Fornax Chemica: Chemical Furnace

By Jacob Connor

Beautiful artwork, impeccable credentials, awesome musicianship.
Houston, we have a problem. Fornax Chemica are a progressive
alterno-metal guitar band. ‘Chemical Furnace’ is an epic sonic assault
in four movements, recorded and mixed in Weed, CA and produced by
Sylvia Massey, who helmed Tool’s ‘Undertow’ and many other important
records. Therein lies the Chemica rub, the set is so reminiscent of
Tool it could almost be a tribute act. The tones and arrangements so
echo ‘Enima’ you can virtually pick cribbed riffs from Hooker with a
Penis or Third Eye. Clambering over this not inconsequential hurdle,
the long form song format invites the listener to climb aboard the
snaking structures and take a trip. The instrumental suite is
assembled a bit like a classical overture, with fugues and themes
recurring. There are all manner of tricksy timing and syncopation
changes and some quite sublime double kick action. Hypnotic to a
degree with punchy band stabs, these compositions would undoubtedly be
transportive in a live context. Accelerated Decrepitude veers into an
industrial/ambient sound collage of pick scraping and echo effects.
The three-piece (Corey Friedlander, Simon Ross and Caleb Thompson) are
clearly talented, have major label (Universal) support and are playing
some profile gigs. I still have an aftertaste of creeping derivation.

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NZ Musician

August/September 2010