Hypertension Records concludes their The Abyss Stares Back series with the fifth and final release featuring a unique collaboration between Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Mathieu Vandekerckhove (Syndrome/Amenra) and Colin H Van Eeckhout (Amenra/CHVE). Although the previous four albums were proper splits (including bands like Hessian, Primitive Man and Nihill), this album is introduced as one 20-minute representation of brilliant minds coming together to create a composition rooted in both absence and presence. Thus ultimately calling themselves and their work, Absent In Body.Continue reading
Some bands just have that “something” that seems to set them apart. Centuries would be one of those bands. No strangers to national and international tours, the Florida hardcore outfit have never been bound by their geography. And all this before they’ve even inked a record deal?
Manegarmr begins with a symphony of heavy, whirlwind guitars in opener ‘Ascension’. Hessian draws comparisons to their countrymen Amenra, but unlike the latter’s penchant for post-metal, Hessian prefer to be more up-front. Manegarmr definitely deserves to be played at obscene volume. The driving guitar is at the forefront of the whole record and it’s interplay with the growled vocals of Bram, makes the feeling all the more menacing. At times it’s metallic, but not so much that it sounds overproduced or copyist.