The Charm The Fury – The sick, Dumb & Happy

The Charm The Fury are a Dutch metal band fronted by singer Caroline Westendorp.  One or two of you may now be thinking – Dutch band with female vocals – they’re bound to be symphonic metal, and to be fair the Netherlands have produced a fair few bands that fit that description with Within Temptation and Delain high on the list.  The charm, the fury though are nothing like that – this band is loud and heavy, having more in common with bands such as Slipknot, Architects, Arch Enemy, Pantera and Every Time I Die than with Nightwish or Within Temptation.

When I heard their first album way back in 2013 I enjoyed it and the more I heard it the more I loved it, but it was only last year when I got to experience their live show for the first time, once at a gig and once at Bloodstock, and damn they’re seriously impressive live with plenty of power and energy.  Now they’ve finally got a new album about to be released – The Sick, Dumb & Happy.

The album kicks off with “Down on the ropes”, the first single from the album.  THere’s no gentle buildup or intro here – it’s straight into loud guitars.  Once Caroline Westendorp’s vocals kick in you hear the raw power there as she snarls her way through the lyrics.  Check out the video here…

The second track is also the second single – Echoes.  Check it out here..

In “Blood and Salt” Caroline Westendorp demonstrates that her vocals aren’t limited to snarling, growling and screaming as she employs clean vocals here very effectively.  Don’t worrry though – she also growls on this song too, so it’s no lightweight song.

“Corner office maniacs” is a fairly odd piece of music – more like the soundtrack to a movie scene than anything else, with no vocals.

“The future needs us Not” takes us straight back to more power and agression.

“Silent war” starts with some lovely clean vocals and there’s acoustic guitar too, but at tmes you get the impression that Caroline is struggling to keep herself from bursting into powerful screams, and I was certainly hoping that would be the route the song took but she does keep things under control, and that means this is the quietest track on the album, even when the electric guitars kick in later in the song.

It’s a fantastic album.  It’s heavy, powerful and should be played at full volume for the best effect.  It’s clear to hear how the band have evolved and improved since the first album.  Fans of modern metal should definitely check out The Charm The Fury. These songs sound great on the album but I’m expecting them to sound even better played live.

The Sick, Dumb & Happy will be released on 17th March 2017 via Nuclear Blast

Track listing:

1. Down on the ropes
2. Echoes
3. Weaponized
4. No end in sight
5. Blood and salt
6. Corner office maniacs
7. The future needs us Not
8. Silent war
9. The hell in me
10. Songs of obscenity
11. Break and dominate