20th September 2013 ∏
Leicester band The Furies has released a new album: Death Valley
Read our review of The Furies album launch at the Firebug
I don’t often look forward to hearing a set of new songs so much as I did when I received the 11 tracks from Leicester band The Furies.
The new album Death Valley is one of the best set of rock sounds I have heard from a Leicester band in a long time. These songs have an exhilarating impact, shot through with powerful and nerve-tingling drama.
Watch this YouTube video of The Furies at the Firebug by Kevin Gaughan.
War In The City shows how inventive this band can be, almost echoing Alien Ant Farm in this track, the vocal melody of which is struck through with grunge-like passages before falling back into a strongly anthemic theme, laced with distorted bass lines.
The sound of the Furies is that of massively big guitar riffs, grinding, raw-edged and rough, driven by persistent drum beats and with the super-charged voice of lead singer Alex Beattie rocketing over the top.
Ride might be a notch lower at the intro but soon sparkles up as Alex carries the melody forward. There are some shades of rock n’ roll in there but not as we normally know it.
In The Fear you can see what makes Alex Beattie such a notable singer – that great powerful voice with its distinctive timbre producing a sound that is uniquely The Furies.The roots of the Furies’s music drink deep from the traditions of rock but they spread their canopy of musical leaves to provide something with a totally contemporary feel.
Fade Into Nothing continues the theme of fusing a really great song-line with crashing breaks, pounding guitar lines and massive bass riffs.
Punisher has an odd intro until it explodes into what the track is really about, galloping along at a ferocious pace while the vocal line soars overhead, the drums cracking into it like anti-aircraft ak-ak guns. Into the Night has an inventiveness that is completely pleasing.
Death Valley is one of those massively big chunks of music that burns fiercely with distorted bass and a chilling vocal line that gives it a mesmerising quality.
You might think that sucking on the paps of bands as disparate as Music, Rage against the Machine and The Prodigy makes no sense at all – until you hear these tracks and its fall into place. Armed with one of Leicester’s finest front-men and top drummers, The Furies is a band that cannot go far wrong. This group of four musicians have used this album to show what they are made of and their creative ability and instrumental mastery shines out.
The songs are driven with passion, the lyrics expressing a well of anger (Drink Sleep Fight Fuck) and they surge with a tide of energy and intensity that is as triumphant as it is spell-binding. It’s rock from the era of the arena and the festival – no synths or electro gizmo’s here – just four guys showing how much power can be released from a conventional set of rock instruments. They call it ‘indie’ – I don’t swallow that; I hear it as nu-metal with a strong dose of classic rock. It’s closer to what Alice in Chains are doing now (in their new single Stone.) I’d say it owes more to 1990s grunge and to SOAD, possibly with elements of Puddle of Mudd.
I rate The Furies as one of the top rock bands in Leicester. They might have taken a while to get there but it has been a march worth taking. Few rock bands around come close to what they have achieved with this style of music and, to date, Death Valley is their crowning glory.
Death Valley is one of the most exciting albums I have heard in recent times. It is an apotheosis to power rock. It’s glorification of exhilarating music is mainstream but it is under-cut with cleverly worked inventiveness that makes it stand out. This album is a thoroughly great listen.
Follow The Furies on Facebook.
Read our review of The Furies doing their Album launch gig at the Firebug on 21st September.
Watch The Furies Drum Cam showing what feats of drumming Neal Hill achieves.
See also:
Latest video tracks from Leicester bands.
