Following the release of lead single Ghost of Eros earlier in the year, genre blending Cambridge based band Far From Refuge have now unleashed the remainder of their new EP, False Flag.
Traversing a range of metal sub-genres from the outset, first track Daybreak begins with energetic verve, and a fast gallop that would not be out of place on an Iron Maiden album. Amongst the first salvo of melodic guitar, there is something altogether darker – at least initially – as intense growling vocals from Suran Jayathilaka make their first attack. A valley of fire between the old and the new / A legion of lies, the pain you put me through. There is something captivating about the timbre of his voice and he is the perfect counterbalance to the clean vocals of guitarist Joél Sutherland. Throughout the track -and indeed the EP – they interweave with an effortless grace that never appears jarring or ill conceived. Lyrically, Daybreak depicts journey of personal transformation and resilience in the face of adversity. Far From Refuge take deeply emotional themes and deliver their message via ludicrously catchy songs and second track, Ghost Of Eros (which Hotel Hobbies reviewed in depth here) continues in this vein.
False Flag, which features fast, intricate tapping, changes the atmosphere and the dynamic, expressive technique on show allows the band to demonstrate the range of their abilities. With a more surreal, floating approach to the opening vocals, Far From Refuge likens life to a chemical process suggesting an inescapable intrinsic force that drives human existence and emotion. The essence of life is just a chemical / A natural drug without an antidote / It runs through your veins, becomes the beat of your heart / A repetitive ache persistent from the start. False Flag – the longest song on the EP at five minutes – is the track during which the band visit the widest variety of musical auras. Creating an uncomfortable feel, the occasional interjections of Jayathilaka trade blows with more stripped back moments that highlight the dextrous contributions of bassist Matt Poskitt. In many ways, it is the most interesting track to be found here and allows the listener the chance to experience the variety the band might bring to a full-length album.
Despite running for under three minutes, Whitemane’s introduction sensibly takes its time to build with a repeated high, melodic guitar motif - that continues through much of the song – alongside half-whispered, half-snarled lyrics that concludes with a line of spoken voice. I am the cold air / That seeps into you / I am the night sky / The antihero / I am an avalanche / I am your last chance / Stand unbroken / This is a reckoning. Named after Sally Whitemane, the High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, from World of Warcraft, Far From Refuge weave a narrative that reflects her intense, vengeful nature and her role as a formidable adversary. In order to infuse the lyrics with the necessary, all the vocals are handled by Jayathilaka. Complete with several bleughs, Whitemane stays closer to the tropes of metalcore than any other song on the EP, with Jules Watts’s drum of particular note.
Final track Carcass begins by blending the lush and the ominous as both vocalists combine throughout the first lyrics. Memorise the feeling / I can’t help you you’re alone / Under the sand reaching the surface / A trembling hand searching for answers. Resolving itself after the first forty seconds, the harshness fades away and almost dreamlike post-rock style guitar remains, leaving Sutherland to take up the vocal. Chugging riffs eventually join and Carcass takes a gloomier turn. In contrast to the defiant resilience of Daybreak, Carcass lingers on the impact of a failed relationship that was tinged with treachery and inner conflict. With able support from the growling vocals, Sutherland delivers his most barbed and venomous vocals.
With False Flag, Far From Refuge have thrown everything they have to offer into the mix. Each song offers something different and across eighteen minutes of enthralling music, the band is melancholic, melodious, dramatic, dynamic, fervent, thoughtful and even, at times, tender. With influences ranging from progressive metal, melodic death metal, metalcore, djent, melodic rock and electronica, the band will appeal to fans of Architects, In Flames, Periphery, TesseracT, Linkin Park and This Dying Hour. Engaging and compelling…..
False Flag is out now.
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