review: Terror--The Damned, The Shamed

When Terror releases an album, it's generally like they're preaching to the choir. On their excellent first record, 2003's Lowest of the Low, the group established their signature sound: high energy, slightly metallic, no bullshit hardcore with an old school vibe. On subsequent releases, with the exception of the odd hip-hop interlude, they've repeated themselves again and again. Imagine my astonishment, then, when midway through "Betrayer" from The Damned, The Shamed, I heard 30 whole seconds of clean (!) guitar. "March To Redemption" offers a similar surprise, while "Lost Our Minds" features a nifty little guitar solo and evokes more sadness than rage. If anything, the fact that such minor details feel groundbreaking only underscores how deeply wedded Terror is to its metallic hardcore formula. Nevertheless, while The Damned, The Shamed won't convert any nonbelievers, its relative departures will likely keep the Terror faithful engaged enough to come back for the next serving.

Terror
The Damned, The Shamed
Century Media

review: Century--Black Ocean

On Black Ocean, Century beef up their sound with thick production and a more pronounced metallic edge, though they haven't strayed far from the successful brand of progressive hardcore heard on 2006's Faith and Failure. There's a good helping of melody here, not in band mastermind Carlos Slovak's vocals, which always belch monstrously, but in the guitar work. "Monolith" shifts seamlessly between ethereal melancholy and thrash stomp. Drummer Matthew Smith, who anchors the record with powerful, meticulous beats, pounds so hard on tracks like "Erasure" that you almost miss the airy, rockin' lead soaring overtop. It's obvious that Century has been influenced by the metalcore explosion of the last half-decade. The lurching breakdowns recall acts like Norma Jean; some of the lighter moments echo Misery Signals. And yet Century never sounds quite like any of those groups. Slovak's band isn't trying to corner any one segment of the aggressive music scene and that in itself is refreshing. At the very least, this is worth checking out for "Equus," one of the meanest, catchiest songs released so far this year.

Century
Black Ocean
Prosthetic Records