With a cover worthy of inclusion in the next round of Ruthless Review's "Most Rediculous Black Metal Pics of All Time" (what exactly is the middle guy wearing on his head), The Furor return with their follow-up to Invert Absolute. Not laughable, however, is the band's effort to step it up a notch from their debut. In comparison to Invert Absolute, Advance Australia Warfare is better in almost every regard.

Where Invert Absolute was more or less your standard, Dark Funeral influenced "I can fit more blastbeats in a song than you" affair, Advance Australia Warfare has more dynamics and more effort at creating an atmosphere that is both brutal and somewhat memorable. This is still a black metal record, so it goes without say that there are still plenty of balls-to-the-wall speed attacks (how the drummer is able to sing at the same time is simply stunning), but the small death metal influences on the debut have come back in a more noticable fashion. Songs like "Atomic Triumph" and "The Entrance" (which is surprisingly melodic) are enhanced by their ability to still forge ahead frantically, but occasionally bring in some death metal riffage to give the song some breathing room. In addition to the usual blackened screams, there are many more gutteral roars that add an additional layer of brutality to the band's attack. Also in the band's favor is their technical chops. They aren't afraid to throw in a solid lead or solo on occasion, which certainly helps to keep my interest peaked. With an average playing time of 6 minutes a song, it keeps the songs interesting and I had no objections to length, save the opener that felt somewhat overdrawn.

Certainly the low point of the album is the yawn-inducing 8-minute ambient instrumental known as "Hell" (how perfectly titled). It ruins the flow they've helped to create along the opening tracks and at a total running time of over 60 minutes, feels completely and utterly unnecessary.

With two solid releases under their belt, The Furor should quickly receive some more support as an upper-tier black metal band. Despite the fact that it isn't going to change anyone's minds outside of the black metal realm, fans of said genre would do well to check this one out.

Standout Tracks: Atomic Triumph, Sacrilegious Rage, The Entrance, Clutches of the Abyss