Customer Reviews

Furious Angels

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I always rate good music on the chill factor - if I can feel goosebumps running up and down my spine, then I know it's wonderful music. I first heard, of course, "Clubbed to Death" in the first Matrix movie and wondered who the artist was. I eventually found my way to "Furious Angels" through searches for other music. I listened to the title track and fell in love. The tingly goosebumps were there for that song, as well as "Left me for Dead". I have a reputation for liking music that blends classical with techno (see Operatica if you like this), and this is absolutely fabulous. I have to admit, though, unlike most of the reviewers here, I like Dougan's voice. It does take a while to get used to it, but without it, the songs just seem that less interesting. However, do get the version of the CD with both the vocals and then the instrumental version in case you don't agree. I look forward to more of Dougan's dark orchestral pieces that have the same type of emotion that this CD has.

Honestly, read the reviews later, BUY THIS CD NOW!

It began with William Orbit. When he remixed Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings and it became a club classic, the wheels were set in motion for the inception of a new musical genre which fuses classical and modern sounds into a seemless symphony, dubbed 'Classikan'. With the success of 'Adagio for strings', some music producer had the idea to do that exact sort of thing as the gimick for a new band. In that spirit he gathered four of the most promising, and attractive, string performers from Europe's most prestigious music schools and created Bond. With the aptly titled first album 'Born', Bond exploded onto the international music scene like every other novelty band before them, with one major differance: they stuck around. But still, Bond has been little more than a novelty act with a lot of sex appeal for the last few years. Until now.
Rob Dougan's 'Furious Angels' is the work that finally solidifies the novelty into a legitimate genre. Bond, for all its genius, was still a revamping of classical music, the same is true for other similar artists, Sarah Brightman, Emma Shapplin, etc. Dougan has managed to take a full orchestra with original compositions and blend it perfectly with dark techno sounds. The result is a sound that is truly remarkable.

Disc 1
1. "Prelude', it's a chorus that sings a few bars. It's a basic introduction piece.
2. 'Furious Angels', "If you go, furious angels will bring you back to me". It's creepy like Sting's 'Every move you make' and savage with the desperation of a lover trying to hold onto every bit of their departing counter-part.
3. 'Will you follow me?', the instrumental anthem of some as yet unknown hero as he surveys the ashes of his first enemy fallen.
4. 'Left me for dead', listening to this song is like seeing the final scene of a modern, working-class 'Count of Monte Christo'.
5. 'I'm not driving anymore', partially inspired by 'Scent of a woman', is the most eloquent 'It's not you, it's me' break-up speech in the history of mankind.
6. 'Clubbed to death (Kurayamino Variation)' is not a remix, it is a variation. The strings that seduced us in the original now take the center stage as the techno-industrial sounds get leveled back.
7. 'There's only me', the strings are adagio, but the beats make your head bounce in a brilliant audio tension.
8. 'Instrumental', imagine watching the sun set behind a bank of clouds that stretches on forever, splaying out in deep lavendars, subtle golds, and ocean blues. That's what it feels like to listen to this song.
9. 'Nothing at all', my favorite track on the CD is ambient, mello, and a truly honest love song.
10. 'Born Yesterday', has a darkness and an intensity that would make Wagner throw up his habnds and say 'I'm done!' Lyrically, it's a very personnal account that most anyone can relate to.
11. 'Speed me towards death' has a very simple musical set-up to it, but the lyrics are heavy with an emotion universal to everyone who's graduated High School.
12. 'Drinking Song', is just that, a drinking song. Taking a lot of musical inspiration from late 19th century parlor music, it's the most down-to-Earth song on the album.
13. 'Pause' 31 seconds of silence
14. 'One and the same', brighter in tone than the rest of the album, it provides a nice accent to the darkness.
15. 'Clubbed to Death 2', same vibe, but remains disatinctive. If only movie sequels could be like this.

Disc 2 has instrumental versions plus an extended version of 'Will you follow me?' This will be a great saving grace to people who don't like Dougan's gravely vocals. Also, put on the second disc and watch Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' at the same time, it's freaky.

Rob Dougan starts the album with voices. Setting the mood for the entire album with a smooth yet eerie choir solo is "Prelude".

One note of the cello. He must hold that one note at the begining of the title track "Furios Angels" for 30 seconds. Slowly bringing in vocals the track soon builds up with violins and snare work until the beat drops with added falcetto vocals. The title track is simply amazing.

The next track "Will You Follow Me" is a symphonic piece without Rob's smoldering vocals, yet it does not lose his touch. An adventure of a piece that holds no places to lose the listener.

"Left Me for Dead" holds all the bitterness of a broken and torn relationship. Despise fills Rob's voice where, at some points in the song, he sounds to be singing through clenched teeth. Soothing strings in a minor chord fill swing in and out of Rob's vocals in a way Ive never heard before. A jazzy beat complemented by well timed cymbal work fills the backround and holds the overall mood of the song at a steady despise filled level.

"Im not Driving Anymore" is one of my favorite songs on the album. Starting with low cellos and some crafty digital effects he sets a somber mood for the duration of the song. Rob's usual rough vocals grab the attention of the listener just in time to hear the simple melody of strings pour out over the song. Driving strings take control of the song at times only for Rob to come back singing with more passion than before.

"Clubbed to Death" is the easily recognizable song from "The Matrix." A very simple yet driving strings melody takes half of the song while the other half is filled with notes running up and down the piano soothing the listeners ear.

"There's Only Me" starts of with a vinyl scratch and a yell. Calm strings move in only to be contrasted by Rob singing in a minor chord. Simple guitar mixes in to create a very somber and mournful mood.

Rob's "Insrumental" is a creative piece done entirly with strings. It is almost five minutes long yet never gets old or boring.

"Nothing at All" has a simple beat with bass and acoustic guitar providing the melody. It is a very nice change to ease the listener's ear in the middle of an album full of driving strings.

"Born Yesterday" is a slow steady song with string and accented with well timed snare work. Throughout the song, strings and piano build up until you have a driving violin feeding the listener. It then starts anew with a cello, drums, and vocals and builds itself up into the same driving violin meoldy. Falcetto vocals add a very nice touch to an already good song.

"Speed Me Towards Death" starts with fast paced strings that pours out energy over the contrasting down-tempo beat. Robs vocals flare throughout the song and seem to excite the strings. An electric guitar riff seems to mingle perfectly with everything adding to the urgent feel of the track. Horns are added in the second half of the song and keep the melody fresh.

"Drinking Song" is a ballad with Rob's gritty vioce over a piano with a string ensemble in the backround. Even with Rob's vocals, a feeling of care fills. A well timed "Pause" lets the listener catch up with themselves before the next song.

"One and the Same" pours out a feeling of love to inspire the listener.

"Clubbed to Death 2" goes back to driving strings. With a simple drum beat and melodic strings and piano, the listener is easily reminded of the origianl "Clubbed to Death."

Taking whatever stress and anger you have out of you with the first songs, this album calms you with the latter songs, and leaves you in a peaceful and tranquil mood at the end. Whatever the reason, whatever the way, Rob Dougan's Furious Angels is going to reach you.

Imagine composer Craig Armstrong venturing into techno music and singing with a raspy voice. The results would be "Furious Angels". I recently caught a commercial for Rob Dougan's US debut album on tv and my curiousity was piqued. When I found a promo copy of "Furious Angels" in the used cd bins recently, I decided to get it. Out of the three cds I bought that day, "Furious Angels" is the only cd that was actually enjoyable and worth listening to over and over. It took me a couple of listens for me to warm up to disc one. It wasn't so much of the music but rather Rob's raspy vocals that I needed to grow on me. I loved the blend of classical and techno arrangements. Disc two was absolutely wonderful. Rob's compositions reminded me quite a bit of Craig Armstrong, especially if you listen to disc two which contains instrumental versions of the songs on disc 1. I haven't seen either film "The Matrix Reloaded" or "Driven" so I don't know how Rob's music fit into either film. Although I enjoy disc one a lot, I have to say that I prefer disc two slightly more. There is a more haunting quality to the instrumentals compared to the vocalized versions. I did especially love Rob's gruff vocals on "There's Only Me" though. Great cd overall. I look forward to hearing more from Rob Dougan.

What? No one mentioned that this was the other half of Milli Vanilli? Rob Dougan was the cute one of Milli Vanilli, the band that was dethroned by lipsynching...well obviously Rob Dougan proved that he could truly sing. He may not have one of the best voices but neither did Bob Dylan. This album has star quality all over it. I am surprised that there has been no follow up from Rob Dougan but he made a fantastic album that club master DJ's still play! An awesome blend of trip-hop and classical with a great gothy feel. Yes, everyone should have this album, definitely night music, mood inducing sensual sounds!

Tired of listening to the same kinda music in the mainstream world? Check out Dougan's masterpiece in this great, unique album.

Alright, to start off, yes Mr. Dougan's voice is very different, think Tom Waits, but as raspy as his voice is, the emotion he manages to convey through it more than make up for it. The orchestration on this CD is brilliant, the instrumentals show the intricacy and time put into the music. I first heard of Rob through Clubbed to Death like most people, but the decision to buy this CD when it came out in the UK was the song "I'm Not Driving Anymore". The song builds to a cathartic release with Rob's voice providing all of the emotion needed to convey his point. This CD isn't perfect, some of the instrumental songs are a little to "happy", but this CD more than merits a 5-star rating.

It's hard to classify this into a specific category. A little electronica, a little pop, a whole lotta minimalistic string compositions. Whatever you want to call it, one thing is clear, this is a brilliant work of art that will undoubtedly be overlooked in America; it is ahead of it's time, released in a period where formulaic drivel rules the airwaves.

The stars here are "Clubbed to Death" and "Furious Angels". These best show Dougan's masterful use of strings, showing his trademark minimalistic 4 chord set. It makes your spine tingle at it's raw, emotional intensity. It is dark, simple, and complex at the same time. More importanty, however, is that it is absolutely beautiful.

I really looked forward to this CD since I heard Rob D. was coming out with one. So, of course I purchased it the day it was released and listened to it on the way home in my BF's car. At first we were surprised to hear vocals on 'Furious Angels'. I've heard several of Rob's remixes before, but didn't know he actually sang...if that's what you can call it. We liked the vocals on 'Furious Angels'; it added something to it that we had thought was missing when we first heard the instrumental on the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. But after the third song, Mr. Dougan's gruff, raspy, tone-deaf voice began to grate on our ears. Which is rather unfortunate considering how wonderfully beautiful and moving the music is. The problem is this- his voice contrasts too much that I think it detracts rather than adds to the music. But luckily, an instrumental CD was added and this CD alone is worth the price. Heck, I would've paid $.. just for 'One and the Same' or 'Will you follow me?', it's so good. Very uplifting, massive and inspiring, the instrumentals are. Not many electronic artists rely so much on an orchestra for sound, but it's good to see many more are realizing how beneficial that can be (Hybrid is very good at the dance/orchestra/electronic thing as well). I'm just disappointed that the vocal versions of the songs are so irritating. My advice for Rob- do what many other electronic musicians do: hire others to sing. It works for Delerium, The Crystal Method, Hybrid, Etc. Other than for Rob's raspy 'singing' voice, this is one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to. I put this on as I drive my 40 minute commute to my ... retail job, and for 40 minutes- everything is alright. Rather than going to work, I feel I'm beginning some wonderous journey. Buy this album, even if it's just for the instrumentals - it's worth it!

Rob Dougan's Furious Angels is a remarkable album. First, if you are going to get it, make sure to minimally aim to buy the double CD (which includes a second instrumental-only CD). If you can, try to spring the extra few dollars for the enhanced double CD, which includes a gorgeous, artsy accompanying booklet with lyrics and photos. BTW, the second CD also includes the remarkable videos of Clubbed to Death and Furious Angels.

Dougan's music is a unique blend of classical, electronic, and pop. The instrumental CD gives a much better feel for the actual quality of the music and I find myself listening to the instrumental CD more than the first CD. Dougan has an interesting, somewhat gravelly voice. It works well on Furious Angels, but can get a little irritating on other tracks.

I have to admit that I there is a touch of the teen-angst spirit in these tracks which made me laugh, or at least roll my eyes a bit. Furious Angels begins with the lines, "Like a sentence of death/I've got no options left", plus you have songs with the following titles: Left me for Dead, Clubbed to Death, Speed me Towards Death, etc. OK, I admit it. With the high drama of the music and song titles like that, it could be considered a tad pretentious.

But for all the quibbling, this is my favorite current listening album. Furious Angels and Clubbed to Death are the strongest tracks. If you liked them, then get this album. You will not be disappointed.

Note to Rob Dougan: We are looking forward to your follow-up album(s)!!