Centinex - Redeeming Filth Review
by Matt Hensch
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I made a remark in my review for "Death Infernal" that the existence of Demonical, a project formed by former participants of the then-defunct Centinex and creators of the album aforementioned, made me wonder why the group's members decided to sideline Centinex at all. Well, long story short, Centinex eventually reformed, brought together again by the hands of "Redeeming Filth." Eight albums released since 1990 marked the band's legacy of authentic Swedish death metal before the ninth fetus wiggled its way into the world and marked the return of Centinex after nearly a decade in the hole. I guess "Redeeming Filth" has the luxury to call itself the return of a cult act, but as a musical statement, it's pretty hollow.The biggest achievement here is that Centinex is able to successfully deliver a crash course in Swedish death metal in under forty minutes. Casual listeners of Dismember and Entombed could sit through "Redeeming Filth" and find the basic themes of the aforesaid groups and their legendary cohorts, such as blazing tremolo riffs, D-beat thrashings, crushing grooves, and so on. The only problem with this direction is that it completely lacks depth and identity on "Redeeming Filth." These riffs are solid, sure, but pick out any death metal album put out before 2014 and you will hear little that gives Centinex an edge over their competition. Despite having a consistent foundation, there are more than enough moments that sound retraced and rehashed. Factors that would ordinarily give a release a sense of memorability are, unfortunately, completely lacking in impact. The vocals are low growls with the occasional double-tracked shouts thrown in, while the rhythm section does what a rhythm section does without doing anything to make it more than a routine, it seems. These tracks go in and out like cars zipping by on the highway, and while I would gladly take "Redeeming Filth" over the herd, I can only call this another death metal album that will more likely than not bore seasoned veterans of the sound to tears. Not even cult bands are immune from the scourge of the comeback, apparently.
Centinex - Redeeming Filth Rating:5.5
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