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Sign Of The Storm

    
       
       
       
     
             
Century are a heavy metal band from Sweden formed in 2020 by the duo of Staffan Tengner (guitars, vocals, bass) and Leo Ekstrom (drums, guitars, bass), releasing the bands debut album 'The Conquest Of Time' in 2023, and sophomore album 'Sign Of The Storm' just eighteen months later...    
             
...in January 2025 as a split release between Electric Assault Records and Dying Victims Productions. Featuring ten new songs across forty foot to the floor minutes, Century bring an early eighties metal sound to the modern day - a sound that smells just as fresh now as it did when I first heard it way back in 1980 with Angel Witch's self titled debut album! The duo of Tengner and Ekstrom deliver hard hitting heavy metal with a huge vintage feel, 'Sacrifice' opening the album with a glorious sound and feel like it's actually the eighties right here and now! The pace is quick, the band planting their feet firmly on the old school heavy monitor to adopt the iconic "metal gallop" associated with traditional metal, Century getting the bands new album off to an absolute flyer!    
             
And the energy level too, is way off the charts, 'Sign Of The Storm' storming on with a little more thunder courtesy of 'Children Of The Past' - the band remaining fully rooted to the monitor as the infectious level rising high outta the album, is gonna infect everyone in an instant! And when I say everyone, I mean all eight billion people on the planet, Century's music roaring round the world quicker than Phileas Fogg! And increasing the pace of the album three-fold, 'Necromancer' takes off with as much explosive force as a rocket taking off - the band inviting every thrasher everywhere to come into the Century universe. And with more elegance and majesty than every song heard so far, 'The Chains Of Hell' brings a hymn-like march to the fore - for all of the first fifty seconds or so, as the band progress to shudder the ground with a round of anthemic booms! And I mean booms - booms louder than the gunfire at the gunfight at the O.K Corral!    
             
The sound of NWOBHM orientated heavy metal is a fucking glorious one, 'Fallen Hero' galloping forth with a tonne of gusto to remind me of my youth back in the eighties when, as a teenager I grew up on a rich diet of traditional metal courtesy of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Raven, Tank, Samson and Saxon - Century hitting my sweet spot with devastating accuracy! The title song 'Sign Of The Storm' sounds exactly like the reason why the phrase "old school heavy metal" was invented - I could so easily close my eyes and be transported back to the decade of the first CD, first mobile phone, and first Apple computer, along with the Pac-Man arcade game, Rubik's cube and the BMX bike! I fucking loved the eighties, arguably the best decade for rock and metal evolution - 'Fly Away' returning the elegance heard earlier, the guitar tone from thirty seconds in is NWOBHM personified! Century may be over nine hundred miles and forty five years away from where traditional heavy metal was born right here in the UK, but boy have the duo of Tengner and Ekstrom got its essence spot on!    
             
And with a blistering turn of speed, 'No Time For Tomorrow' accelerates outta the blocks quicker then a Formula One car off the grid, the levels of pace, power and head bang ability shooting right through the fucking roof! I tell ya readers, head banging is gonna be of the most vigorous nature here, every listener, fan and follower wrecking their necks like there's no tomorrow! There's just no escaping the full on intensity of 'Sign Of The Storm' (the album), 'Possessed By The Night' maintaining the red hot scorching pace of the previous song - but with added thunder, the band roughing their sound up just a little bit. And rounding off a very good album, 'Sorceress' is more majestic than any other song on offer, Century raising the elegance bar too - 'Sorceress' turning out to be a catchy instrumental that keeps a hold of your attention for all of its two hundred and thirty three second run time (or three minutes fifty three seconds if you prefer).    
             
Overall, a barnstorming barrage of old school, traditional heavy metal with a sky high infectious level and immense head bang ability.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Other Reviews    
             

           
           
The Conquest Of Time      
           
"a thirty six minute gallop of old school, traditional heavy metal with tonnes of head bang ability" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             
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