Cenobia – Lethal Devotion Review

Cenobia is the latest in a string of new faceless artists popping up seemingly out of nowhere, securing spots on the bills of massive tours, and finding their way into Kerrang magazine with very little music under their belt. But who is this new alt-Metal queen, and at this point, do we really care?

For those who don’t know, Cenobia is an Australian alt-Metal artist (band?) that presents themselves anonymously through a mask and black body paint. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It has a certain similarity to a certain British masked and painted band that has a cult following. Speaking of cult followings, Cenobia‘s universe that they’ve created through social media and other videos also leans into that culty, ceremonial, ritualistic vibe.

As for accolades, over the past year, they’ve put out three singles, Devour Me, Throne of Want, and Make Us Whole Again, and have now dropped an EP titled Lethal Devotion that, in a similar fashion to Showing Teeth (another seemingly out-of-nowhere artist), expands their musical universe with three additional songs. They were also briefly on the bill for President‘s upcoming North American tour alongside Showing Teeth until dropping out.

So what is it all about? At its core, it’s a mysterious, ethereal, alt-Metal affair that comes with its own universe that fans can get immersed in. Similar to Sleep Token and President, Cenobia refers to their fans as a “collective”, bringing them closer to the world they’ve created. Personally, that vibe isn’t for me, but musically, Cenobia might have something good here.

I had previously heard their three singles, and I was impressed. There is definitely a level of manufactured metal here; it’s very, very polished, but it works in their favour. It actually reminds me a lot of In This Moment, and what I hoped to hear on their latest album (spoiler, it’s not). Lethal Devotion is a satisfying mix of ethereal, angelic singing, and raw, heavy aggression.

Production-wise, the whole EP reminded me a lot of the soundtrack to Call of Duty: Black Ops – Zombies, which is definitely a compliment. Interestingly, Elena Siegman – who provides the vocals for a lot of the songs on that soundtrack – presents herself in a similar way to Cenobia, to the point that I had to double-check this wasn’t a project from Siegman. The music is heavy, but also overly produced. Guitars are heavily quantised; pauses are sharp, sudden, and tight. Normally, I’d find it a little off-putting, but for Cenobia, it works.

In a world of bands who are all creating their own unique universes, Cenobia comes at the perfect time, offering something feminine and raw for fans to sink their teeth into. At times it does feel a bit disingenuous; for example, the song Make Us Whole Again addresses the feeling of imposter syndrome, which feels a bit on the nose as her whole schtick is being an anonymous vessel for something much bigger.