Century – Sign Of The Storm
Swedish traditional heavy metal band Century return with their eagerly awaited second album Sign Of The Storm and what a return it is. After the release of their debut in 2023 there’s been quite the buzz around this band who are another in the long list of traditional heavy metal bands that have been popping up all over the world in recent years in what’s being referred to as the NWOTHM (New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal).
From the opening bars we can be in no doubt what we’re in for and we can be safe in the knowledge that this second album was worth the wait. Melodic guitars and pounding drums kick us off into a great speed metal riff and we could be back in 1981. The influences are hard to hide; Maiden and Priest undoubtedly but it’s more than that; there’s an epic element to this album akin to US Power Metal bands like Manilla Road and Manowar and we can’t mistake the obvious influence of Swedish heavy metal legends Heavy Load.
We power through the first few tracks of great sounding epic, melodic heavy metal and then we’re treated to a nice acoustic intro into the track, The Chains Of Hell, perhaps the weakest song here and a little laboured, but then we’re quickly back into it with the stand out track, Fallen Hero. We reach the mid-point in the album with the title track, Sign Of The Storm, which treats us to another epic breakdown and some classic Steve Harris galloping rhythms. Fly Away is more melodic hard rock than metal and No Time For Tomorrow is straight up speed metal that could be a deep cut from the Motörhead classic line-up. Penultimate song, Possessed By The Night, has a dark and brooding feel to it and just dips its toe into the progressive ocean and we see time signature shifts and some really great use of rhythmic displacement in the drums; it’s a very interesting arrangement, and the album closes out with a straight up 80s NWOBHM style guitar heavy instrumental.
The songs here are great and the musicianship is excellent but the biggest talking point has to be the production. The album just sounds like the 70s and it’s been mixed and mastered so that whichever format you choose to listen, it always sounds like you’re listening to old vinyl; heavy, thick and syrupy! This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and I’m sure some listeners will love it, but I did at times find it a little distracting and wanted to reach for the EQ controls and brighten it up in parts. Another criticism is that on a couple of songs the rhythm guitar tone did feel a bit grating and a little too loud; it isn’t every song and it’s fine in the mix but when the rhythms are exposed and the bass drops away the tone could become a little abrasive. I also wonder if the running order should have been different? Possessed By The Night feels like a great song to close with but instead we have an instrumental which almost feels a bit tacked on and would have been better in the middle of the album as a segue from Side A to B.
Despite these minor criticisms this really is a great album and stands as another testament to the fact that there are still great new bands out there producing exceptional heavy music. Authentic, honest sounding heavy metal.
Rating: 7/10 – Very Good
Wayne McAloon | Now Spinning Magazine
