Source: Album Artwork
The positive reaction to The Charm The Fury’s 2013 debut album A Shade Of My Former Self left many keen to hear what they would produce next. It’s been a while, but they haven’t disappointed with their newest album The Sick, Dumb & Happy. It meshes together a plethora of refined metal styles and the result is ferocious. The band’s sound has definitely matured since their metal-core ventures of 2013.
Immediately commanding your attention with ‘Down On The Ropes’, The Charm The Fury lay down some vicious groove metal riffs. Caroline Westendorp’s vocals are not a force to be reckoned with – her growls are brilliantly raspy and confident. There’s a lot going on in this track riff-wise, which is indicative of their attempt to try their hand at new things.
The versatility of Caroline Westendorp’s vocals really come through on this release. The slightly ill-fitting ‘Silent War’ is a complete change of tone but is adept at showing us Westendorp’s full clean range. ‘Echoes’ combines the two styles with a crushing verse and clean chorus – making for a much stronger track than ‘Silent War’.
The swinging riffs of ‘The Future Need Us Not’ take us in the direction of Machine Head and Lamb of God, again showing the album’s stylistic innovation. ‘Songs Of Obscenity’ has got that The Charm The Fury kick. It’s one you can both sing along to and hurt your neck head banging to.
The Sick, Dumb & Happy is innovative for sure, but is it trying to do too many different things at once? The Charm The Fury haven’t disappointed, but they have overwhelmed. They aren’t doing anything badly, but the release is hectic at times and could have been more focused.
