Band: Furor Gallico
Album: Dusk of the Ages
Release Date: 18th January 2019
Record Label: Scarlet Records
Furor Gallico are yet another Italian folk metal band (there are a lot of them and I have yet to find a bad one). Furor Gallico have a more Celtic theme to their music, and this album is certainly no different.
Passage to a New Life is a slow, calm introduction to the album, starting off with drums, bells, chimes, and wolf howls. The guitar slowly increases in volume into the mix, and the strings follow. The initial string tone brings an uneasy atmosphere, but a second strings melody comes in over the top with a more hopeful tune. There are clean male vocals towards the end, and overall it is a slow, calm intro. It fits the title very well.
The Phoenix is a contrast; hard hitting and faster. There are harsh male vocals and clean female vocals, and the female vocals have just a little bit of grit behind them which fits really well. There are melodic guitars which change the feel of the song part way through, and the strings become more prominent as the track progresses. Waterstrings brings a more calm feeling back, with a harp and soprano female vocals. When the track really kicks in the Irish and Celtic feel really comes through, there are clean male and female vocal harmonies. In this track the vocals are calming, but the instrumental is a little more punchy.
Flutes, piano, and strings and dominate the melody of The Phoenix, with a mix of harsh and clean vocals throughout the track. There is a flute solo and this track has a more atmospheric and mystical feeling, which relates again to the title of the track. Canto D’Inverno is another calm track with guitar and flute, and clean male and female vocals. The track is very atmospheric and becomes epic in its feel.
Starpath has a strong string element which is kept at the forefront throughout, I for some reason think of Sojourner when I hear this song. The strings blend in to the rest of the music, rather than being over the top like an afterthought. This can be tricky to accomplish but Furor Gallico do it really well.
Aquane has a lot going on in the instrumental. It builds up with harps, then strings, then drums, then the second strings, and then everything comes together. There again are a mix of harsh vocals, and clean male and female vocals, and it’s a really fast paced track that sounds great. The mood changes again completely with The Sounds of Infinity, with calming and relaxing guitars and strings. The mood becomes a little more hopeful, but the track retains a more somber feel.
The title track, Dusk of the Ages, brings back the epic and atmospheric feel of Canto D’Inverno. There are once again harsh vocals with clean male and female harmonies, and the track is very flute and string heavy. We end of The Gates of Annwn, a heavy track with harsh vocals. Around 4 minutes in the tempo progressively slows and and there is a lovely calm section of guitars and strings, with flutes entering the mix too. Before the full instrumental kicks back in, there is a guitar solo. It is a solid end to a solid album
Furor Gallico have produced something amazing. The folk instruments blend in effortlessly with the more traditional heavy metal instruments, and the composition is perfect. Personally, I’ve been on a happy, jiggy folk metal and ridiculously cheesy power metal binge at the moment, so right now, this album is perhaps not something I would really choose to listen to, but I can appreciate the talent and work that has gone into this album, and I can certainly see myself going back to this when I move into a more traditional folk phase again. I’m hoping for more from this band, and I hope they go a long way.
Verdict: 8.5/10
Buy Furor Gallico music and merch: https://www.furorgallico.it/shop/
Listen to Furor Gallic on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EdTAF8rCNoJhEYmNKBehq
Furor Gallico website: https://www.furorgallico.it/
Follow Furor Gallico on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FurorGallicoOfficial/
Ostara Metal 