Like many Scandinavian death metal bands,
Centinex have been a revolving door. The Swedish outfit has had quite a few lineup changes since getting started in 1990 -- and on
World Declension, the only remaining original member is bassist/leader
Martin Schulman, who is joined by more recent arrivals
Johan Jansson (lead vocals),
Jonas Kjellgren (guitar),
Johan Ahlburg (guitar), and
Ronnie Bergerstal (drums). Different
Centinex lineups have yielded slightly different interpretations of the
Centinex sound; on this 2005 recording,
Centinex are a vicious, savage war machine hell-bent on crushing and destroying everything in their path. Nuance and intricacy are in short supply on
World Declension; this is the type of death metal CD that thrives on ultra-fast, ultra-dense, thrashy sensory assault and does so without apology. There are times when
Centinex's 2005 lineup slows things down a bit, giving the listener a little breathing room, but most of the time, the Swedes enjoy kicking, beating, stomping, and pummeling the listener into submission. Depending on one's point of view,
World Declension is either a glaring example of the limitations of this type of approach or a proud demonstration of how uncompromising Nordic death metal can be -- and perhaps it is a combination of those things.
World Declension is unlikely to win over anyone who expects more than naked brutality from metal, but if one is looking for pure, raw, over the top exhilaration -- if exhilaration for the sake of exhilaration is enough --
World Declension isn't a bad album. And these songs are bound to work well in a mosh pit.