Thinking man's metalcore
Over the past few years, metalcore has become a dirty word in the underground. What started off as a promising offshoot of the metallic hardcore plied by the likes of DRI, Integrity and Ringworm has become associated with tired breakdowns and mindless At The Gates worship, not to mention a horde of 3rd and 4th tier copycat bands who've probably never even heard Systems Overload or Slaughter of the Soul. But as with any genre no matter how diluted, there are always a few diamonds in the rough, and Pennsylvania's Century proves to be just such a gem with their second full-length, Black Ocean.
What really sets Century apart from the metalcore hordes is the intelligence of their approach on Black Ocean. Rather than writing a batch of bone-headed mosh anthems, Century takes the metalcore blueprint and molds it into something more progressive. Elements of post-metal, noise, and good old fashioned rock 'n' roll find their way into the album's latticework, making for a far more thoughtful, textured listening experience than what most fans have come to expect from the genre.
However, this isn't to say that Century doesn't know how to bring the heaviness. In fact, the disc is pretty relentless despite the atmospheric moments that songs like the title track, "Monolith" and "Equus" are peppered with. The band isn't afraid to pummel the listener with staccato riffs and dissonant chords, but for the most part manages to avoid metalcore clichés such as the dreaded breakdown. The album's flow truly does evoke an ocean, as moments of quiet serenity give way to utterly furious musical turbulence, such as on "Daylight Algorithm" and album-closer "The Terror Starts at Home". Century takes the more expansive sounds of bands like Isis and Mastodon and somehow manages to cram them into a tightly wound metalcore package. In fact, the band's music often comes off like an angrier, more urgent version of so-called "post-metal", such is their ability to fit so many musical peaks and valleys into songs that rarely surpass the four-minute mark.
With Black Ocean, Century proves that it is still possible to progress the metalcore framework, taking an approach to songwriting that is innovative without totally abandoning the genre's defining qualities. Already infinitely more interesting than ninety percent of the groups currently clogging the scene, the quartet has positioned itself as one of the rare bands in this style worth paying attention to in 2008.
| Reviewer: Josh Haun Added: May 9th 2008 |
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