Tracklist:

01. Suffer Patiently 04:54
02. Fury Rising 04:57
03. Crimson Sand 03:55
04. My Regret 04:34
05. One More Shot 04:50
06. Last Redemption 06:22
07. Unstrung Hero 03:36
08. The Fear 04:06
09. Glass Legacy 06:27
10. Fever Slide 05:15
48:56

Website: http://myspace.com/stygianrock 

Release Notes:

Long before their lifestyle determined their
deathstyle, Metallica laid claim to a career arc
and success story unmatched in heavy music to this
day. From the humblest of beginnings as a group of
near-broke metal hopefuls getting by on chops and
persistence alone, through the "classic" era that
transformed them into a progressive thrash
powerhouse, Metallica unexpectedly wound up
becoming the biggest of the Big Four — and biggest
metal brand in the world — with their 1991
self-titled release. Even at a Lars-hating
metalhead's most cynical, that album remains
largely unapproachable, important in a way few
are: for better or worse, Metallica is the
milestone release that changed the fate of metal
and finally made it viable as a popular form. As
history shows, however, it's in many ways both the
birth and death of the palette it played with, as
forgive me for being so bold — the end all be
all as far as working man's metal is concerned
Hell, I've always considered the handle The Black
Album fitting just because it's a record that
killed all the lights and confidently stated there
should be no encore

And for good reason: the strain of
Metallica-inspired hard rock that weeded its way
through the 90s yielded what could only be
considered diminishing returns, turning listeners
away so much so that Nickelback now occupies the
top spot on the Billboard "Metal" chart 20 years
down the line. When people are betting on bands
riding the sound of The Dark Horse over The Black
Album, the only reasonable explanation is that
they're done with the latter, over the style and
its trappings. Why Stygian attempts to so closely
echo the recently discarded past on their latest
full-length, Fury Rising, is a mystery left
unanswered after listening through its
track-for-track retelling of Metallica's
post-Black period. It's not so much a questions
of skill as it is of motivation; it's hard to
determine just what percentage of Fury Rising's
imitation is in the name of flattery, or what
market the band and Mortal Music are aiming for
here

Sure, "One More Shot" and "Last Redemption" try
awfully hard to pay homage to "Wherever I May
Roam" and "Until It Sleeps" by bits and pieces
all filtered through a more modern lens of
polished revision, but did the world really need
"The Unforgiven IV" ("My Regret") when it never
even asked for Metallica's original follow-up?
Though working fervently to distance themselves
from their roots as a cover band, Fury Rising
unfortunately hits like a disc-long set of
"originals" penned by Enter Sandman, King Nothing
Garage, Inc. or whatever your local Load -era
tribute act affiliate calls themselves — you know
the songs those bands run into while impatient
fans shout, "Play Creeping Death!" or "Harvester
Of Sorro-wahh!" at them from the bar. The material
is played respectably enough, but if it's a
resurrection Stygian is seeking to spur, injecting
bloodless nu-angst into the formula isn't the way
to do it. Besides, in 2010, such an idea is either
far too late or far too early, not to mention
wholly unwelcome

Bottom line, despite what appears to be
considerable marketing dollars going to work, I
honestly can't see the audience that would
appreciate Stygian's music ever actively searching
for it. That niche is perfectly content in staying
tuned to their local good ol' boy rock station
waiting for the next release from an old favorite
or letting Army recruiting commercials serve as
music videos (good luck with that one, "Crimson
Sand"). Forgive me for the dig or simple
underestimation, but apart from being the opener
for the local leg of the next Disturbed tour
Stygian has limited any real hopes for mainstream
success by focusing so much on the Metallica
legend and such an unoriginal sound. Too dated
too flimsy, too heavy, or too flat, Fury Rising
fails above all because it reeks of an incurable
identity crisis that bars it from being accepted
wholesale by anyone but Hetfield fetishists. Given
Stygian can separate its talent from its
predetermined trajectory, maybe album-number-three
will right the ship and stand a chance of pushing
the band further out of the shadow of its
ill-chosen idols. After all, even the genuine
article is one "comeback" removed from the series
of missteps that eventually lead to St. Anger
Let's just pray Stygian were paying attention to
that part

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