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I honestly didn’t expect this…..the eponymous debut of Furor Gallico won me over from start to end. Definitely one of the best Folk Metal albums I’ve heard in a long time, it blows away what much more experienced bands of the genre have done with their latest releases. All the distinctive paraphernalia of Folk Metal are used here: tin whistles, harp, bagpipes…..hence comparisons with Korpiklaani, Cruachan, Skyclad and Eluveitie might be pertinent. The strongest virtue this band has is an innate knack of fitting these instruments in seamlessly with the Black/Folk Metal aspects of the music. That thing alone is already deserving of a high rating. Beyond that, Furor Gallico possess an acute ear for melody, intelligent compositional skills and, it seems, a copious amount of determination. Sure enough, “Furor Gallico” had originally been self-released and self-produced and on the basis of the fervent response that ensued, managed to secure support slots with bands such as Skyclad, Stratovarius and Vision Divine. Wisely enough, Massacre Records made a move to include these Italians in their roster and are now giving the album a proper release and distribution. That the band-members are all quite young makes the album’s overall level of maturity all the more remarkable. Particularly recommended: ‘Banshee’ and ‘La Caccia Morta’ (‘The Dead’s Hunt’). ‘Banshee’ starts off with the main melody being played by the mandolin and violin - that same melody suddenly takes a more aggressive twist with ‘distorted’ guitars and tin whistle playing in unison. The song also makes excellent use of bagpipes and Black/Death Metal vocals. On the other hand, when it’s not engaged in Black Metal type of blast-beats ‘La Caccia Morta’ harks back to the Italian Prog Rock of the 1970s – it seems its theme is inspired by an Italian folkloristic tale about the vagrant souls of dead hunters. Go get it! | ||||||||||||||||||
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