Review of Furia - Kheros

Back in 2003 Furia made a notable contribution to the French metal scene blending neoclassical black metal and melodic death ala Finland and Sweden on their impressive second effort Un Lac de Larmes et de Sang. Looking for a return to form? You’re shit out of luck. If anyone happened to catch their Re-Birth EP that came out the middle of 2005 there’s absolutely no suspense about the approach taken on Kheros.

There has been virtually no progression since their last effort and much to my dismay, Furia have continued on the path of dropping the more epic, Suidakra style leanings that had given them a certain edge above the rest of their peers. At one time Furia’s capricious blend of melodic elements ala Kalmah and older Children of Bodom actually stood for something, but now the band seems intent on offering nothing but easily digestible doses of listener friendly pop metal as far as I’m concerned. I like my metal grittier and more from the heart and Kheros comes across like a robotic exercise of pure tired trend.

I chalk part of the degradation up to either the loss of founding member Sebastian, or the intended integration of more modern elements into their sound. All this is purely speculation though. I have absolutely no clue what drives a band that once held such a bright glimmer of potential into something base and nothing more than to be resigned as another band that clutters the style without enough of a distinct voice to matter whatsoever.

The only worthwhile song is presented early on in “The Descent of a Warrior” which happens to be the only song I can stand on the album. “The Imperfection of the Soul” and “Errare Humanum Est” open promisingly before descending into more missed attempts at writing a metal version of a pop hook. “Dogma’s Fall” and “Evil Spells Approval” are as boring and lackluster as they were on Re-Birth. The emotionally gripping instrumental “Isolement” and the odd “A Heart in Escape” provides one of the only interesting segments of the album before returning to the keyboard riddled fluff and radio friendly songwriting of “Evil Spells Approval”. To add insult to injury “End of a Belief, The Beginning of a Truth” is perhaps the most overly dramatic piece of shit I’ve ever heard since people decided that Trivium was worth a damn. Furia then continues to aurally rape the listener with the horrid attempt at clean vocals on their pathetic ballad “Declaration of War” and “The Result of a Destiny”. Kheros doesn’t do much more than convince me that yet again these guys have missed the mark completely.

Stalwart fans will still find plenty of stagnant predictability and watered down melodic lines to keep them happy though. I on the other hand would prefer anything else to this. This is possibly the least enjoyable melodic death album I can remember hearing as new In Flames comes across as having more balls and I haven't liked their material after Colony. Halfway through the album the intensity craps out and along with it goes the quality of musicianship and songwriting. It’s painful to have to sit through an album that actually gets worse with each song. The album is a ghastly trainwreck of over simplified drumming, basic melodeath riffs and cringing attempts at vocal variety. Furia have resigned themselves as something not worth anyone’s time. If all you’ve heard is the material on Un Lac de Larmes et de Sang or before, I urge you to keep it that way to prevent your image of them from becoming tainted by this sub-par excuse of an album.

Release Details

Furia

Kheros

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