Centaurus-A – Side Effects Expected

Centaurus-A were formed back in 2000 in Cologne, Germany. After three promos in total – “Last Step Line” (2000), “Nimbus” (2002) and “Narcotic” (2003) – the band has finally released their first full length album entitled “Side Effects Expected”.

To be honest, the minute I received this demo cd for review I was somewhat skeptical, due to the fact that their style is marked as technical death metal on the cover of the disc and in general I’m not that fond of technicalities, when it comes to music… However, by me at least that’s not death metal solely! I would say that it’s more thrash metal with several more technical themes and certainly some melodic ones too. I know it sounds awkward, but you should give it a listen before judging it!

From the first time I listened to the album the track that stuck me most was “Morning Tremble”. An absolutely supreme track with an interspersion of several different themes, which one could claim that might mean doom for a song. On this case however, they are blended together so gently that it seems truly logical and suitable for one to succeed the other. The guitars on “Morning Tremble” remind me strongly of Slipknot; they bring out the same insanity that “The Nameless” by Slipknot does and it feels damn great!

In general the first half of “Side Effects Expected” is awesome! The tracks are genuine and by all means, attention grabbing. However, the second half lacks greatly in that matter, which doesn’t diminish the overall value of their work though. If you manage to stick around for the final track of the album, “Resistance Ain’t Futile”, you’ll get the chance to enjoy a counterfactual melodic introductory guitar solo blended in with great expertise to the broader context.

If you ask me, Centaurus-A are a band that Listenable Records should be proud of! Production-wise, “Side Effects Expected” is definitely an admirable piece of work and it brings out the true potential of the band. Conclusively, this album is worth having! Give it a listen with an open mind and it might even soon become one of your favorites!