Another band I encountered at Metal Days this year was Fearancy, from Austria. I was lucky enough to catch one of the CDs they chucked out at the end of their brutal set and – as per my usual “if I get it at a festival I review it” rule – here’s the skinny.
Going through Paranoia, it’s obvious that the band have many influences and there may be an issue of them throwing too many of them in at once. And then you hit a song like “Facade” which has groovy elements, a hardcore bounce, melodic keyboards… and it all works perfectly.
In essence, they’re a pretty heavy band with a wrapping of melody. The core is closer to classic metal than anything else, though with harsh vocals as well as clean ones. Listen to the intro to “Decisions” as an example, though, and you’ll see that they’re fine with chucking in the occasional curveball to keep things interesting.
“God of War” (see below) is one of the heavier, faster tracks on the album and when you compare it to some of the earlier songs it really does stand out as something different. It’s followed by “Leave It All Behind”, a song with multiple slow, soft sequences. Pushing these two songs next to each other really shows the depth of the band and the range of music they’re prepared to make. I do prefer the heavier end of things, though, and “Act of Violence” is – perhaps predictably given the title – an example of that. And yet it still contains a couple of lighter sections.
I do think that if Fearancy have an issue, it’s trying to be all things to all people and spreading themselves a little thin as a result. At times Paranoia feels like a “best of” album featuring songs from a band that has changed a lot over many years. That it’s a “here we are now” snapshot of a band still in the early stages of creativity is impressive, but I just feel there is a little too much melody for those who prefer to headbang, and a little too much heaviness for those who like it lighter.
Regardless of the balance, what’s on here is all good. I can also tell you that it comes off very well indeed live. Things definitely tip the heavier end of the scale when they’re on stage!
Paranoia is out now