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