Album Details

• Artist: Furze
• Album: Psych Minus Space Control
• Label: Fysisk Format
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2012-05-21

Furze's new one is quite a departure for the band (well, one man band, the enigmatic genius Woe J), at least at first blush. With material stretching back to the early 90s, "Psych Minus Space Control" eschews much of the black metal trappings, while deftly managing to keep its dark poetic menace intact. This record actually rocks, sometimes with a heavy groove completely beyond the scope of black metal and prog ambitions. As a result, this is daring outing, and a mature one as well; Furze hold on to the essence of their sound and prove it can be cross-fertilized into other musical styles without losing its power.

To reassure long-time fans, "Occult Soul, With Mind" opens things with a sludgy plodding creepy mess, setting the groundwork for the more adventurous "Psych Mooz Space Control," and with "Reaper Subconscious Guide," a massive Psych/Boogie riff is provided that is heavy as the best Doom. The final two tracks are a bit anti-climactic after the experiments and wild creativity of these songs, but "Triad of Lucifer" and "When Always Ready" reinforce the mission of and offer variations on what has come before.

Furze's mission here is to deliver what they always deliver: smart, deadly and constantly creative black metal the equal of any in terms of power and scope. Like 2010's "Reaper Subconscious Guide," "Psych Minus Space Control" continues Woe J.'s return to early 70s metal for inspiration. As the Norwegian recluse said in interviews at the time of "Reaper," Sabbath and Blue Cheer are pretty much the foundation of all that came after in heavy music, so using elements of Psych and Doom are not really that much of a departure as it seems on the surface. "Psych Minus Space Control" impressively rocks and extends Furze's already impressive rep as a fearless creator.

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