One of the most successful Russian bands, ENS COGITANS, have managed to pleasantly surprise the listeners with every new album. Six years of common efforts converted the band from pretentious newcomer into formed professional musicians with own distinctive manner of playing, with tons ofmentions in metal press, with numerous admirers all over the world.
ENS COGITANS was born on 19 February 1993. OLEG ALIMOV- vocals & keyboards, SERGEY PONKRATIEV- guitars, DMITRY LOBANOV- bass & acoustic guitars and ROMAN SHMELEV- drums were forming techno-progressive metal act on the ruins of preceding thrash metal band CRUCIFIXION. No doubt, in that times young conquerors of underground were under strong influence of DEATHROW 1988 “Deception Ignored” album.
The aim, they are always reaching after, is creation of own brilliant way of non-boring metal. For making it real musicians are using all their skill, own vision of world and blending of wealth of various styles in one powerful metal sound. Of course, it didn’t come as it is.
ENS COGITANS started in 1993 with debut demo “The Sketch On The Forest Theme”,containing four tracks:
- Defloration Of Kiddy Brain’s Hymen
- Feast During The Plague
- Funeral/Favete Linguis (Instrumental)
- Unconsciousness. Praemorbus
taken from first full-length album “Experimentum In Corpori Vili”. Though it was primary step, ugly’n’clumsy, anyway, Russian underground got know new formation, remarkable by complex song’s texture. Moulding went on. Young Moscow label FINAL HOLOCAUST Records turn its eyes on hopeful band, and early in 1994 ENS COGITANS recorded second rehearsal demo “She, The Oldest One And Her Odourless Nous With Excruciating Oestrus To Full Indifference”
- Defloration Of Kiddy Brain’s Hymen/Ginecotomia
- Feast During The Plague
- Funeral/Favete Linguis (Instrumental)
- Anthropogenesis De Jure, Anthropophagy De Facto
for planned 7“ EP, but suddenly label folded up, and it remained as another demo. Obviously, Russian classical heritage has exerted on the band a huge influence. Astonished by boundless melodism of Musorgsky and absolutely unpredictable character of Stravinsky’s work, ENS COGITANS was working on their style, inweaving symphometal, many-voiced arrangements and touches of doom. As to lyrics, both demos constructed on questions of man’s relationships with himself and his environment. For the first time such a noticeable magazine as MORTICIANUM-SKULL (Holland) published big interview of Cor Snijder with the band.
All it in sum got ENS COGITANS in 1995 to enter professional TEF Studio (Moscow) and record first studio demo “Maxims Of The Oldest One”, including:
- The Spiral (Of Development)
- Hortulus Animae (Instrumental)
- Catharsis Through The Psychodeath
- Introspection (Instrumental)
taken from second never released full-length album “Search Of Kalokagathy”. And again there were a lot of positive feedbacks. A capital review by Russell Smith is appeared in mighty TERRORIZER Magazine (UK). ENS COGITANS progressed throughout their first three demos, each of which enriched from improved soundrecording and mature tunes.
All in all, it wasn’t enough for musicians, and they started to think about full-length album of good quality for deserved worldwide promotion, but... unexpectedly drummer left the band. They stayed three-pieces team, looking for new members.
In June 1995 DMITRY KEZHVATOV joined the band as a second guitarist, and during autumn 1995 musicians found an additional female vocalist IRENE RUSAKOVA. Dmitry brought fascinating, catchy way of second guitar playing, and Ira - romantic atmosphere into male collective. Together they were working on new material, more melodic, soft, this time with only transparent allusions to technometal.
In April 1996 ENS COGITANS took part in annual Russian metal festival Deathrider, where musicians tested new songs. Reaction was great, work was completed, so, with the help of returned Roman, they entered Red Rose Studio (Moscow) and responded with their unique full-length album, the band’s defining artistic creation for the time - “Heart Of The Way”:
- Stone Rill: a) Grain Of Sand (Intro) b) Stone Rill
- Fire From Within
- Search OF Kalokagathy (Original Version)
- Heart Of The Way: a) Prologue b) Heart [mp3] c) Epilogue
- As The Heartbeat Evanishes In A Secret Moonlight Garden
- Through The Moonlight [mp3]
Actually nobody, even musicians themselves, didn’t expect such a marvelous result. Doom oriented more than ever, “Heart Of The Way” strikes down by own personality and sensuality. One year of never-ending motion Through The Moonlight and Search Of Inner Poise, 50 minutes of unpredictable Stone Rill flow, six mysterious flashes of Fire From Within, 48 channels of soundrecording - it’s all about “Heart Of The Way”. Lyrics of album based on stories about life’s circulations between worlds.
Promo of album has got splendid reviews in underground press all over the globe, and in the same year, with the help of then editor of MorticianNumskull, now - good friend, HAROLD DEKKERS, ENS COGITANS signed a contract with independent Italian label SEVEN ART MUSIC for 2 Cds, but debut CD, due to some financial (as f**king always) problems is not issued yet.
Inspired by new international horizons, ENS COGITANS, after first summer vacation, proceed to new stuff, played live a lot meanwhile. They didn’t want repeating of previous work and wrote something more heavy-oriented, called “Breath Of The Ground”. Unfortunately, the label’s business didn’t go right way, and this album seems to be unreleased too.
A bad luck has spread the wings over the band, and little by little erstwhile community melted away in everyday life.
In that time of long forced silence Oleg and Sergey set up new computer-based project OVERSUN. They recorded new material on their own P&A DS Studio, and early in the 1998 year they put out self-released CD “Pinnacle’s Obsession” under the mark of NOSTRADAMUS Records.
New technical possibilities opened new directions of development and during 1998 year musicians practically by two of them were creating new ENS COGITANS album, permeated by exquisite elegance and symbolically entitled “Re-Vision”.
- Cage
- As I Want
- Dying In Your Hands Again [mp3]
- Cage (Oversun Edit)
- No Place To Burn
- In My Single Day
- Sacred Sin ( I Feel ) [mp3]
- Way Out
- Falling
It seems, they have forgotten, that they’re metalists and dissolved in the air to transmit for everybody delightful beauty of Essence. This inwardness of the band manifested itself in the grand, harmonized pieces of art like “As I Want”, “Dying In Your Hands Again”, “In My Single Day”, “Falling”.
Computers, computers, computers everywhere, but it’s still metal and... another step to achieve the Goal! Seven Art Music (Italy) + Nostradamus Records (Russia) released that fantastic album in August, 1999.
Meanwhile Oleg and Sergey didn't forget about thier OVERSUN project, and in summer 2000 Nostradamus Records has put it out in CD format. The album came out more aggressive and strong. They proclaimed it: "New computerized assault of feeble sheep's life".
With these guys you never know where them lead you to...
