Bucky Garrett - Vocals Bucky Garrett is an amazing vocalist on this album. He has his own unique scream and he has great range. His clean voice is simply fantastic, he can harmonize extremely well. His voice sounds so powerful when he is screaming as well. Like I said he has a very unique scream, he can hit very low notes as showcased on "An Idea and Some Rope", but he can also hit high notes in his scream which is sown on almost every song on the album. He blends clean vocals with harsh vocals perfectly. He can change between the two three to four times in only a matter of second. "The Cycle" has a good example of this along with live versions of many A Dozen Furies songs.
Marc Serrano - Guitar Marc Serrano can not only lay down wonderful rhythm tracks but also mind boggling solo's as well. He can create very intense fast pieces such as "The Cycle" but also slower riffs like on "Lost In A Fantasy". Not only can he play fierce rhythm parts, but also ripping leads. While not every lead is a shred fest they aren't lacking in the technical department at all. He has some of the most challenging leads I've heard in metalcore for a while. "Lost In A Fantasy' exhibits an excellent lead. It fits in right with the music, it actually takes back seat to the rest of the band, it's used as more a background effect then the driving force of the song.
Joey Turner - Guitar Joey Turner is the second guitarist in A Dozen Furies, but is in no way any worse or better then Marc Serrano. Like Marc he can lay down aggressive rhythm tracks he can also shred like Marc. On the live version of "Awake and Lifeless" that can be found on the OZZfest 10th Anniversary DVD/CD he plays a great lead behind Serrano's blistering rhythm track. He can also play rhythm amply well and does so on most of the album. I can't tell you for a fact that on the record Serrano and Turner trade off leads, but from the live songs I've seen by them I have the feeling they do.
Keith Reber - Bass Keith Reber though not audible on most of the record can still make his instrument cry and moan like no other. When he is audible you can tell that he is playing incredible things. Though not the lead instrument of the band he and drummer Mike Hunt and guitarists Serrano and Turner hold up a great rhythm section that never fails to impress. On the official A Dozen Furies site there is some videos (or at least there use to be) of just Keith jamming on his bass and it's pretty impressive. Reber complements Mike's drum beats extremely well.
Mike Hunt - Drums Mike Hunt is probably one of the most talented drummers in metalcore today. He uses his double bass pedal to perfection. He doesn't overuse it like some modern drummer, but he does use it a lot. Most of the time though it isn't straight 16th notes played as fast as humanly possible it's doubles and triplets played. He also uses his toms a lot, most of his fills are great, and even when he is keeping a straight beat he doesn't take away from the music with his drumming he adds to it. He and bassist Keith Reber hold up a great rhythm section especially when Joey and Marc are doing a harmonized lead pattern.
The bad about the instruments on A Concept From Fire
-The bass is almost never heard. I can vaguely hear it at points with no guitar but not that well, they need to turn Reber up.
-Almost no solos. There was a very little amount of solos on this record, while I'm glad they didn't overuse the amount of solos a few more wouldn't hurt.
-The vocals are constantly double tracked and harmonized. Not that this is a bad thing it makes Garrett's voice sound great, but on the live shows I've seen he is slightly lacking so maybe they should tone that down a little.
The Big Picture of ADF
Each member of the band fits together perfectly. I can never hear a guitar riff or a drum beat out of place. When they were making A Concept From FIre they must have worked very hard to get everying to fit together. The bass complements the drums, the guitars go great with the feel of the song and the vocals make it all work together. A Dozen Furies blends together faced paced heavy riffs with a melodic element that makes it all work. On ACFF A Dozen Furies make all of the intruments sound so full, whenever they want it to be known that Marc can shred like a maniac, or that Mike can play amazing fills the rest of the band takes a back seat to them. They don't try to all show off their talent at once, they wait their turn.
Recommended Tracks:
The Cycle
An Idea and Some Rope
Lost In A Fantasy
Awake and Lifeless
4/5
This album is great, a very good metalcore album amidst the wave of bad metalcore in recent years.
