Review: “Fury” by Face Yourself

“After 2 years of being a band, we have reached a sound that we think looks like us, this is our best work yet and we are happy to be working once again with [Producer] Joey Sturgis. He became such a great element to our team and is always pushing us to improve ourselves.” ~ Yasmine Liverneaux, vocals

In April of this year Transcontinental Deathcore force Face Yourself saw an extended play dubbed “Martyr” mark their debut in partnership with Sumerian Records, the group having members hailing from New York, New Jersey, Colorado… and France. At the time of its release, just five months ago, the band had already smashed some major streaming milestones, with figures over six million for three singles from that record alone. Produced by Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men) it has lyrical themes that blur the line between strength and vulnerability, cut against skull crushing breakdowns with hauntingly melodic interludes. The summer saw the band on the Chaos & Carnage tour across North America with Dying Fetus and Cradle Of Filth and so a new record is the last thing we expected so soon…

Yasmine Liverneaux comments on “Fractures“: “The lyrics explore a darker theme, as it speaks a lot about self hatred, exploring the pressure of beauty standards and the “mutilations” those pressures can lead someone to. It’s like changing your appearance so much to fit a mould to the point that you don’t even recognize yourself which can be very violent”

Described by the band themselves as an evolution into darker and more psychologically brutal territory, “Fury” marks the fifth EP from Face Yourself since they announced themselves to an unsuspecting world in 2023. Being as prolific as they have been usually subliminally suggests a decision has been made to sacrifice quality for quantity however in the case of these Deathcore purveyors nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the arrival of “Fury” so soon makes us wonder if it was actually written and recorded in the same sessions that it’s predecessor “Martyr” was and that somewhere along the line a decision was made to split an albums worth of material into two halves while the band established themselves.

If you had any thoughts of “Wet Dreams” being some kind of sultry affair, you can kiss that goodbye within the first 5 seconds because Liverneaux dreams are of nothing but spilling blood, her ferocious venom spitting vocal performance giving the likes of Will Ramos a run for his money. Dark and brooding with an oppressive, menacing and sinister atmosphere, the opening cut is as gripping as they come, fusing heavy weight stomp laden breakdowns with feral demonic blood gargling as Liverneaux reaches Slam vocal territory. On the flip side of the coin, there are also some soaring lead guitars which fire shafts of light through the dark clouds, however that doesn’t change the fact that this is more than enough to give those not indoctrinated in this style of music night terrors. “Fractures” features previous tour mates Crystal Lake and rattles the cage with artillery shelling percussive battery, the incorporation of some fleeting electronics threatening to lighten the mood and failing miserably as Liverneaux demonic vocals reach hitherto unheard new lows. Nuances in a bass solo, guitar glitches and a couple of bass drops add texture to this vicious assault on the senses, the band toying with some sounds usually found at the heavy end Nu-Metalcore in the guitars despite this being a blunt force trauma in Downtempo Deathcore. 

Yasmine Liverneaux comments on “Ov Agony“: “This song is for anyone who has ever felt like giving up. I wrote the lyrics based on a suicide letter that I wrote for my parents when I was 15, that I ended up never giving to them. Now that I have reached a certain peace in my life, it is easier to go back to those darker places, and heal these old wounds through music. I no longer have to hold this pain inside, and now that it has been freed through the music, this pain doesn’t have to be mine anymore. I hope this can resonate with anyone who has shared this feeling, and hopefully let go of their pain knowing that artistic expressions can save lives, and unite people.”

The intensity doesn’t lessen for a second with the savage “Carousel Of Violence” claiming victims, discerning listeners bleeding from the ears in brain hemorrhage before getting carried out in a body bag. The symphonic touches lift the band into Draconian Reign territory, shriller vocals making way for more blood gargling as things get ugly, the chugging guitars and pummeling percussion making it sound like World War III is going on inside your skull. Brooding with sinister atmosphere the opening of “Catacombs” does little to prepare you for the body slamming banshee wails and wave after wave of punishing rhythmic battery that follows. There is however a moment of melody with an acoustic moment in flamenco guitars that bursts into a flaming solo, an unexpected moment of almost cinematic quality before the roar of “Shatter the gates of HELL!” escapes the throat of Liverneaux. Slowing things down for a dark and depraved final stab wound in “Ov Agony” before opening up the arteries with blast beats and bombastic bass is a master stroke, Face Yourself cementing themselves as heavyweight contenders worthy of following in the footsteps of genre Kings Lorna Shore. This one hits like a sledge hammer, the band showing no mercy as they step forth from the shadow of intent to destroy everything in their path but be warned. It’s not for the faint of heart or weak of mind… [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Wet Dreams
2. Fractures (ft. Crystal Lake)
3. Carousel Of Violence
4. Catacombs
5. Ov Agony

“Fury” by Face Yourself is out 26th September 2025 via Sumerian Records