C E N T A U R
Centaur - Power World (Liga Records) 1993
1. "Part of Me" (5:31)
2. "In this World" (5:47)
3. "Heartache" (3:53)
4. "Insane" (3:42)
5. "Trick by Trick" (5:58)
6. "Centaur Part II" (6:30)
7. "Black Rain" (4:05)
8. "No more rules" (4:11)
9. "Break It" (4:19)
10. "Got to Believe in Love" (3:48)
11. "Right in Time" (5:49)
It is simply amazing how many great bands got overlooked in the musically depressed 1990's. Centaur are one such band. These guys are staight forward heavy metal, that reminds me of bands like Vicious Rumors and Metal Church. Heavy, crunchy guitars; clean, aggressive vocals; hooky, jaw dropping guitar work; memorable choruses and sold songwriting. Songs like "Break It" and "Insane" could have easily been classic metal tracks for the majority of metal fans, had this band had better distribution and marketing. This is real metal! I could go into great detail describing each and every song, but the fact is, if you like either of the two bands I compared Centaur too, you should enjoy this band as well. While they don't really sound like a carbon copy of either band, they are in the same school of metal.
Centaur - Live in Spain (Liga Records) 1995
1. "Insane" (5:10)
2. "Hard Times" (5:16)
3. "Centaur (Part I)" (3:08)
4. "Trick by Trick" (6:38)
5. "Heartache" (3:56)
6. "Black Rain" (4:07)
7. "Live in this World" (6:10)
8. "Looking for Someone" (4:53)
9. "Mob Rules the World" (5:35)
10. "Wild Sisters" (4:32)
The cleverly titled "Live in Spain" captures Centaur live at "The KU" in Ibiza, Spain, August, 26th, 1994. It had been a while since I had heard "Power World" when I received this CD in the mail. I don't remember the music being so keyboard heavy. However, on this CD, the keyboards are way out front, making the music a whole lot less heavy than I think it actually is, had the guitars been a bit more out front. The melodic and sometimes atmospheric keyboards throughout give this album somewhat of a progressive rock/metal vibe, as opposed to the classic/power metal sound I remember this band having. However, that's not to take away from the excellent performance here. The guitar solos alone will please most shred heads. Rainer Kuppers raspy voice is a charm, although he seems a little shaky here and there on this live album. What this tells me is that "Live in Spain" probably is live. The flaws give the live album a charm, but they aren't so bad to become distractions either. I would imagine that this is exactly what you would hear if you were at a Centaur concert.