Furyborn, the Bournemouth-based hate crew, apparently set little store in subtlety and grace, preferring to plunge the unwary into some futuristic battlefield where bullets fly and the screams of the vanquished are all too evident even amidst the sound of surging battle. ‘Second sun’, the intro track that introduces us to the band, is the only moment of calm to be found amidst a brutal assault on the senses that offers much. Drawing on range of influences, Furyborn deliver a potent album that will certainly turn heads.
Segueing from the brief, unnerving intro, ‘Dawn of leviathan’ unveils an outfit who deal in gleaming tech-metal reminiscent of Fear Factory with a hint of metalcore melodicism thrown in. It’s more than competently executed with gargantuan riffs vying for space with ferocious vocals and the occasional hint of synth rising to the surface. The chorus veers too much, perhaps, down a predictable melodic path, but there’s no doubting the adrenalin surge that greets the metallic might of the verse. Similarly, ‘the reckoning’ sees the band make clear their love of Gojira, the elastic riff providing plenty of space for the guttural roars, but the synth part that underscores the melodic chorus feels weak in comparison to the mind-numbing brutality that surrounds it and more attention here in the future would pay great dividends. A hyper-speed ballet executed between drums and guitar, ‘Exult in extinction’ is a full-blooded monster of a track, bearing a palpable sense of rage and deployed by the band like arsenal of high-tech weaponry. With a clear focus on the more metallic side of Furyborn, although the synth remains defiantly present in the mix, ‘Exult in extinction’ briefly drops its tech metal veneer to deliver an emotive, Iron Maiden-esque payoff with harmonised guitars and soaring vocal, before building to a crescendo that leads nicely into the technologically-augmented groove metal of ‘A fault in our design’ which comes off like Lamb of God going toe to toe with Fear Factory. With a devastating outro that threatens to do permanent damage to the neck muscles, ‘A fault in our design’ is undoubtedly a highlight of the album and a good introduction for the uninitiated. Similarly drawing upon LOG with its blistering riffs and precision-guided vocal delivery, ‘Life begins’ has plenty of power, although this partially ebbs away as the band throw themselves headlong into another melodic chorus.
‘I am heresy’ is like a breath of toxic air, foul and polluted and laden with unnameable bacteria. It cuts a swathe through the heart of the album, blackening and defiling all with which it comes into contact. Needless to say, this is a good thing. A short piece with a filmic feel, ‘Deep rising’ is a brave piece of music with entirely clean vocals and a string section leading neatly into the lengthy ‘Wraith’, another song which reminds us that, in spite of all the tech metal tropes, Furyborn are still in thrall to the likes of Maiden and Priest. The classic metal elements work well and the band have the skills to shift gears over the course of the song without it ever sounding forced. The album ends with ‘As we burn’, a ferocious maelstrom of riffs that emerge, appropriately enough, from the sound of a storm. Channelling a melody straight from Burton C. bell and crew, ‘as we burn’ is plenty savage and a perfect conclusion to the album.
‘Dawn of Leviathan’ is an impressive outing from this Bournemouth-based crew. There is a sense of purpose that helps to define the ten tracks that make up the album and the technical execution is flawless. Despite the frequent brutality, there is plenty of depth to the music and repeated plays allow for the more melodic influences to make their way more comfortably to the surface. It’s not quite perfect, however. The synth lines need greater work as they often sound weaker than the music into which they’re woven, and the clean vocal hooks have that unfortunate tendency to follow a formula, so common in melodic death metal, which makes their inclusion almost inevitable by the time you reach the end of the album. That said, such concerns are minor compared to the sheer bristling might of the bulk of the tracks on offer here and there is no question that Furyborn have the skill and self-belief to go far if they can incorporate a touch more innovation into their next release. In the meantime, this is a seriously impressive record and well worth checking out. 8
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