Every year seems to have at least one or two performances in the world of doom that really transforms what we understand the genre to still be even after decades of experimentation and mastery in virtually all forms. Doom of the overwhelming variety is something that requires loads of nuance lest there be tons of potential tragically left on the table as promising bands never fully tap into what they’re truly capable of. Fortunately, the last few years have been quite fruitful with names that are challenging the norm. If 2024 had For the Storms’s “Losing What’s Left of Us” and if 2025 had Lightless’s “A Foreseen Loss”, then it is 2026 that has the collaboration of Cowardice and Cementation Anxiety, “You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know”.
Simply labelling this performance as another work of sludge-doom would be a great disservice to everything that’s accomplished throughout these seven tracks. Constantly bouncing back and forth between the uncompromising, oppressive heaviness of Cowardice and the ethereal but resonating depths of Cementation Anxiety, “You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know” is nothing if not a transformative listen that is constantly beckoning you ever further into its depths as its themes and visages completely wash over you. A deluge of emotion and introspection into everything that has made each one of us the individual we truly are, it’s through great contrast, ambition, and more than enough passion that Cowardice and Cementation Anxiety came together for a performance that’s as poignant as it is hard-hitting for all that it dares to beckon forth. Soundscapes cruel and unforgiving yet gentle and understanding, the iconoclastic nature of “You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know” is fitting for the atmospheres and presence that these acts deliver with the long-form approach to songwriting truly allowing you to become lost within the labyrinth that’s carefully laid before you with the confusion and frustration of life around every corner, yet there is no clear solution should you find the exit. This is the sort of effort that resonates with you soul but in a way that leaves you questioning much of what you know, realizing much of the experiences that have made you who you are, and utterly pummeled by the uncompromising artistic vision that is fully explored throughout the whole of this performance.
Words can hardly do a record like this justice in my opinion, but that has rarely stopped me from trying. Both Cowardice and Cementation Anxiety should be intensely proud of what they’ve accomplished with this spectacular creation. “You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know” is a sensational effort of doom, sludge, and drone that rewards those who take the time to dig through the record and uncover much of what’s to be found with only the most astute able to come face-to-face with the truths that can only be deciphered at the very core of the record. Surely, this is destined to become one of the underground sleeper hits of 2026 with those who don’t experience it truly missing out.
“You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know” releases on November 20th!
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “You Have Taught Me Everything That I Know” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Cowardice on Facebook here.
FOLLOW Cowardice on Instagram here.
FOLLOW Cementation Anxiety on Instagram here.
https://youtu.be/RAKE5Kcl4rs?list=RDRAKE5Kcl4rs