CENTURIES OF DECAY — Centuries of Decay (review)

CENTURIES OF DECAY — Centuries of Decay album cover

Album · 2017 · Death Metal

3.5/5 · 2020-11-28
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"Centuries of Decay" is the self-titled debut and only release so far by this band who are said to mix black metal and death metal in a progressive death metal style. The band was formed in Toronto by two brothers who are originally from Prince Edward Island, land of Anne of Green Gables and the signing of the Canadian Constitution.

And potatoes! Lots of potatoes!

Centuries of Decay released this album in 2017 and then in 2018 went on to win the Wacken Metal Battle Canada National Final.

At the heart of it, Centuries of Decay is a mid-tempo-paced, modern metal band with harsh vocals that sound like a midway point between the guttural bellowing of death metal and the higher, wet-meat shredded throat shrieks of some black metal bands. The lyrics are quite clear if you follow along with them in print. Riffs can be steady, pulses of badadum badadum or more complex. Double bass is used when necessary to affect speed or intensity, but the band is more about creating songs that stretch out a bit with lyrics about struggle against oppressive forces, determination and perseverance, and hating the bastards who shove you down.

Honestly, this was another album that took me a few careful listens to begin to see it beyond the obvious modern metal band stylistic accoutrements. When you've heard enough bands, you start to look for the things that make tracks stand out even if it's just enough to make them stand out from one another. There are a few things on this album such as clean vocals that don't sound like the metalcore type on a couple of tracks; a curious classically influenced piano bit that closes out the last couple of minutes of the track, "Rise"; the melodic black metal riffing in the title track; the eerie beginning with clean guitar and bass and creepy muttering voices at the start of "Asylum"; the smooth, clean-guitar, jazzy section in "Odyssey"; the snarly breakdown in "Asylum", and the pleasant, strummed acoustic guitar finale of the album at the end of "Demise". With each subsequent listen, the subtleties and nice touches reveal themselves more.

However, while each track has been written and recorded with care and skill, I must return to the fact that I was not immediately smitten by the album. I could hear it was very good but I didn't have any tracks leap out at me. In fact, a week from now I might not remember what I heard that I liked in what tracks. This might be due to overkill as I have been trying to digest several dozen new albums from the last half year.

Another slight problem I have with this album is the recording volume is quite low. The CD needs the volume turned up a few notches more than regular CDs and even the download from Bandcamp doesn't deliver the weight that should be there. Less volume lessens the impact of the music, I think. This one needs the dial twisted way over.

I think we're talking about a very good album here. But I do have the nagging suspicion that there are plenty of other bands capable of recording a similar album. Who knows? Maybe I'm missing something?