Review: “Empty Vessels” by Centuries

At one point hailed as part of a “the new of British Metalcore” London’s Centuries have evolved their sound a long way from anything Metalcore. Recorded and Edited by Nathan Smart and Mixed by Gabor Toth at Ghost Ship Recordings the highly anticipated “Empty Vessels” is now here!

“Awake” leaps out of its feedback introduction with a furious drum pattern and some vicious vocals speak of societies ills calling for the population on mass to open their eyes over some Tech-Metal guitar drops and background electronics. “Follow” fills some of the empty spaces with progressive Tech-Metal riffage while a spoken word calling for some open minded thinking to escape from life’s vicious cycle is as thought provoking as it get. Oh and the “Bleigh!” is a pretty decent nostalgic Metalcore nod.

Title track “Empty Vessels” sees Centuries joined by Eric Bickerstaffe and Kadeem France of Loathe. As with the earlier tunes there is a dark and menacing groove to the bands sound that is upped for this cut. Lyrically questioning societies approach to life with humans as “Empty Vessels” going through their day to day living but living no kind of life, it’s another thought provoker after the brutal riffage and savage vocal performances all round are long gone. “Mortis” is a gap bridging sample speech about Hindu Scripture with an undercurrent of electronics creating a dark mood. It may well become a live intro in the future or a mid-set break to re-tune.

“Reset: Rebuild” steps things back up with a heavier track of pause break chugging guitars over some dark buried electronics. An almost buried lead flourish rather than a solo adds a sense of tension and by the end Centuries have managed to capture the heart of the Loathe atmospheric without sounding like Liverpool’s finest. Make no mistake, Centuries are a band here to stay, one of the highlights of the UK Metal Underground scene and with an EP this good there is no denying that the Major labels should come calling [8/10]