Three-piece metallers from the city of Manchester, Fury UK will shortly be gracing the stage at the NEC (apologies: the LG Arena) when they appear on the Metal Hammer stage as part of the Hellfire Festival over the weekend of November 6th - 8th. After signing to indie label Rocksector back in 2007, debut album Face of Adversity swiftly followed and they now return with follow-up VR which sees them with the settled line-up of Chris Appleton (guitars and vocals), Martin McNee (drums) and Luke Appleton (bass). For influence and inspiration Fury UK draw from a broad range of the last 30 years of the Church of Metal, from the days of the NWOBHM and the Di’Anno fronted Iron Maiden through to the more contemporary sounds of Edguy and with Megadeth and Helloween somewhere in the middle.

Some striking Matrix / Terminator styled cover artwork sits well with the album title and some of the recurring themes of the lyrics that are found in the title track, 'Game Over' and 'Playing with Violence'. With some galloping rhythms and sparkling riffs musically this is top-drawer stuff, and nestled half way through the album is the power ballad 'Outpost' where Fury UK really excel - Chris delivering a sublime solo and his best vocal. Elsewhere he seems to struggle for range at times and it may be they could consider the addition of a fourth member to share the workload. That said with the recent resurgence of Anvil there is much to be admired about the three piece line-up and other NWOBHM contenders such as Raven and Tank were strong trios that Fury UK can draw inspiration from. They have certainly got an ability for tight arrangements and crushing riffs and a song like 'Brotherhood' really highlights their “we are all in this together” approach; again the guitar solo is exemplary and there is an insistent melody throughout. The final pair of 'Call To Arms' and 'Death By Lightning' sound exactly as the titles would suggest - well crafted melodic metal that is in your face and literally explodes from the speakers.

Attracting widespread critical acclaim of late for their live performances, VR is further evidence that Fury UK are heading very much in the right direction. If you’re planning on hitting Hellfire next month be sure to check them out.

http://www.furyuk.com/

Fore more information about the Hellfire II festival head over to our Recommendation page...

Dean Pedley
for Midlands Rocks