Century – Black Ocean
Heavy metal has evolved so much in the last ten years in terms of how heavy bands have pushed the art form. There seems to be no boundary that hasn’t already been beaten down already in that department. The trick is really taking the abrasive attitude and applying it to your songwriting in an interesting and effective manner. Too many younger bands pile in 200 riffs in a song and try and pass it off as something of actual substance. Fortunately for us,
Jason Baker and George Fava’s guitar work reminds me of early 90’s bands like Kiss It Goodbye and Acrid while still retaining a modern flavor within the bigger picture. The polyrhythmic riffing on the great “Pantheon” is proof enough that this guitar team is a force to be reckoned with. They also show off a more fluid, discordant style on “Equus” further cementing their might. I read a review the other day where the writer ripped on Century’s vocalist, Carson Slovak calling them too “screamy.” Yeah, Slovak does scream a lot, but it’s hard to imagine a more fitting marriage when you have the beds of distortion that canvas the tracks on this album. Besides, the guy does a more than capable job throughout the tracks. He also has a great sense of cadence in his vocal runs that adds a propulsive meter to the already energetic tempos. The one thing that I walked away from after my initial listening of

Rating: 7.5/10
Label: Prosthetic Records
Website: www.prostheticrecords.com
By Carlos Ramirez
carson slovak is the tits