Furia - Re-Birth
Adipocere Records - MCDAR102 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
The continued assault by the French on metal's consciousness continues apace, with front-running label Adipocere bringing us yet another quality French act, Furia. This four-track EP is a taster of a couple of the tracks from the forthcoming Kheros album, complete with two exclusively re-recorded songs, a live video of four songs from their appearance at the Imph'Ames Fest in 2003, and the video for 'Elmira' from the La Source Noire DVD. All in all, not a bad little package quantity-wise for an MCD-priced released...but, as we all know, quantity means nothing if the quality isn't present.
Luckily, there's an abundance of quality material. The four tracks making up the audio section of this release bode pretty well for Kheron, showcasing as they do Furia's evolution into a powerful, punchy and precise metal act, combining a dual-vocalist approach, a mix of cyber-metal influenced syncopated riffage and a more traditionally melodic approach, and a knack for going for the jugular when the time is right (witness the ending moments of 'Dogmas Fall', for instance). The re-recorded older tracks may divide former existing Furia fans, however, having re-shaped their originally more-medieval sound to fit in with more futuristic Furia of the present. 'Coma's epic mid-passage, for example, retains ye olde feel of older Furia, but as a result jars somewhat with the thrashier, more forward-looking feel of the rest of the EP.
The videos, on the other hand, draw steadfastly from earlier material, which has them sounding not entirely unlike a sort of more extreme Iron Maiden musically, albeit with a pair of screaming/growling Frenchman at the front of stage rather than everyone's favourite Osbourne-baiting pilot.
If you're not too attached to Furia's old sound and you're up for some well-produced, well-played and engaging thrashy metallic goodness, this EP is definitely worth a look.
7/10
Official Furia Website
Official Adipocere Records Website
Adipocere Records - MCDAR102 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
The continued assault by the French on metal's consciousness continues apace, with front-running label Adipocere bringing us yet another quality French act, Furia. This four-track EP is a taster of a couple of the tracks from the forthcoming Kheros album, complete with two exclusively re-recorded songs, a live video of four songs from their appearance at the Imph'Ames Fest in 2003, and the video for 'Elmira' from the La Source Noire DVD. All in all, not a bad little package quantity-wise for an MCD-priced released...but, as we all know, quantity means nothing if the quality isn't present.
Luckily, there's an abundance of quality material. The four tracks making up the audio section of this release bode pretty well for Kheron, showcasing as they do Furia's evolution into a powerful, punchy and precise metal act, combining a dual-vocalist approach, a mix of cyber-metal influenced syncopated riffage and a more traditionally melodic approach, and a knack for going for the jugular when the time is right (witness the ending moments of 'Dogmas Fall', for instance). The re-recorded older tracks may divide former existing Furia fans, however, having re-shaped their originally more-medieval sound to fit in with more futuristic Furia of the present. 'Coma's epic mid-passage, for example, retains ye olde feel of older Furia, but as a result jars somewhat with the thrashier, more forward-looking feel of the rest of the EP.
The videos, on the other hand, draw steadfastly from earlier material, which has them sounding not entirely unlike a sort of more extreme Iron Maiden musically, albeit with a pair of screaming/growling Frenchman at the front of stage rather than everyone's favourite Osbourne-baiting pilot.
If you're not too attached to Furia's old sound and you're up for some well-produced, well-played and engaging thrashy metallic goodness, this EP is definitely worth a look.
7/10
Official Furia Website
Official Adipocere Records Website
