Fury UK is Chris Appleton (guitar, vocals), Adz Galloway (drums) and Dawson (bass and vocals) and “Face Of Adversity” is their latest release on Rock Sector Records (CD1009). The CD features nine tracks of simple and sincere rock and there is a nice organic and real sound to this band. The musical performances and arrangements are direct and full of attitude.

Opening track” Krueger” has a great solid riff which had me thinking of early Black Sabbath but with a musical and vocal delivery that has the punk rock vibe reminiscent of The Clash jamming with Nirvana. Chris Appleton puts in a nice hard rock guitar solo, which has flurries of notes which whiz by in the blink of an eye.

“Natural Disaster” has another big riff holding the song down and lyrics which sum up today’s environmental issues perfectly. The end of the track sounds like early Iron Maiden thanks to harmony guitars locking horns with the drums.

“Words You Say” is a mid tempo song that uses simple melodies to deliver its impact. It’s mellow when compared to the rest of the album and arrangement wise had me thinking of The Manic Street Preachers at their most commercial.

“Breakthrough” is a rocking rallying cry. It positively gallops along and oozes attitude and muscle. There is also a very cool wah inflected solo towards the end of the track.

“Dream As One” sees the band in ballad territory. Sparse verse arrangements are sandwiched between heavy choruses and once again Chris puts in a nice old school rock solo.

“Wicked Glass” sees the tempo and the riffs taken up a notch. Imagine the riffing in Ozzys “Bark At The Moon” and you’ll get the idea as to how the song moves along. Vocally there are some moments where the double tracked vocals sound a little bit out tuning wise and a bit like what you used to hear on old demo tapes (remember them?). The track loses some of its bite as a result.

“Truth” is a straight ahead slice of hard rock again with a punk vibe.” The End” had me again thinking of early Sabbath thanks to its main dark riff. If the band were trying to conjure up an evil mood they have succeeded. Harmony guitar fills brought to mind early iron Maiden once again.

“The Lost Soul” ends the album. It’s a haunting and sparse track led by acoustic guitar with accompanying solo electric guitar passages. The opening melodies had me thinking of the theme tune to M.A.S.H!

“Face Of Adversity” is an album that is uncomplicated and sincere and as a result provides a satisfying listen to those who like their music to be direct and straight to the point. It doesn’t break any musical boundaries but one feels that wasn’t the intention. There is almost a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal feel to it. It’s the mixing of hard rock riffs with a punk attitude that made me think this way. As I listened to some of the tracks I couldn’t help thinking that, live, some of these songs must be real corkers. This music works best when played at loud volume and I found that when I did this the mix was such that it was almost like listening to a live band.

All in all a strong release which will appeal to lovers of straight forward hard rock with just a little edge to keep one on ones toes.

Let us know your views on Face Of Adversity

Track Listing

Krueger
Natural Disaster
Words You Say
Breakthrough
Dream As One
Wicked Glass
Truth
The End
The Lost Soul

Line Up

Chris Appleton - Vocals/Guitars
Adz Galloway - Drums
Dawson - Bass/Vocals