Furyborn – Dawn Of Leviathan
Release Date: 12th July 2017
Label: Self-released
As I sit and write this review, with Dawn Of The Leviathan playing through my headphones, it has started to rain. I’m unsure as to whether it is Furyborn’s fault that this has happened but it feels like this album could end droughts.
If you’ve not heard of Furyborn before then you’re in the majority. They hail from Poole, a town not far from Bournemouth for those whose geography skills need honing, and Dawn Of Leviathan is their debut album. You’ll need to strap yourself in for this one.
For a band that has self-proclaimed themselves ‘weaponised melodeath savagery’, the intro. Second Sun, feels appropriate. It’s the kind of noise I image you hear when fleeing a nuclear blast. A minute of feeling slightly awkward about not replying to your Mum’s last text is followed by nothing, then a drums and a scream. Dawn Of Leviathan doesn’t so much explode upon you as it roundhouse kicks you in the ears. The riffs are melodic and Rob Walker does a great job of providing a soft undertone to the clean vocals. Four and a half minutes are clocked up by this first track and it’s exhausting. Probably why it’s take 6 years since the won Metal 2 The Masses for them to release this record!
The Reckoning follows in a similar and yet heavier pattern. The guitars are furious here and the vocals feel more forceful as well. The best thing? This isn’t even the heaviest song. Exult In Extinction brings a different kind of heavy though. It has a much deeper heaviness that with riffs that are bolder than it’s predecessors. The growls take a deeper turn too and I get the feeling you’ll be able able to feel this track as much as you hear it when played live.
A Fault In Our Design follows and it is still unrelenting, with a powerful riff continuing through the clean vocals this time. These guys aren’t fucking about. They’ve spent years refining their sound and here they’re unleashing it with all the animosity of a fighter that’s been held back for 11 rounds.
Life Begins is a track of two halves, one with possibly biggest riff on the album, the other with some of the strongest clean vocals on show. The solo towards the end is a great example of just how talented this band is. Some solos fade away into being tedious, this one is intriguing and feels like part of a story.
The opening of second half of Dawn Of Leviathan doesn’t stray too far from the first. I Am Heresy has airs of a deathmetal Slipknot, with a dark air about it. Not that the rest of the album is sunshine and rainbows, mind. Deep Rising is about as different to what we’ve heard before as you can get. A slow paced, thudding track with clean vocals throughout that sets you up for Wraith, the penultimate track that opens with a marching beat of sorts before the assault recommences. At seven minutes this track is more of a journey than any of those before and has feelings of Five Finger Death Punch with the clean vocals, not something that everyone would be happy with but it works in this part of the album. It feels desperate, and angry and that suits Furyborn down to a tee.
Closing is As We Burn, the most fitting title to an album’s closing track that I’ve heard for a long time. Beginning with the familiar sounds of a downpour, it isn’t long before the huge riff kicks in and we’re on the final stretch.
Furyborn are a band that have taken their experience on board and have written an album that is strong from start to finish. The softer tracks towards the end are the only ones that feel they could be improved, but I feel live those tracks will be a different beast anyway. These guys are just one break away from hitting the big time, so go buy the album and give them a helping hand. If you’re not convinced, check out our interview with the guys here.
Rating: 9/10
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