Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Furyon
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2012
Length: 55:00
Rating: 4.3/5
Furyon are a relatively fresh progressive melodic metal outfit from Great Britain. The emphasis is on »Great Britain«, because in the new millennium the British Isles have produced precious few bands committed to the kind of artistry that grows out of the principles of the classic metal school, the very school those same isles pretty much created, or let’s say, laid the foundations of.
Since forming in 2006, the band has racked up two EPs, and this February their first proper studio album finally made it into the world. Let me point out right away that the music this band writes is a mix of classic strings of metal-minded guitar phrases, steeped in occasionally more complex, even progressively inclined solutions in the rhythmic textures. The album has an extremely dark atmosphere, and the guitar riffs build an aggressive sound with an emphasis on a massive wall of sound, which picks up a dramatic, theatrical touch of gloom thanks to the deliberately lower tuning (»down tuned«) of both guitars. Since the melodic component is so prominent in Furyon’s music, the whole thing recalls Danish progressive metal gloom-merchants Beyond Twilight in its energy, while a comparison with a distant version of their countrymen Threshold fits less well, though it’s fair to call them a much bleaker version of the latter.
With their riff-driven punch, Furyon should turn the attention of every power metal fan toward their debut, as well as fans of less demanding flavors of progressive metal that build primarily on highly penetrating moods, ruled mostly by the realm of dusk and the catharsis of the obscure. That hint of melody, especially in the bombastic, melodically defined choruses, will also please fans of modern melodic rock, particularly the Scandinavian kind or the Allen / Lande type of project.
The lead vocal carries the dominant role; its central position actually grabs most of the attention when it comes to the sheer reach of expression in the vocal delivery. He makes no secret that one of his main role models is the late wizard of metal Ronnie James Dio or Dio’s successor in Black Sabbath, Tony Martin (»Sabbath-ish« New Way Of Living), while a vocal tone that stresses a raspy, throaty quality brings him close to singers like, say, James Christian (House Of Lords). The latter comes through in the choruses, which breathe the rhetoric of melodic rock, like the opener Dissapear Again. But that’s not all. The delivery can also be more aggressive. That shines through especially in the atmospherically deepened passages of songs like Souvenirs, the first on the album to bring out a pinch of prog metal, while the vocal pointedly pulls toward Jorn Lande. The first part of Souvenirs, with its deep, dark stamp, comes close to the energy of Beyond Twilight, and it’s interesting that Jorn Lande himself laid down the vocals on their studio debut. After the punchier, more purely old-school metal Don’t Follow, the already mentioned New Way Of Living brings the progressive energy back to the album, with Sabbath foundations in the guitar phrases, a lively course of events and a modern production taking the whole thing into new times. An infectious chorus pulls the song out of the gloom. Even more Sabbath-style directness is caught in the punchy Voodoo Me, and the progressive element shines again on the album, especially effectively in the lead epic Fear Alone, with the main riff weaving in typical arabesques, the well-known tricks of Rainbow pioneering or the Kashmir-style esotericism of Led Zeppelin, with a resolutely dark note that conjures up Sabbath-like doom, especially in the chorus.
But it’s all configured, produced, arranged and performed so beautifully together that it’s impossible to talk about »copycatting«. With »Gravitas«, Furyon have made a more than convincingly high-quality product, one of the best debuts to come out this year, which optimally includes all the hallmarks of modern studio know-how and technical solutions in sonic polishing. That’s why »Gravitas« sounds fresh and interesting, regardless of the fact that it makes no secret of its inspiration from rock and metal pioneers. The song Wasted On You is an example that combines, in a single piece and most effectively, elements of power metal directness (an effective chorus) and prog metal (an excellent dynamic leap, especially in the closing section of the song, with out-of-this-world guitar solos). Our Peace Someday is a brilliant candidate to be released as a hit single! It’s a half-ballad with a one-of-a-kind hot-and-cold atmospheric shift between the sophisticated sensuality of the verse, which grows in a gradual, theatrical way into a turn in atmosphere, as developed by the most beautifully composed chorus on the album, where the vocal once again brings the energy of the delivery close to Jorn Lande. Desert Suicide is an outstanding dark epic that is deliberately placed at the end (… »shoot, shoot«,… the sequence in the verse on the way into the chorus fleetingly recalls a UFO classic, even though the two songs have no similarity whatsoever), because it’s one of the strongest songs in terms of defining the flexibility of arrangement solutions, resulting in the most dynamic track on the album, which closes in a highly vibrant mood, full of energy. Fear Alone. This moment of the album, so intensely dynamic in its mood theater, makes the listener want to spin the album again, which only confirms the exceptional artistic talents Furyon show already with their debut
Comparisons of Furyon’s music rest on influences (Black Sabbath) and passing similarities (Beyond Twilight, Threshold, younger »Scandi melodic« rock bands), but otherwise Furyon’s strength lies precisely in the fact that already with their debut they are paving the way for a sermon all their own, with developmental seeds that can deepen and further define this recognizable signature in the future. This is a dynamic, fresh-sounding album from a new band, and it deserves special attention from fans of hard-edged metal aggression, the erotic pull of biting atmospheres, rock-solid vocal dominance and a mildly progressive complexion, all drenched in the dark energy of a doomsday creature and melodically crystal-clear leading musical figures.
Lineup
Matt Mitchell – vocals
Pat Heath – guitar
Chris Green – guitar
Alex “Nickel” Bowen – bass
Lee Farmery – drums
Production
Furyon
Tracklist
1. Disappear Again
2. Stand Like Stone
3. Souvenirs
4. Don’t Follow
5. New Way of Living
6. Voodoo Me
7. Fear Alone
8. Wasted on You
9. Our Peace Someday
10. Desert Suicide
