Bands in the metalcore genre have an uphill battle. Although there are quite a few successful bands, there's also a lot of backlash because of the seeming similarity between so many of them. On their latest CD Century tries to break free and try something different.
Black Ocean is typical metalcore with intense riffs and frequent breakdowns. Century adds in a few progressive elements, tempo changes and some melody that does help make the music a bit more diverse. The band has also made the CD interactive, where fans can solve a cipher incorporated into the artwork and access hidden content on the web.
Where Black Ocean could use more diversity is the vocals. They are the same pitch and emotion throughout the entire album. The intense yelling is augmented by a few gang vocals, but it gets monotonous. Century is on the right track in trying to be more innovative in the metalcore genre, and are a band on the rise.
(released April 29, 2008 on Prosthetic Records)
