Black Ocean

Album Review

Though it was apparently almost two years in the making, Century's third album, Black Ocean, lasts only about 33 minutes, a reflection, not of absent inspiration, but of the sheer density of sound and emotion compacted into the raging maelstrom of its ten tracks. Linked together with no interruption whatsoever, these land somewhere between the streamlined metallic hardcore of Converge or Cave In and the wackier, rule-breaking complexity of the Dillinger Escape Plan or elder statesmen Lethargy. Which is to say that Black Ocean does not give up its treasures easily; listeners have to put in their due diligence before deciphering the clues that ultimately lead to the X marking the spot. So, at first, intimidating tracks like "Pantheon," "Drug Mule," and the title cut will seem all fast-changing riffs, brittle bass, thundering percussion, and murderous vocals, but then slightly more welcoming numbers like "Erasure," "Equus," and "Monolith" deliver more palatable displays of dissonant harmonies, strummed chords, and linear rhythms as skeleton keys. And despite its almost unwavering ferocity from start to finish (the first stretch of calm only arrives eight songs in, via the meditative "Daylight Algorithm," which is followed by an industrial snippet called "Dysgenics"), Black Ocean's demanding architecture is eventually justified once its all-encompassing vision finally comes into focus. Unprepared listeners may still require thick glasses to gain clarity into Century's twisted musical universe, but risk-taking fans of Intronaut and Burst will quickly recognize this album as their next favorite mystery to unravel.