failed career as a non-ambitious metal writer doesn't pay the bills. One of the things I think about a lot is that "name alone isn't a unique identifier." Here's that phrase in action: How do I know that Dr. John Smith in the licensing portal is the same Dr. John Smith who faxed in their information? Nailing that down can require a lot of tedious research. Basically, there must be something besides the name that connects the two beyond a shadow of a doubt.
So, drumroll, please, it is my professional opinion that I don't think these releases are by the same band.
Everything up to Грехоискушение belongs to Коса, "'Scythe' in most of the Slavonic languages" per Metallum. It is/was a Ukrainian black metal band operated solely by Vjacheslav Novitskiy. Коса recorded for Morbid Winter Records and Propaganda, two labels laden with sketchy bands, though, to be fair, nothing about Коса seems explicitly sketch.1 It has/had a fairly standard second-wave sound reminiscent of a lot of its compatriots.
REHEARSAL 19.06.19 and this year's Плодуродие, both released independently, are by Коса, a Russian trio: m ("gtr, txt, voice"), g ("bass, gtr, music"), and b ("drm"). It has a different logo, forgoing the whole scythe deal. Earlier works are not listed on its Bandcamp. It also has a different approach on Плодуродие, plowing through tracks with a bass-heavy, raw punkiness that's similar to other black metallers making their way out of Russia over the last few years.2 I like "Стонут." It hookfully balances an icy blast with an attacking punky crustiness, kind of like how it couples a youthful exuberance with solid musicianship. That verse riff, with the arpeggio adornment that's New Model Army-esque, is neat.
I don't know. Life comes at your fast. A lot can happen in 12 years. But…it doesn't seem like these are the same bands? Same name, sure, but what else connects the two? Name alone isn't a unique identifier. It's not like metal bands respect name ownership in the first place. I mean, there are 19 bands named Crypt. C'mon.
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Then again, every band it's compared to in its "Similar Artists" tab is sketch, so who knows. Of course, that might just be a consequence of playing black metal in that part of the world…or, uh, suggestive of something else. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Again, a lot of this stuff is sketch. Коса isn't outwardly sketch, but I have been burned plenty of times before. I don't speak/read Russian, so I'm going to plead ignorance here.