Sound and Fury -- 'Sound and Fury' [review]

Sound and Fury - Sound and Fury
Megaforce / Rebel Youth Records (6/24/08)
Hard rock / Punk

If you’re patient and willing to give the latest Sound and Fury album a couple of listens, the set might just grow on you, as the band melds straight-forward hard rock (think AC/DC) with an old-school punk approach (though I hate to say it, think the Misfits circa-1985), creating a bluesy party-rocker with a raw aesthetic.

The problem is, the lead vocals are pretty one-dimensional (a little too whiny) and the lyrics aren’t particularly creative. Instead, the band manages to win you over with its energy and dedication to grinding through each song, looking for anything to stick. And there are a least a handful of good songs on this self-titled effort.

The album kicks off with two very lukewarm tracks: “School’s Out” has enough energy but feels ultimately forgettable (except for the catchy chorus that will definitely get stuck in your head after a few spins), and “Teenage Rampage” suffers from weak lyrics more than anything else.

But then “Can’t Get Enough” comes along and just blows you away. The band seems to be hitting on all cylinders, letting the song unfold as a powerful dirge and throwing in plenty of solos mid-way through the track to change things up. They do a similarly good job with “Night of the Ghouls”, which feels like it could’ve been pulled off AC/DC’s Razor’s Edge. And album-closer “Hellhound” has a great, slow-burn riffing that gives way to a more explosive chorus. It’s too bad the band couldn’t capture this kind of magic three or four more times, as that may have actually saved the album.

Ultimately, Sound and Fury relies too much on its influences for its own good. Sure, a song like “Night of the Ghouls” might sound like an AC/DC castoff, but the band does a good job of making it its own. But the same can’t be said for songs like “Supercharged” or “Runaway Love” or “18” or even “Bad Touch” (except for the fantastic guitar work). If the lyrics were stronger or there were a twist to the music, or anything, that would be one thing. But when those things are lacking, and, to top it off, you essentially sound like nothing more than a bad cover band, well...

Sound and Fury shows a lot of potential, but just falls short on this outing. “Can’t Get Enough” and “Night of the Ghouls” are solid tracks, but the rest ends up being nothing more than filler.