Review: FURYON – ‘Lost Salvation’

Lost Salvation is a powerful album with a majestic, groove-heavy vibe, and it runs deep with themes like loss, grief, death, rebirth and change.

by Maria Haskins

Furyon’s album Gravitas was the first album I reviewed when I started out as a music reviewer for Hard Rock Nights in 2012, and I’ve been waiting for the next album ever since. Three years later the follow-up is here, and time has left its mark on Furyon, most notably because the band’s lineup has changed. Guitarists Pat Heath and Chris Green have left the band (though Green is featured on this album), and have been replaced by axe-wielders Luca Faraone and Tiago Rosado. That kind of change is a challenge for any band to deal with on both a personal and professional level, especially for a band like Furyon that depends heavily on its guitar muscle to blow your mind.

With that in mind it was reassuring to hear from the very first listen that Furyon has retained its signature sound on Lost Salvation. That does not mean that this album is in any way a re-tread of Gravitas. Parts of the sound are the same, but the overall vibe and feel is different – more intricate and complex, and more thoughtful, too: something that’s especially noticeable if you listen to the lyrics. Make no mistake though: this is still a heavy and hard-rocking stack of tunes with a guitar-driven purpose, anchored by Alex Bowen’s flawlessly hefty bass, and Lee Farmery’s crushing drums. And yes, the band’s heart is still Matt Mitchell’s spectacularly strong and soulfully expressive vocals. But beneath all that musical and vocal power the mood is often introspective.

“All That I Have” kicks off the album with an atmospheric intro, and Mitchell’s vocals take on a wounded quality that soars on the power of the heavy guitar barrage and intricate layers of music and sound below: “We come from the houses of pain”. Furyon’s heavy attack is amped up on the excellent title-track “Lost Salvation” with the band riding off to war on a wave of sound and fury: “You sold it all, you sold your soul”.

Third track “These Four Walls” really unleashes Mitchell’s vocals in their full glory, and the track reverberates with the kind of urgency and inner darkness that permeates the entire album.

One track that really blows me away on Lost Salvation is the epic “Scapegoat” with a deep and throaty riff setting it off. I absolutely LOVE this track: it’s heavy as all get-out, cranking up the power into a heavy and swirling madness. “Resurrect Me” keeps the intensity high with Mitchell crying out “where the hell do we go right now”.

Then Furyon lays out another masterful heavy rocker, “Left It With The Gods”, a track with a grandiose feel, a hard rocking swagger and a groove that just grabs you. The band speeds things up for “Good Sky”, before really cutting loose on the excellent “Dematerialize”  – one of my absolute favourites here: the band’s force and fire is simply mesmerizing. I get serious chills listening to this tune!

Lost Salvation closes out with the heavy swing and grandiose greatness of “What You Need”, and the massive, heavy melodic rock tapestry that is “Wiseman”.

After my first listen, I was thinking that this album lacks the kind of instantly appealing power-hits that Gravitas had in “Disappear Again”, and “Don’t Follow”. But listening to the album again made that initial impression fade. Tracks like “Scapegoat”, “Left It With The Gods”, and “Dematerialize” are outstanding, and this album also has something else: a cracked soul and a broken heart, and a darkness deep within that adds new shades and shadows to Furyon’s music.

Lost Salvation is a powerful album with a majestic, groove-heavy vibe, and it runs deep with themes like loss, grief, death, rebirth and change. This is an album to savour, to listen to again and again, and sink deeper into with every listen.

Furyon: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Track-list:

1. All That I Have
2. Lost Salvation
3. These Four Walls
4. Scapegoat
5. Resurrect Me
6. Left It With The Gods
7. Good Sky
8. Dematerialize
9. What You Need
10. Wiseman

Lineup:

• Matt Mitchell – Vocals
• Alex “Nickel” Bowen – Bass
• Lee Farmery – Drums
• Luca Faraone – Guitars
• Tiago Rosado – Guitars

Recording musician:

• Chris Green – Guitars

Maria Haskins’ Real Rock And Roll: Website / Twitter / Facebook

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