Centiment unleash themselves upon us with “Streets of Rage”, their appropriately titled first album. The band members are anything but novices. Three of them are key players from InMe, from whom I haven’t heard anything in a while. I sense that Centiment is the McPherson brothers’ plaything. I soon got into the idea while listening to “Streets of Rage” that anything could happen.
It all starts with arcade game music, a constant feature of this album, transforming into explosive metal. The game tinkles on. The harsh-sounding vocalist appears to be in despair. The drummer makes his presence felt. “S.O.S” is punchy and irregular. It’s not very well sung but has plenty of energy, aggression and emotion. Shots are then fired from the game machine. “Defenders of Oasis” is unusual. The vocalist implores us in tune with the plinkety-plonk sound. Dare I use the term Emo? It’s actually more adult than that. “Defenders of Oasis” seems to be a personal song and there’s plenty of emotional power but isn’t that all at odds with the arcade music which is more likely to dull the senses?
Everything seems wrong about the vocals and the musical balance but this has got something. If I were to draw a literary analogy, it reminds me of the Murakami tale of the badly written novel which takes over the imagination. I like the metal-cyber outbursts, as can be heard at the start of “The Kraken”. Although it’s punchy and driving, the song is a bit banal. There are pretensions to hardcore, plenty of heaviness and lots of melody. It’s strange that I didn’t get into the soul of it. “Hollow Grams” is more along the lines of traditional thrash rock – an endearing feature is that categories don’t really work here – while the wavy voice rages on in its eccentric way. Drums roll and there’s a bit of programming. The wall of sound is impressive. Cyber warfare leads us into heavier spheres. A feature I didn’t like about this album is the way that the songs start powerfully and just switch over to the songs which are abundant in energy but lack magnetism. Yet everything and more is going on around those strange vocals. I can’t criticise Centiment for holding back. This addict of “Britain’s Best Bakery” would liken it to a good loaf of bread which is doughy in the middle and therefore not the complete package. I thought the singer was heading off into an Indian chant – now that would be an interesting touch – but “Viktor Frankl” returns to the customary assault and battery. I liked this track. It had more control over the mix of aggression and emotion. It also slows down. There is wailing. It’s eerie. A funky piece comes from the electronic section. It’s a shame “Viktor Frankl” ended in mid air. What follows is good too. “Three Laws of Neurotics” has a wavy emotional quality, programming and at the same time it’s hard hitting. The atmospheric build-up is better than most. An almost Swedish Melodeath style counters the overriding eccentricity. This is the best section of the album for me as “Bloodshot” takes off with its rousing beat, frantic touches and high-pitched vocals. This piece of modern metal packs punch and melody. The harmonies are raucously emotive. The end is dramatic. A marching dark atmosphere signals “Zero Tolerance”. The vocals are eccentric as usual but there’s no denying the power of the song. Thunderous and melodic, this epic track has great control but disappointingly loses its impact at the end. It’s appropriate all in all that the final track “Mother’s Nature” is a puzzling mass of genres and sounds. The ever-punchy rhythm runs through it like a river. This is frantic and melodic, furious and anarchic, and there’s a strong chorus line before it all disappears into the ether.
“Streets of Rage” is a really interesting album. I can’t in all honesty say that I appreciated every aspect of its structure. In fact I thought in parts the ingredients didn’t stick together at all. Yet I liked the album and credit it for being original and unusual.
(7/10 Andrew Doherty)
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