Century - Red Giant
Rating
RIYL
Shaped By FateThe Chariot
Botch
Snapcase
Release Date
08/30/2011
Label
Prosthetic RecordsTracklist
1. Lobotomy2. Synapse
3. Oak God
4. My Lexicon
5. Dry Bride
6. Painting Leprosy
7. In Hell
8. Threats
9. Obelisk
10. Iconoclast
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(Struggles to make self heard over the din of Decoy bitching)
JESUS CHRIST ANOTHER METALCORE ALBUM!?
Guys, guys, guys, yes. It is. But…
RABBLERABBLERABBLE
Listen. Guys, hey, guys, listen. HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Okay, here’s the deal with Century: they’re an outlier. While most metalcore bands are falling all over themselves to slide comfortably into a niche, Century’s content to sit on the sidelines and every so often drop in to school their peers. Faith and Failure was a very strong debut proper, but it was 2009’s Black Ocean that was nothing short of incredible with its dexterous musicianship, caseous heaviness, and haunting yet soaring melodies.
A lot has seemingly changed in a relatively short time period, though, as this incarnation of Century has largely forgone the textured approach and has returned with one of the most savage, raw, and brutally unforgiving records ever. The sense of urgency and frenetic rage practically spills out of your speakers, headphones, whatever, and if Red Giant were to fall into the wrong hands, I shudder to think of the possibilities. It’s as if in the interim since crafting a modern-day metalcore masterpiece the band watched the deterioration of the world around them and poured every ounce of vitriol they could possibly muster into Red Giant’s (mercifully for sanity’s sake) brief run-time. To give you an example, here are a few lyrical gems from the disc’s first track, “Lobotomy”: “You wanna do something fiscally responsible? Just kill yourseeeelllllfffff!” or “Fuck you motherfucker, I will rip your fucking head off and fuck what’s left of your esophagus!” or “I’m gonna stab your fucking eyes out!” This is all within a minute-and-a-half.
So Red Giant is not for the faint of heart. It’s sludgy, and furious, and angular, and so fucking heavy it’s homicide in stereo, maaaannnn. But seriously, I love it when a band can keep fans on their toes, to keep an edge in their sound, and make heavy music that’s actually threatening. There are not enough of these bands, and those that exist tend to be seasoned veterans, though I guess by now Century could be in that category with four full-lengths counting their self-released eponymous disc. This is just the sort of atom-bomb kick-in-the-ass that a lot of bands playing today need, and I sincerely hope they’re taking notes.
Now, on the basis of these merits alone Red Giant would be an essential listen, but it’s not as though Century’s completely forgotten their bed-rock stuff either. The material is still challenging and more intelligently done than this description probably implies, and there are several instances that add depth to the release and prevent the aggression, however explosive, from flirting with monotony. The most notable departures include “Oak God”’s alternative rock passage (featuring a guest vocal from Candlebox’s Kevin Martin ), the obscene lounge intro to “My Lexicon,” and the Foxy Shazam freakiness sandwiched between the pained outpourings in “Dry Bride;” these give Red Giant’s flail mace its three-dimensionality, while it is the rest of Carson Slovak and company’s psychotic drive that marks the visceral spray of gore and bone as it hits home.
--Jacob Oliver
Comments
Fishers, Indiana
Sounds rather interesting. You're lucky, too, because I had my torch and pitchfork ready, the ones that have "metalcore" etched into their handles.
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Baton Rouge
"Caseous heaviness?"
Like hell, Oliver. Like hell.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Buffalo, NY
I love this band and can't wait to hear this.
I liked Black Ocean and now I'm even more interested to here this.
Played a show with these guys years ago.....oh wait nvm they never showed up. Assholes. I do want to hear this though.
San Diego, CA
You don't think Black Ocean has the dark, misanthropic quality of cell necrosis, or you think the phrase is over-written?
Too old to bother, too young to give a shit.
Baton Rouge
caseous-(adj) of or like cheese
It only works when placed before the type of bacterial infection as a scientific term. Therefore it cannot describe Century's music unless their music indeed contains the properties of cheese, I say! Five points off!
Sweet review, dude. You definitely inspired me to check this out.
Also, apparently it does work. I just checked an online medical dictionary. You can have your five points back, I guess.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Leonardtown, MD
One of the heaviest/best records of this year for me. It's the type of heavy I need right now. Great review.
Follow me into nowhere.
San Diego, CA
Thanks for the compliments! Nicholas-at least this review has inspired us to argue dictionary minutiae. Five points for all!
Too old to bother, too young to give a shit.
Baton Rouge
If only the stars at the top of this review were stickers we could peel off and stick on our hands!
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Lehigh Valley, PA
I have to listen to this another time, maybe two... I was kinda bored with it. Some super rad riffs but... meh. I don't hate it. At times it sounds like Dillinger and Turmoil had a child and this is it, which is rad as well. I'll come back in a day or so with an update ha.
Coopersburg, PA
I'll have to agree with you, I thought it was pretty boring myself. It's getting critical praise all over the place and I just don't get it.
Lehigh Valley, PA
Yea, came back to this album a few times. Huge MEH.
Kansas
Man this thing is just NASTY!
http://rateyourmusic.com/~benny06