Desolate Awakening

Desolate Awakening is the debut release by the online band Furorem. While the band had made various demos before the release of this album, this was their official release that was sent to online stores. This album is heavily influenced by the likes of New Orleans sludge bands like Crowbar, Acid Bath, and Abuse, however, they do nothing to expand upon what those bands had done, leaving this sounding more like a tribute album to that sound, rather than a unique product. While attempts were made to make cool riffs and songs, they mostly end up sounding really flat and below average.

There are 2 main reasons why this album has a lackluster sound; the production and song structure. This album sounds like it was recorded from the house next door, or if they never took the microphones out of the box. To say this album sounds muffled is an understatement. The guitar tones are so dark and have so much bass to them that it drowns out the bass guitar track completely, leaving a layer of the mix feeling empty. The guitars are simply too loud. The drums are also a major factor into the flat feeling of the mix since they are all from a drum machine. It lacks that human visceral quality that is typically common with sludge metal albums, making it feel very robotic and dry. The vocals are mixed about the same, fitting the very muffled sound of the rest of the album. The song structures follow a very rigid pattern, and they all sound more like proof of concepts rather than songs. The guitar riffs are really cool in some sections, however they are being held back by the lack of production skills, and the lack of forethought put into it. Certain songs like "Broken VIce" and "Woven Branches" sound like they were added in order to make the length of the album longer. The songs show promise, but could have used a lot of work.

One of the glaring issues that the album suffers is that many of the songs lack penned down lyrics. While bands like Eyehategod are able to successfully pull that off, this album lacks the visceral and violent impact that Eyehategod are able to produce. In conjunction with the production, it sounds like vocals were put there in order to get an idea of the flow. The songs that do have lyrics stand out more than the ones that do have lyrics if you are lucky enough to find them.

Overall, this album has interesting ideas, but it is something that can be skipped. They have better material than this.