Centurian

The Dutch death metal quartet Centurian came together in 1997, centered on drummer Wim van der Valk and guitarist Rob Oorthuis, both of whom had previously played in Inquisitor. Their approach follows the stripped-down extreme death metal style that defined mid- to late-'90s releases by Angelcorpse, Hate Eternal, and Krisiun. The initial roster also featured vocalist Seth van de Loo and bassist Patrick Boley; under that configuration the group issued the mini-CD Of Purest Fire in 1998 and its first full-length album, Choronzonic Chaos Gods, the following year, both appearing on Full Moon Productions. The band’s third record, Liber Zar Zax, introduced vocalist Jerry Brouwer and bassist Oskar van Paradijs and surfaced in Europe in 2001 via Listenable before reaching the United States in early 2002 on Olympic. Across subsequent years Centurian has shared stages with international extreme metal acts such as Brazil’s Krisiun and Sweden’s Marduk.