For starters, COG don't like being called Progressive, but they do appreciate it when they're told how complex and mind boggling their music is. Funny, since the sextet are hardly South East Asia's answer to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN or THE RED CHORD or MASTODON. Neither are they peddling an innovative form of Jazz Fusion meets Hardcore. In fact, the key ingredients that make COG, well, COG are simple: generous amounts of Thrash, perhaps a smidgen of Melodic Death Metal, alternating vocal harmonies, and whatever else sounds good, like a saxophone.

On their second album, "Culling", the six inventive Filipinos who comprise the band pull no stops transporting the listener to another dimension. The ride begins with the sudden twists of opener "Dissolve" and stays consistent right until the Gregorian proportions of the immense "I Am the Storm". But between these two compelling songs is almost an hour of hypnotic music laden with melody and a few hundred minute details you won't catch unless a whole month were devoted to absorbing the album.

What's great about COG besides the excellent package at hand - might as well mention the flawless production - is they really make an effort to write a complete album, not just a collection of good songs. Unless your ears are riveted to every single note they play, whether it's the details of Alan Po's intricate drumming or Garon Honasan's use of the saxophone to lend the music a cinematic feel, you'll likely miss the subtle breaks between each track or the effortless shifts in tempo. So be warned, the entirety of "Culling" is best consumed as a whole, from start to finish. Savor its intricacies and be swept away by its relentless pace.

For simpler, more palatable enjoyment, the best cuts on the album are the circle pit Thrash anthem "Promethean", the infectious vocal melodies of "This Means War", "Millipede", the soothing interlude "The Sky Is Falling", laid back "Calliope", the three hit finisher that begins with "From These Ashes", followed by the hair tingling choirs at "I Am The Storm", and the dramatic outro "Congeal". Why, that's almost the whole record. Impressive, right?