Review Summary: Despite their sometimes startling similiarity to other outfits, there is little denying that this release is still a hugely fun listen.
The tag line that The Charm, The Fury like to use on most of their social networking media is 'Unique, edgy but charming'. Yet, upon first listen of their debut EP 'The Social Meltdown', one may find a few reasons to question this statement, as the band sound still very much like the sum of their influences. Although, despite their sometimes startling similiarity to other outfits (Underoath inparticular), there is little denying that this release is still a hugely fun listen.
Songs such as 'Virtue Of Leadership' combine some sinister chord stabs and uplifting leads to fantastic effect, before some soaring clean vocals from front-woman Caroline Westendorp take us into decidedly more melodic terrority. Indeed, it is this light and shade that The Charm, The Fury seem to have vehemently set there sights on here, and for every crushing breakdown (just check out 1.34 in the title track or 0.45 in 'The Dirty South' for some absolute monsters) there appears a towering vocal hook as in 'Family Values'.
It has to be said however that the band forefill the 'fury' part of their name rather better than the 'charm'. The Every Time I Die-esque swaggering violence of the aforementioned 'Dirty South' sees some mammoth grooves and rousing gang chants which are remarkably enticing, and really do cement the fact that the Dutch mob are at their most effective when most venomous.
'The Social Meltdown' is an interesting release. Able to be consistently engaging without being decidely original, The Charm, The Fury are essentially writing gratifyingly savage metalcore which goes a long way to show that the genre still has alot of legs if done with sincerity and fervor. Ones to keep your eye on for sure.
