Interview with Fury UK

Fury UK are band whose sound seems influenced by classic style metal bands. I recently got to check in with guitarist/vocalist Chris Appleton and to find out more about them and their plans for the future.

MM-Please introduce yourselves and tell a little about the history of your band.
CA-I’m Chris, I play guitar & lead vocals. On drums we’ve got ‘Martin McNee’ & on Bass guitar & vocals ‘Adam Cropper’. We're a hard rock/classic metal band, originally formed in 2002, based in Manchester. After various line-up changes the current version of the band was put together in October last year & since then the band's popularity seems to have soared. We're signed to independent label Rocksector Records, releasing an album "Face Of Adversity" in 2007 & then an EP "Salvation" just a couple of months ago. We gig often & look to build our career & fanbase the old school way.

MM-What are you currently working on?
CA-Currently we are writing & rehearsing a new album. Set to hopefully record in the summertime. Release date is unknown. It’s as long as it takes.

MM-What do you hope to accomplish in 2008?
CA-The next album is really important to us, so a lot of time is going to be spent on making sure that is the quality we want it to be. With "Face Of Adversity" we did well but we know we can do better & this time everything's looking right. The "Salvation" EP was a taster of what the new line-up can do & we aim to deliver a full album of that quality, if not more. If we can get as good reaction to the album as we have the EP, we'll be on the right lines for sure. We also want to build the band's reputation with a bigger number of people with some of the good gigs we have booked - like the Bulldog Bashbikers festival in August, & the Rock Of Ages Fest in September. We have 1 or 2 possibilities for other high profile gigs but details are under wraps until those are confirmed.

MM-What interests do you have besides music?
CA-Well, I can tell you a lot about what I like. Besides music related to the band I love going to watch other bands. Any form of live music I’m a fan of. Beer. I’m sure that’s not a popular choice to answer that question?? I love the technical side of music as well, I’m a big gear & guitar geek. Martin hasn’t got any particular hobbies, but likes beer also! Adam likes his graphic art design & Warhammer.

MM-What are some of your songs about? Where do you get the inspirations for your song topics?
CA-Well, to be honest, we like to write songs about the bad times in life. That takes up a fair amount. We’re usually happy people, and we’re not particularly depressive people, but we seem to be good about writing songs about that side of life and real things that happen to normal people. Sometimes dramatic stuff. ‘Lost in Forever’, for a quick example, is basically about those times when everyone just seems to be against you. Political stuff, like ‘Natural Disaster’ which is a protest & rant against corporate greed over-riding the earth. Death by Lighting was inspired by the film the Green Mile, the scene where that guy gets fried to death in a horrible way, because the warden didn’t wet the sponge. That’s the inspiration for it really, set the train of thought.

MM-How do you think that you have progressed since your debut "My Tomorrow"?
CA-Massively. We believe there's great songs on My Tomorrow which have served us fantastically in our live set for the past 2/3 years but we were very very young when we did that album & our technical ability & knowledge of production is well ahead now in comparison. My Tomorrow has the classic ‘Death By Lightning’ which everyone just expects us to play live & we still do! And similarly things like Mercenaries & Hear No Evil. But like any band we always want to progress and write new music & perform new music.

MM-In what areas do you think that you still have to improve upon?
CA-Well, everyone still says after all this time. ‘FURY UK is a Live Band’. Live performances have always been our strong point. And our recordings don’t do us justice. Our aim is to make an album that will live up to live performances! What should someone who comes to see you live expect? Fury UK! Madness, energy, entertainment!


MM-Who have you opened for and what have been some of your more memorable shows so far?
CA-Tour dates with Blaze Bayley, Diamond Head, Breed 77, Tokyo Dragons, Panic Cell. Those are probably the biggest ones. But we’ve played with all sorts of bands up and down the country. For me, the Diamond Head show was really memorable. Just the ideal sort of crowd and atmosphere that FURY UK need to be in front of. Same with many of the Blaze Bayley shows, we found so many fans through playing with those guys.

MM-Have you played outside of the UK yet? If so then where, if not then do you hope to sometime this year?
MM-No, we’ve not played outside the UK as of yet. We were scheduled to tour Norway last year but to cut a long story short the promoter made a few mistakes & we were let down. We aim to but don't know if it will be this year. We get a lot of interest from the United States so would like to get there but in honesty we probably should get into Europe/Scandinavia first.

MM-What music are you currently listening to?
CA-Well, I’m an absolute nut for Sabbath. Any era, especially the Dio era. I’m a big Glenn Hughes fan, and anything really that rocks. But I tend to be the dinosaur of the band. I love my classic stuff. Sabbath, Dio, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden….Also I’m a prog lover. Rush, Dream Theater…….Martin pretty much likes anything. He loves his rock n metal stuff. But it doesn’t just stop there, it goes either way. Much more mellow stuff, and different styles, and the other way, much more heavier. Adam, is influenced a lot by Devin Townsend. Listens to a lot of Turisas, Aryeon, Pink Floyd. Very diverse again in the rock eras.

MM-Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why.
CA-
Ozzy or Dio
Hmm, hard decision. For me personally, I love both. I prefer Ozzy solo, and Dio with Sabbath.Overall, I think we’d probably say Dio, because he can still and get up and do the business at 65 or whatever he is. And I don’t like the commercial side, which Ozzy has gone down in recent years.

Raven or Saxon
Probably Saxon but that's probably just because we're a lot more familiar.

Motorhead or Metallica
Motorhead because of Lemmy's whole attitude ....that stick to your guns approach to his career, and never let the man dictate what you can or can’t do.

Iron Maiden or Judas Priest
This is a tough one but we'll go for Maiden. Just shading it with the number of absolutely outstandingsongs over the years. Also we admire Steve Harris' attitude & unwavering commitment to the cause – we know he gets some stick but that determination & loyalty to his band family is something we'd like to be seen in ourselves in the future. Still very tricky, this question, as I’m a big Judas Priest and Ripper Owens fan.

What do you think of today's metal scene?
CA-The metal scene is good! It’s great in parts. Sure, you’ll always have that dark shadow called the ‘Music Industry’. Where a lot of bands out there don’t get the credit and recognition they deserve. But at the same time a lot of bands give up too easily nowadays. You have to eat a lot of the bad stuff and plough your way through it all, then when you starting going on the up, the benefits are 500% more fulfilling. The scene as a whole is very eclectic at the moment. We take influences from it all, and respect everything!

MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band, your music or anything you want to promote?
CA-People – it’s the same old story, buy our music & come to see us play live. It’s that simple. We want to talk to fans, we want to move forward with our fans, not with the powers above. If you haven't yet seen the band or don’t yet have a CD, get onto us at www.furyuk.com or www.myspace.com/furyuk If we're not gigging near you yet, we will do soon so keep in touch!

***Thanks to Chris for doing the interview.