Track Listing:
01. The Descent Of A Warrior
02. The Imperfection Of The Soul
03. Errare Humanum Est
04. Dogmas Fall
05. Isolement
06. Insomnia
07. A Heart In Escape
08. Lamentations
09. Evil Spells Approval
10. Declaration Of War
11. End of a Belief, The Beginning Of A truth
12. The Result Of A Destiny

Rated:
7.5 / 10

Total Play Time:
45:20

Band's Webpage

Formed in 1997, French Metal outfit Furia have gone on to fashion for themselves a unique style that combines all the elements of Thrash and memorable keyboard compositions. After reasonable successes with their earlier releases “Un Lac de Larmes et de Sang” and “La Source Noire” the band appeared at Fury Fest 2005 along with the likes of Dimmu Borgir, Motorhead, Slayer and Anthrax, after which they released the mini-CD “Rebirth”. Indeed, this was a time of rebirth for “Kheros” confirms their innovative approach to Thrash Metal.

I wasn’t that sure I could listen to another dose of French Metal after my last review slot a la Francais, however, from the onset of ‘The Descent Of A Warrior’ Paquet’s vocals reminded me of early Kreator albeit with a dash of keyboards, and I was very eager to listen on. “The Imperfection of the Soul” and “Errare Humanum Est” are interesting tracks in that they make available the diverse range of instrumental talent on offer, both being infectiously atmospheric with some amazing riff work, melodic soloing and a touch of tribal percussion/syncopated vox along the lines of Sepultura on the latter. “Dogmas Fall” is one of the two tracks on ‘Kheros’ that were lifted from the ‘Rebirth’ CD, the intro is reminiscent of Rob Zombie, but the similarity ends there for the remainder of the song is a blend of fast yet melodic riffs and vocals. One of the surprises came in the form of the moving acoustic/electrical instrumental “Isolement”. Taken from Furia’s live DVD ‘La Source Noire’ the track clearly outlines the string capacity in Legrand and Vallesi’s work. The following “Insomnia” begins with a sound which verges on melodic Black, closely ensued by an interesting blend of riffs and vocals which smacks of COB.

I’m only halfway through this review, yet because of the originality in concept, I feel that it would be an injustice not to mention every track. Moving on quickly then, “A Heart In Escape” is an instrumental sortie that carries you into an apocalyptic slasher movie. With hairs standing on my arms “Lamentations” continues the theme, only this time with Nicolas’s blast beats and Damien’s vocals from hell. After this I wouldn’t be surprised if Furia were approached to write a horror movie soundtrack for it certainly put the wind up me! Chasing out the grotesque images that the last two tracks had painted on my mental canvas, “Evil Spells Approval” heralded a return to thrash normality, as did “Declaration Of War” but a surprise again at the atmospheric inclusion of electronic’s throughout. Saving the worst till last, the penultimate “End of a Belief, The Beginning Of A truth” is the weakest offering on the album. I didn’t enjoy this at all and am not going to say why because I think you will taste the cornucopia of bad taste for yourself. “The Result Of A Destiny” again does not leave the worthy final impression that Furia deserve, the arrangement here is weak and lacks direction. Overall, this is an album I will listen to again (apart from the final couple of tracks). There may be the odd flaw, however, Furia have produced a unique experiment in sound that should appeal to a wide genre-orientated audience. If the title of “Errare Humanum Est” is anything to go by then this band will learn from their mistakes and I, for one, look forward to see what direction they are going to take on their next release.