Bloodstock Open Air festival prides itself on its support for the UK music scene, particularly
showcasing new talent on the 'Unsigned' stage, and this year was no exception. But for all the
talent on display there was one band there that we were just not going to miss. Since we first
heard their amazing debut album 'Gravitas' we have been dying to see
these guys perform and here at Bloodstock we finally got the chance to grab a quick chat with the band
and see them do their stuff.
Speaking to singer Matt Mitchell before the gig it was clear that they were very excited to
have the opportunity to headline the unsigned stage on the Sunday. The scheduling was not entirely
kind to them as they were up against a rare live appearance by Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth's side project
Bloodbath on the main stage and we didn't know exactly how big a crowd Furyon would draw against such
competition. As it was they needn't have worried and as their start time approached the tent began
to fill up quite nicely.
Picking a set from an album of the quality of Gravitas could not have been easy and we were
interested to see which of them the band would squeeze into their set. In our opinion ideally
they would have played the whole album but unfortunately time did not allow for that. They did include
our two favorite tracks though (Stand Like Stone and Disappear Again), so no complaints.
The set opened at a suitably high tempo with 'Don't Follow' and it was immediately clear that
this band are something a bit special. The sound on this stage had been pretty hit and miss all weekend
but for Furyon it seemed to be as good as it got and the band certainly didn't let it impede their
performance. Matt's vocals were excellent throughout, and in Pat Heath and Chris Green Furyon have two
amazing guitarists, and the way these guys riffed and shredded through the set showed off just what
they are capable of as they both switched Lead and Rhythm roles seamlessly and threw in some neat
solos.
'Wasted on you' and 'Souvenirs' kept the tent bouncing before we were treated to 'Stand Like Stone',
which provided one of the weekend's highlights as Pat and Chris were let off the leash for an awesome
'Shred Duel'. This is kind of difficult to describe so check out our video for a taste of what it was
like when they are 'ripping the shit out of their guitars'.
Later Pat told us that much of the shred duel is made up on the spot which just makes it all the
more impressive to us non musicians, and the crowd showed their appreciation as the two master axe-men
tried to outdo each other.
The set closed with the stunning 'Disappear Again', a song so catchy it was described by DJ Jim
Beerman as 'musical crack'. Seriously, it's ridiculous how that tune gets into your head and stays
there, and with that our first experience of Furyon live came to an end. It has to be said that in
spite of the iffy sound and the competition from Bloodbath on the main stage Furyon put in one of
the performances of the festival and one that no one who saw it will forget in a hurry.
The band are on tour pretty much constantly, and on the basis of what we saw here today we will
certainly be checking them out again in the very near future.
