Century Media Records

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

“When I covered Necrophobic’s 2020 release, Dawn of the Damned, I spoke at length about what this band means to me as a reviewer and fan of heavy metal music. These guys singlehandedly got me into black metal, and when I hear other bands playing a similarly melodic, death metal-infused version of the genre, I can’t help but hold them up next to these guys, my personal archetype of what this style is supposed to sound like.” Necro-mongering.

Skeletal Remains – Fragments of the Ageless Review

Skeletal Remains – Fragments of the Ageless Review

“In the realm of reliable old school death metal, Skeletal Remains looms large. Over their decade-plus existence, they’ve provided quality, high-energy brutality with strong similarities to classic Morbid Angel and pre-prog/pre-AI fetish Pestilence. Albums like Condemned to Misery and The Entombment of Chaos brought the bat and the boots to the beatdown and gave fans everything they could want. They’re masters of the basic death metal experience and don’t dabble too much with their sound from album to album.” Morbid bones.

Borknagar – Fall Review

Borknagar – Fall Review

“No matter who fills in on vocals, guitars, and drums, the Borknagar continues releasing one fantastic album after another. After 2019’s fun and accessible True North, this year’s Fall reaches farther into the past to reset the needle, delivering some blackish attacks and headbangable energy. Worry not, they forever will retain that classic epicness, melody, and beauty.” Trust Fall.

Vitriol – Suffer & Become Review

Vitriol – Suffer & Become Review

“When our resident death metal professor, Ferrous Beuller, covered To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice, the debut full-length from Portland’s Vitriol, he was struck by the sheer heaviness that dominated the record. And while he noted the enormous potential displayed by the band, he bemoaned the lack of balancing contrast, a lack that prevented the monstrous material from making the intended impact.” Impact is imminent.

Signs of the Swarm – Amongst the Low & Empty Review

Signs of the Swarm – Amongst the Low & Empty Review

“When you’re Signs of the Swarm, and the last ten years have been one big battle with PR, you can finally breathe after 2021’s impressively solid Absolvere. Shady human beings have been booted and one solid album free of allegations in, the Pittsburgh now-quartet can instead focus on being terrible for being a deathcore band.” Goals.

Enforced – War Remains Review

Enforced – War Remains Review

“It’s certainly not unusual for me to field accusations of improper scoring around these parts, but, while I usually stand by my assessment of a record long after the review has come and gone, I’m willing to admit that I do occasionally get things wrong. Case in point: Enforced’s 2021 album, Kill Grid. I was initially enamored by that record’s furious hardcore-tinged thrash, and, at the time, a 4.0/5.0 score was a no-brainer. But the intervening years and my countless returns to the album have revealed an inescapable truth: I should have scored it higher. Needless to say, follow-up War Remains approaches the battlefield facing a nearly invincible host of expectations.” Of war crimes and MOAR crimes.

Record(s) o’ the Month – March 2023

Record(s) o’ the Month – March 2023

As things have gotten busier and I’ve struggled with a lot of different things, it’s true that there is a burdensome aspect to being the guy who’s always doing the Record(s) o’ the Month. This year, I tried to approach this differently. I intended to use Zadion’s stupid fucking comment as the kind of bulletin board material that keeps motivating a guy to keep playing even when he’s on the verge of retirement due to his bum knee and a skyrocketing K-rate. But the “diabolical façade” cannot march on.