Sticky icky? On the plastic wrapping covering the tribal Sepultura art: “Recommended if you like High on Fire, (early) Mastodon, Yob, Black Flag.” Out of the chute, “Challenger Deep” eats waves like (early) Mastodon in frothing pursuit of their great, white whale. The clustering-riff gallop of the title track huffs High on Fire, while the woozy slide of “Dark Shine” hacks a juicy Yob. The concrete crush and flat percussive smack of the L.A. duo’s fifth LP wallops pure SST production á la Black Flag. Beyond the ear-bending sonic hallmarks, however, Black Cobra hisses a deadly oxygen suck, Imperium Simulacra burning like phosphorus. (Sat., 12mid, Swan Dive Patio)

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This article appears in March 18 • 2016.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.