A DOZEN FURIES - A Concept From Fire

A DOZEN FURIES
A Concept From Fire
Sanctuary Records
8/10




Who would have ever believed that we would see a metal band that won a record deal from a television show craft one of the most crucial heavy metal albums of 2005?

My metal brethren, there’s more than one good reason why A Dozen Furies emerged victorious from the infamous “Battle For Ozzfest” program.

It’s because this band blows ninety percent of the competition off the map in terms of songwriting skill, performance and overall musicianship.

You can’t help but bang your head to songs like “Awake And Lifeless” or “The Everlasting Grudge”. Binding the band’s varied musical explorations, drummer Mike Miller and bassist Keith Reber form a formidable team, laying down precise pulsations be they thunderous or thoroughly thumping.

Dynamics make all of the difference in this band’s mission to deliver music that carries a substantial impact. Tough, abrasive vocals are teamed with muscular riffing at times, only to lapse into high register trills and warm vocal melodies.

On the record’s title track, A Dozen Furies exhibit a foreboding creativity that rivals most acts with twice the band’s experience. Meanwhile, the group goes straight for the throat on “An Idea And Some Rope”, a cut that bears the album’s most impressive vocalization, coupled with a driving beat and sharp-sounding guitar riffing.

Even though the metalcore scene is waning, the band give the scene a swift kick in the head with “The Cycle”, a torrential mass of double kick pounding and witty guitar melodies.

Here, the band’s axe duo, Joey Turner and Marc Serrano, aim to snap a few necks with enough stop-on-a-dime guitar action to form a whiplash line at the medical clinic.

Meanwhile, vocalist Bucky Garrett takes a laid-back vocal approach during “Into Another Life” that sends the song’s chorus soaring. Garrett appears equally at home with a gruff growl as he is with the more tuneful singing, with the raspy barks of “Nightmare Of A Martyr” emphasizing the tracks bold guitar performance.

With the final result being one of the most deeply engaging metal albums of 2005, A Dozen Furies proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are deserving of the recognition that the band has thus far received.

“A Concept From Fire” is quite the amazing debut and it will be interesting to see if the group can duplicate the feat next time around. It will surely be a difficult endeavor to do so, as this is one album that should be in every metal fan’s collection.

ERIN FOX © 2005 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED