Artist: Century
Title: Red Giant
Genre: Post Hardcore
Release Date: 9th January 2012
Label: Prosthetic Records
Album Review
CENTURY’s third album to date, ‘Red Giant’, continues their steamrolling journey of Post Hardcore music for fans to enjoy, and it is still infectious as ever. With dual vocals spitting hateful lyrics (mostly anti-political) this will certainly grab ear attention without sounding juvenile. There is a good mix of thick, churning sludge tones to entice the Hardcore fans on tracks like ‘Synapse’ and ‘Obelisk’. Here the music is either slow, chugging repetitiveness or highly technical smatterings (especially when it comes to the drums). The band’s most chaotic moments are present here and will certainly not disappoint, rather than falling to all too simple groove pitfalls of a band like HATEBREED which can tend to repeat itself too much. Other tracks like ‘Painting Leprosy’ are more Punk influenced and have a faster pace. With more melody and a few quick riffs here and there, there is less room for monotone here, but also brings up a faster pace, especially with the vocals trying to keep up with the guitars, so it can be a bit hard to follow at times. And then there are the slower, more ‘Rock’ influenced track that have some of best balance of fast and slow, such as with ‘In Hell’, which is most memorable for the opening chants in the background all the way to the piano interlude with the bass.
Another thing that makes ‘Red Giant’ unique is the inclusion of guest vocalists on the album to bring more depth. While the music is mostly comprised of Hardcore sounds, from the tone to the screaming vocals, there are a few moments of clean vocals. One example is on ‘Synapse’, where the more nasal vocals belong to Kevin Martin of the band CANDELBOX, which is a bit more “alternative” than CENTURY. Fans will either find this addition a welcome distraction from the Hardcore maelstrom or find it out of place for those who prefer their music just straightforward brutality. However, one thing is for sure: ‘Red Giant’ is possibly the band’s most diverse offering yet since ‘Black Ocean.’ A step above the usual Hardcore/ Metalcore bands out there that aims to be as visceral as ever through profane lyrics and an extreme tone, ‘Red Giant’ hits hard in its own way that should appeal quite well to fans of any sort of Metal or music with a strong attitude against politics.
Tracklist
01. Lobotomy - 2:43
02. Synapse - 3:09
03. Oak God - 3:41
04. My Lexicon - 3:34
05. Dry Bride - 3:05
06. Painting Leprosy - 3:06
07. In Hell - 3:50
08. Threats - 3:22
09. Obelisk - 3:01
10. Iconoclast - 3:25
Line-up
Carson Slovak – vocals
Jason Baker – guitar
Todd Mogle – guitar
Ricky Armellino – bass
Grant McFarland – drums
Website
http://www.myspace.com/century
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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