So the soundtrack for a variety of activities around the house today was a prog/power metal band from Houston,Texas Six Minute Century . The band has been around since 2004 playing mostly locally in Houston. After signing with Nightmare Records in 2008, Six Minute Century released their début album “Time Capsules”. After that release and the positive reviews it received, the band has played many cities in the United States, and been invited to perform at a variety of festivals including: Rocklahoma, Rock The Bayou,festival, Nightmare Metal Fest I and II, and ProgPower XI.My soundtrack today was their second release Wasting Time also on Nightmare Record. The album is hot off the presses! The official release was yesterday! It really only took the first couple of songs to decide that this was a band that I was going to like. well actually it was the use of radio reports about the havoc of the Galveston flood that acted as the intro to the song “City of Hope” that did the trick. It seemed that through the entire album the opening to each song was varied and interesting.!
L to R Mikey Lewis (drums) Don LaFon (guitar),Michael Millsap (bass) Chuck Williams (vocals)
While I liked the vocals of Chuck Williams throughout the album and most tines I could understand the lyrics (and that’s sometimes hard for a 62-year old who has hearing aids in BOTH ears) it was the shredding guitar work of the band’s leader Don LaFon that made the album a keeper for me! The rhythm section of the band is top-notch too, and is composed of, Michael “Dr. Froth” Millsap on bass and NS Stick Mikey Lewis on drums! At CDbaby where you can check out their albums, I read this about their music. With the vocals of Chuck Williams you get a…..
musical sound in the vein of Savatage / Dio / Kamelot, with the vocal style of Fates Warning / Dream Theater / TNT. While all members of Six Minute Century are technically proficient, the band does not fit the category of a band that tries to impress with how many notes they can play. Rather Six Minute Century prefers to write songs with melody, hooks, passion and groove that will appeal to a wider audience than many of today’s progressive metal bands. Chuck Williams writes many lyrics about historical events to accompany Don LaFon’s musical orchestrations. Six Minute Century’s debut release, “Time Capsules”, brings the listener into such events as The Iraq War, The Oklahoma City bombing, and the life of the legendary Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other non historical stories. Read More
Obviously, the song “City of Hope” falls into that category!! You can also check out the band at Reverbnation! In a review at the Metal Temple YngwieViking writes:
Anyway Wasting Time it’s a huge step forward for SIX MINUTE CENTURY since their debut release Time Capsules in 2008, they still have a great progression field toward them but they already succeed in bringing to the Metal community an honest album full of fierce passion. Best songs are “City Of Hope”/ “The Killing Fields” / ”Baptized In Flames” and the closing title track. Read Full Review
I pretty much agree with his assessment of this fine band and I look forward to listening to Time Capsules! Here’s the band performing “The Killing Fields” from Wasting Time…