Centuions Ghost at Myspace

I first saw Centurions Ghost live in 2005, in the basement of a dodgy pub in one of Birmingham’s dodgiest suburbs. The pub has since gone, torn down probably to create more yuppie apartments as is the way in most major UK cities, but the memory of that performance remains as visceral today as it was back then. Centurions Ghost’s second album, ‘The Great Work’, proves they still had whatever it was back then, being a stunningly visceral doom album that takes elements from sludge, thrash and death metal.

The most explicit influence on ‘The Great Work’ is Crowbar, though this is nowhere near straight-up hero worship. They are heavier and more technical than the boys from New Orleans and they disregard Crowbar’s hardcore elements entirely, and make their depressive side more subtle and less melodic. Evidence of their innovation is seen on album opener ‘The Supreme Moment’, which starts with an ever-so-slightly mathematical verse before sweeping in with some soulful guitar harmonies in the chorus. Winter, Celtic Frost, and Cathedral would be other good reference points, with ‘Bedbound (In the House of Doom)’ and ‘In Defiance’ having a distinct Entombed feel. The latter of those tracks abounds in the fattest groove this side of an armchair in a furry’s house, with the most sublime psychedelic guitar part five minutes in, and is the clear stand-out track.

Apart from the bizzare pairing of Biohazard’s more metal moments with some Flordian slo-mo death metal components in ‘Walking Through Walls’, this album is consistently enjoyable. A definite listen if not purchase for all fans of slow-paced extreme metal.