Album Review: Furnace - Trojan Hearse
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Furnace are a band that have been around for a little while now, and have churned out more records than I’ve realised. Formed only a couple of years ago, Furnace hail from Sweden and, big surprise, they are another of Rogga Johansson’s numerous projects. Releasing their first album back in 2020, titled Black Stone Church, it was their second record, Dark Vistas, released later the same year that saw the band first come to my attention. Since then Furnace churned out another two records with 2022’s Stellarum and last year’s The Casca Trilogy. Now, another year on, Furnace are prepped to unleash their fifth full length album, Trojan Hearse, as they continue their partnership with Obelisk Polaris Productions, primed for an August 23rd release date. It’s been a while since I checked out a new release by Furnace and so, I was ready to see what the band had in store for me.
Furnace have established themselves as modern day stalwarts of the Swedish sound, and every succeeding record they’ve released has exemplified that notion. But I like how Trojan Hearse actually doesn’t go too hard on the typical buzzsaw tone and instead lets the songwriting, and our attention, relax so we understand we’re in for an easier listening experience. Furnace here aren’t vying to make our ears bleed; their tone is surprisingly mild and wouldn’t be too far amiss should a more conventional metal band wish to adopt it. The moment I first heard this tone on record I immediately relaxed knowing I didn’t have to steel myself in preparation of a visceral time spent with Furnace. The relaxed tone, through strong and prominent, effectively releases what would have otherwise been a clenched fist, and instead frees up all this tension to ensure Trojan Hearse is an extremely enjoyable. It’s not looking to grate your senses and that’s honestly a refreshing factor to consider. It also gives the rest of the band their spotlight since your ears aren’t wholly attuned to the tone at every given moment. But it’s not simply the riffs that have been given this sense of freedom, but the solos too play with a breadth and clarity that’s simply fantastic. Being able to clearly hear every note without struggle is a blessing.
What that relaxation of tone allows Furnace to do is bring their innate melodic tendencies to the forefront. Swedish death metal, throughout its long history, has always harboured a potential for melodic stanzas within its songwriting. This is because this subgenre isn’t completely fine tuned towards the chunkier riffs or slab-like obliteration; it’s a more refined, streamlined kind of songwriting that takes more liberties with extreme metal. Though Furnace are far from a melodic death metal band, it’s undeniable they’ve really upped the ante on what vibes their music evokes. The lesser intensity of their performance lets them experiment and play with ideas they might not have been able to apply effectively had the buzzsaw tone been as aggressive as it’s usually acknowledged as. It’s the kind of melodic infusion where one could potentially hum along to its rhythm should you know the songwriting well enough, and it sticks in your head. It’s pleasantly addictive.
Though the band’s intensity is seemingly reduced, one thing that can’t be turned away from is their momentum. This is where the drums come in; the production has rendered Trojan Hearse with a stunningly clean aesthetic without the record coming off as harmless. Though the record feels exceedingly well polished, and not a bump in the road can be felt should one caress the album cover, it never feels like it couldn’t harm you in other ways. The drumming is sublime, though while the band never break into any kind of blast beats, or other techniques that could possibly raise the malice of their performance, the mix has enabled their pounding to come through with ease and, better yet, it never conflicts with other components of the band at any point. That’s in the double bass drums alone for when they get going, it doesn’t require much to inject additional energy into the band’s performance. Even the simplest of Tom-tom strikes, made taut and fat in the mixing process, possess little resonance upon being struck so their impact is made and then we move on to the next piece.
But I think the main reason I’ve adored this record is the simplicity of songwriting. There’s no extraordinary attempts of instrumentation, nothing worthy of especial fanfare, no blast beats, no particularly genre-pushing segments of songwriting; Trojan Hearse aspires to one of these and yet comes away being an exceedingly entertaining and satisfying album. The band must have gone in to the writing and recording processes with this desire in mind because the effect is too well done for it to be anything otherwise. Though fans will recognise this as a work of Swedish death metal they will be pleasantly surprised, I believe, at just what kind of album Furnace have planned for them. Trojan Hearse feels stripped down and to the point, so much so that stripping it down any further would require us to remove its skin and bone. It’s honestly that raw and straightforward, and I really took to it.
In conclusion, Trojan Hearse is a fascinating album since it seems to completely forgo many aspects of Swedish death metal we take for granted and decided, at some point, to say “Meh, we’re not doing that”, crafting a record that just comes along to be enjoyed without expectation, without reward. Trojan Hearse isn’t here to rip your head off your torso and it’s not going to outright blow you away, but it is going to keep you rooted to the spot and enthralled for its full runtime. Though one could claim its lack of a varied tempo is a drawback, I believe it works to the band’s advantage since this pacing never tries and outrun your ability to interpret and appreciate what’s playing right now. Truth be told it had been a few years since I’d checked out a new release from Furnace, but Trojan Hearse has completely transformed my view of the band. Furnace demonstrate you do not need to try overtly hard at keeping your audience engaged, for keeping songwriting straightforward is often the key to doing so. This is an album I can see a great many people falling for since it can easily be a companion to everyday activities; it never demands time from you but rather joins you for whatever you’re doing in the moment. A thoroughly good time.
