CoC : Furia - A la Quete du Passe : Review

Furia - _A la Quete du Passe_
(Adipocere Records, 2001)
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10)

The sounds emanating from this very promising French band's thousand-facetted, polymorphous first full-length release are reassuring tones indeed. After the once active French death metal scene slipped into a coma a number of years ago following the untimely demise or prolonged lethargy of bands such as Crusher, Loudblast, No Return or Massacra, it now looks as though a searing electrical shock has sent extreme metal-laced adrenaline flowing through the veins of a scene which now teems with massively potent reformations or new bands -- No Return, Scarve, Symbiosis or Gurkkhas are confirming their immense potential with each of their new releases, and it looks as though Furia are all set to become an unhallowed force to be reckoned with. Throughout the thirteen tracks on the concept album named _A la Quete du Passe_, countless influences and melodies intermingle to form a compelling, varied and intricate opus. Although the rabid label sticker lurking within every music journalist could maybe hastily and, at all rates, very imprecisely file Furia under "heavy black metal", this French band encompass much more than one rash definition may even dream to describe. From the Iron Maiden-tinged opening riff on "A la Quete du Passe" to the hyperblasting blackened death metal segues on "Une Quete Sans Lendemain", from the Kind Diamond-laden start of "Le Jardin d'Eden" right over to the thrashing number "Le Sacrifice de la Vierge", Furia display awesome musical creativity and downright impressive technical skills as their material effortlessly mutates from splendorous heavy metal leads into high-speed melodic death metal onslaughts. Furia's strong rhythm section, fronted by a highly versatile drummer and an inspired string department, is graced with the lucid, interspersed interventions of keyboards, which are always used to their best possible effect -- and are also left out when their participation would do nothing to help Furia's furious metal. Fortunately, _A la Quete du Passe_ has been graced with the production to match the convincing power it displays, and even though I believe a more "organic" sound would have fitted this release better than the squeaky clean, very digital-sounding production, it would be unwise to begrudge the band for this; in fact, the only point one may decently moan about on Furia's first full-length is the wall many bands trying to open their sound to female chants and keyboards fail not to run straight into -- at times, fortunately unfrequently though, Furia over-enthusiastically merge catchy, heavy rhythmical segues with epic keys and/or feminine vocal lines, thus heading for a very willing, unwitting yet nonetheless headlong dive into a world of heroic musical cheesiness. This punctual irritating feeling however does not pervade _AlQdP_, and Furia's debut effort is undisputedly a most promising blaze of creative energy emanating from a French scene that badly needed fresh blood on which to thrive. It may now only be hoped that their success will thrive both within and beyond French borders, as Furia are way as deserving an extreme band as many of their Scandinavian, American or European counterparts.

(article published 12/4/2002)