adg211288 Wasting Time (2013) is the second full-length album by US progressive metal act Six Minute Century. I have to wonder if the album title is a reference to the fact that it's been five years since the release of the band's debut album Time Capsules (2008), which is a sizeable gap for a band not far into their career.

Wasting Time is almost a melodic progressive metal release through and through but as is common with these types of bands Six Minute Century also incorporate some elements of power metal. At first listen Six Minute Century may seem to never hit the same level of progressiveness as acts like Dream Theater, Haken, or Thought Chamber but I think this may be because the vocal performance by Chuck Williams is, at least in my view, overpowering the instrumentation. By paying attention to the background you can actually find plenty of progressive playing, and done tastefully too within the context of writing songs over epics (although there are some longer tracks here such as The Killing Fields and Baptized in Flames). The album is well-played and enjoyable to a point, but overall it fails to fully convince me of its credentials compared to the work of similar artists, not least their label mates Anubis Gate and Tellus Requiem.

Chuck's vocals aren't so much the problem as they are a symptom of what I'm experiencing during Wasting Time, although I will say his rather high pitched tone comes across as an acquired taste, which doesn't help matters. The real problem is that while the release doesn't lack for highly skilled playing and indeed, good songs, it does sound as if the band is running at below maximum efficiency, especially when it comes to their riffs having a bit of bite. It all seems rather tame and laid back to me. It's a rare case when even the speedy power metal parts don't give the music any extra oomph. I can certainly find an easy appreciation for their high level playing but this is still metal music, and I'd like to hear a bit more power and conviction in their delivery than I'm picking up on Wasting Time. To me it sounds like they're doing what they do because they can and not because they want to, a key difference in all music. At least that's what my ears are telling me when I listen to this one.

Wasting Time is still an enjoyable experience if you're a fan of the style, but it's not one that encourages me to revisit it in a hurry. There's talent here on all fronts but not the spark to ignite it into something special that can be listened to over and over again. Six Minute Century have caught my attention but they'll really need to deliver next time around if they want to hold onto it. An above average rating is fair.

62/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/six-minute-century-wasting-time-t3260.html)