SALVADOR AGUINAGA II (9/10)

A supreme good and an inferior evil are black and white concrete ideas that divide a perception between what is right and what is wrong. If you take a look at the album cover you see the vibrant skeletal remains form a trio of the number three above their heads as if looking to it for indefinite guidance. Triple three in succession is a way to signify the trinity; mind, body, and spirit unified and balancing each other to seek the truth. Also if you look carefully at the lively bones their form make the number 666, a superstitious number meant to signify the devil. The symbolic message I got is two divided powers come from the same source and even if the perceived good is in higher hierarchy, the perceived evil controls and manipulates the actions of the perceived good. In truth, there's nothing absolutely good and evil, we carry the torch of both. We have to know the darkness before we can know the light.

I do not know the real intentions CENTURIAN achieves with "Contra Rationem" but with the hints of the songs titles I think my shot more or less hit where it needed to be. This is their third full-length, not releasing an album for twelve years since its predecessor, "Liber Zar Zax". Being disbanded for nine years seems reasonable as to why it took a little over a decade to see an album from CENTURIAN. However here we are with "Contra Rationem" under Listenable Records with the original members except their previous drummer, Wim Van Der Valk, but in his place is the original singer,  Seth Van de Loo and the main vocalist duty is filled by PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT's Niels Adams.

Such an unholy alliance creates an album that is downright swift but brutal with the help of death metal's modern progression. I would call this "Altars Of Madness" Vol. 2. It happens to be my favorite MORBID ANGEL album and yes I feel safe calling it as such. Due to the differences in time, "Contra Rationem", has seen a more refined recording but even with its etherealness it sounds like an early 90s recording. Just imagine a young MORBID ANGEL caressing the head of HATE ETERNAL and infusing itself having them inside its acidic digestive system.

CENTURIAN did for me what AEON could not do with their latest release. AEON had a good album going but I could not stand the drumming partly because I think Arttu Malkki been spending too much time with gothic and melodic death metal bands and severely degenerates his playing. However, Seth Van de Loo is hacking out relentless drum lines and complimenting the speed and brutality of the album. The riffs of course bury AEON. This album is a great way to ignite death metal for the year. Rapid, great execution, and vile. Look forward to it.

STEINMETAL (6/10)

An old foul sensation nearly lost but never forgotten, a thumping, a shakedown through a person's head while not knowing what will come next, this consciousness must have a purpose. Questionable choices often lead to misguided or temporary decisions. To take something that might end up with a meaning into something impermanent and short lived. Dealing with the outcome is upon those who decided to do the deed, to end an endeavour in favour of an old habit that has been hard to put aside, like a neck breather. The Dutch CENTURIAN, one of the late Death Metal acts of the late 90s to join the family of local blasphemous groups, seemed keen to change their future after losing two brothers. That is the reason why after their sophomore release they changed their name into NOX. Lately, the decided that it was time to put the adventures aside and return to the basic, to that old grotesque but fun consciousness, therefore, nearly a decade after the last album under the old name, CENTURIAN returns to haunt, pillage and destroy in the honours of what is hateful. "Contra Rationem", the craziness of sin, via Listenable Records, just felt right to be the long awaited comeback album under CENTURIAN playing unconditional Death Metal music, sacrilegious, profane and untamed as possible. But in comparison to the veterans of the scene, and I do mean old examples, "Contra Rationem" has nothing to truly impress aside from missing the target.

For one thing, possibly one of the few positive things about "Contra Rationem" is that it feels as if the band has never truly stopped making honest Death Metal display. Throughout the album I could sense the dynamics, bombardment of grinds and double bass detonations of the skins, sharp edged bass, oppressive and filthy guitaring, solos as screams due to inner combustion and without letting out the guttural low end vocals of a new vocalist in the crew. Right from the opening curse it was evident that this is about to get messy, blood and antireligious as hell. Plenty of hints of SINISTER, THANATOS, SEVERE TORTURE, and DISAVOWED but also hails from outer Holland as DEICIDE and MORBID ANGEL, merely old school finesse mashing with brutality and frequent atmospheric features under a cover filled with bloodied skulls.

CENTURIAN slammed their way into my brain, piercing my skull but it didn't took me a while to notice how monotone they got to be, with a slight lack of vision on the final outcome and how would it effect the entire release. Sure there are great moments as on "Feast Of The Cross", a true old school, cold stone hearted killer with a lot anger against the very foundation of religion, a pure attack with great riffs and slashing rhythms even if common to the genre. I also found crude old roots delivered nicely on "The Will Of The Torch", just right before burning down the cross. The singing seemed a bit drone but I could bear with it as I liked the simply made riffing and the aura of muck throughout the song. Taking these two as the best of the veteran chaps could supply for this comeback wasn't easy for me, as a fan of the mighty SINISTER, which also toppled with their later sacrifice, and THANATOS, I expected a bit more. In short, I liked the rejuvenated energies that old school Death Metal always have, the tightness of the band, moderately produced but with a vigorous sound, but in the long run it could have been way more than it turned out to be.