Centhron - Asgard

Centhron, the aggrotech act straight from the veins of Germany, releases another album that gives a nod back to their previous album, 'Dominator'. It follows up with even more aggressive, dance centric tracks that do well in pushing you to the floor and making you want to dance...If there even is a way to coherently dance to this genre (I've seen industrial dance videos before, but it looks like a bunch of Mortal Kombat fighters on hallucinogens that think they have an opponent in front of them). However, I am not here to judge dance, but I am here to review the newly released 'Asgard'.

Now, Asgard in this sense is referring to old Norse mythology, and is one of the nine worlds presented within it; Asgard being the home of the gods, and ruled by Odin and his wife, Frigg. Naming their album after a place so heavenly, Centhron really needed to bring out all they have to appease the gods and avoid their wrath. Thankfully, after listening to the tracks for a while, I found that they have not disappointed.

Mind you, I was very frightened upon seeing the tracklist of the album; with such songs as "Fuck Off and Die", "Zombie Nazi Babe", "Dr. Fuck You", and "Slutbutt" sticking out, I thought Centhron was headed for a rough patch. The mere titles of the songs really turned me off from the album, and I almost walked away from it completely.

However, since I am a Centhron fan, I decided to come crawling back to it for a listen that I was certain would end in misery and dread. But, it didn't. Each track floored me with the fast paced harsh EBM beats and, as pertained through most of their discography, Centhron's screaming vocals.
The synths play nicely along with each drop of bass with each song, particularly shining in tracks such as "Panzerfaust Tyr" and "Lamia". This, however, also brings a problem within the album, as not many of the songs really do much to deviate from that formula.

Each track is layered with bass, synths, screaming, and drums. Some songs, such as "L'Etat C'Est Moi" try and escape the barrier brought forth, but eventually flow right back into the same trap. Though, the final "Untitled" bonus track does indeed bring forth a marching tune, but isn't all that great and doesn't really inspire me to march anywhere; it makes me want to shut it off.

So, again, we are greeted by Centhron with a fast paced, aggressive track list which kind of just gets in your face all the way through and refuses to step aside. Which is what I like about Centhron; they know how to grab your attention and keep you there. But, I am getting a bit weary of Centhron's immaturity.

In a sense, Centhron is great. They create good music, but when you are this good and you still create songs titled, "Zombie Nazi Babe", it's quite disheartening. Perhaps it's time to move onto something bigger and better, and put messages into your songs rather than just mindless bullshit. Whatever the case may be, the album was still a good work, I'm just hoping that with their next release, Centhron gets their mind out of the gutter and makes something much more meaningful. Otherwise, with their next release, I might be a little more pissed off than happy to see them returning to the scene. Feb 07 2013