Furia - Płoń (2009)^{Release ID: 3889}

Furia are a band I only ever bothered with for one album. After the debut album back in 2007, which I enjoyed muchly, they just fell off my radar. Whenever I got round to listening to something they had just released I was never in the right mindset to digest their brand of experimental black metal and as such, they are a band whom I find very hit and miss based entirely on my mood.

This 2009 EP is the very next release following their debut and shows a band that had already developed that experimental side further. Whilst still retaining black metal at the core of their sound, Furia stretch into proggy synthesisers dropped mid-track into melodic and rich structures that maintain a real sense of urgency throughout.

I will not pretend to follow it all from start to finish as for a short format release there is a lot to take in for my aging brain and I feel it really is a release that requires more studious listening to give justice to the experience. At times there is a folk vibe to the vocal patterns as they hold a pseudo-chant aesthetic for much of the release, but the real clever stuff is in the instrumentation. That solid build to the title track is probably the highlight, even if the rest of the track feels understated by comparison. Well-spaced structures allow Furia to put lots of things into Płoń, perhaps more than I need to enjoy the release in all honesty but I cannot deny the accomplished nature to what they do and that they are an interesting concept when my mood permits them to be.

2009’s widely celebrated “Płoń” E.P. represented my initiation into the world of highly regarded Polish black metal outfit Furia shortly after my return to metal the same year. I’d noticed the praise it was receiving amongst some of the more reputable online metal resources & felt compelled to see what the modern black metal scene had to offer given my past passions for the genre. Given it’s short duration, I was possibly able to justify a few more repeat listens than I’d generally give to a release that doesn’t immediately tick a few of my boxes too so Furia can’t say that they weren’t given a fair crack at winning over my affections. I guess the only question remaining is how successful they were in this endeavor so let’s dig right into that then, shall we?

“Płoń” is an interesting release in that Furia manage to cover almost the complete scope of the subgenre set contained by The North in just a short 15 minute package which is most unusual, especially when you consider that the overall result doesn’t sound terribly jerky & works pretty well as a representation of a defined Furia sound. You’ll find elements of everything from your conventional black metal model to atmospheric black metal to melodic black metal to black ‘n’ roll to Pagan black metal to folk metal to Viking metal to post-black metal on this three track E.P. which made it a pretty good candidate for a feature release in my opinion (thus me selecting it I guess). There’s something for everyone here but it’s Furia’s sweeping & consistently melodic black metal riffage that ties everything together & ensures that “Płoń” doesn’t sound in any way jerky, despite jumping from subgenre to subgenre fairly regularly.

Furia’s sound is quite organic in black metal terms which ties in well with the Pagan aesthetic of some of the material. Vocalist Nihil (also the mastermind behind Polish black metal outfit Morowe) offers a tortured yelp more than your traditional black metal scream & often brings to mind self-mutilating Shining front man Kvarforth in that regard while Namtar’s drums possess a refreshingly natural tone that’s light-years away from the clicky triggered sound of most modern black metal drum kits. It simply sounds like a real kit that could be sitting in the room with you & is being played by a real human being. The guitars have a warm tone too which accentuates the tremolo-picked & arpeggiated riffs nicely.

The E.P. opens up with “Zgniję, nie odpowiem!”, a track that frustrates me to be honest because it simultaneously holds the releases best & worst moments. The drawn-out post-metal breakdown in the middle of this track is beautifully ambient & atmospheric & shows the potential in Furia's sound but this is surrounded by parts that offer me very little appeal. I struggle at the best of times with a lot of folk metal & Pagan black metal & this track is where you’ll find the most obvious references to those subgenres along with some black ‘n’ roll beats that were never likely to go down too well with this old extremist. All of this unfortunately amounts to a disappointing opening to proceedings. Things pick up from there though with the more traditional black metal of “Ohydny jestem” & the album highlight title track being much more to my taste. I can’t say that either tick all of my boxes though. There’s still a bit more melody than I’m comfortable with at times as this isn’t the most sinister sounding black metal you’ll find. The Viking section (complete with the backing of a choir) in the title track isn’t something I’d usually go for but I can’t help but be won over by the atmosphere in that track nonetheless.

Look, I’m not going to tell you that “Płoń” is an essential release or a hidden gem but I chose it because I think it’ll offer a broad cross-section of our members plenty of appeal & likely more than it does for myself. My own feelings haven’t changed terribly much as I still don’t love this record as much as a lot of the underground seems to but I can see the reasons that it’s regarded so highly as it’s an accessible yet artistically diverse release that’s well composed & executed.

For fans of Odraza, Morowe & Plaga.