OC hardcore band Fury are releasing their debut record Paramount on Boston label Triple B Records this summer. Since coming together in 2013, the band founded a completely original aesthetic and take on hardcore at the hand of vocalist Jeremy Stith. A figurehead in the Yorba Linda DIY community and member of bands Pocketknife, Gem, and Layman, Fury is the primary focus of Stith’s energy. Being a part of some of the biggest moments in current hardcore like performances at America’s Hardcore Fest and this year’s return of Sound and Fury, the release of Paramount comes at a pivotal moment for the band.
Stith’s vocal performance on their debut track “Danse” is cutting and abrasive, setting the tone for the whole record. Taking notes from their contemporaries Give at Revelation Records with “Sonic Bloom” kicking off their latest release Electric Flower Circus, Fury wanted to make an immediate statement in the 1 minute and 19 second track. Coming from opposite ends of the country and a completely different approach sonically, the two bands share a similar attention to detail as hardcore entities.
On July 6th Fury is playing the first show of the Life & Death Tour in Chicago opening up for Los Angeles hardcore legends Terror and Triple B label mates Power Trip among others. This tour isn’t the first for Fury, but an accumulation of their hard work leading up to this point.
On the current state of hardcore in Orange County
Jeremy Stith: Madison [Woodward] has a place called Paradise Records in Anaheim that is a recording studio with a storefront that serves as a record store during the day. Every once in awhile he’ll put on a gig for friends in touring bands and recently had Gag play there when they were touring with Combat Knife. The average age of people at the spot must have been 16 or 17 years old and it felt like most of them were at their first Non-pro-core (for want of a better phrase) show or even their first show ever, and everybody looked like they just won the lottery, they were glowing. That night made me feel good about hardcore in Orange County at the present time. That and the new Discrepancy 7″ coming out on Youngblood soon. I think the OC has been a special place for hardcore over the years and don’t see that diminishing anytime soon, only growing and evolving.
On the recording process of Paramount and working with Triple B Records
Stith: We recorded the LP at the aforementioned Paradise Records out here in north Orange County a few months ago. After the 7″ came out, we toured a bunch over the next year following the release, and when things settled down we started giving more attention to a new record. I had been writing a bunch of lines and stanzas while I would be on my breaks at work and by the time Madison had finished writing the record with the rest of the guys, I had a lot to work with. The last record was monothematic from my end and it’s a dumb cliche, but I felt like I had more to say than what I did with the 7″ after it came out. There wasn’t a lot of discussion about exactly what we wanted the new record to be like, we just dove into it headfirst and went from there. Our friend and local future OC drums and recording legend extraordinaire Colin Knight helped engineer the record with Madison and it was the most comfortable experience I’ve had making a record.
Everything seemed to fall right into place and I can’t remember hearing the word “No” from anyone. It just seemed like we all had different puzzle pieces and they all seem to fit exactly right. I can’t put my finger on how or why it all worked how it did because the band has always been a mystery to me. It is a new roller coaster ride every time I get to play with them. I would always miss out on the previous recording processes because I would work during the day while they were tracking instruments, then I’d come and do vocal tracks late at night. Every song musically felt like what I’ve heard described in the literary world as a “brain voice” and it was frustrating in a way to me because I wanted to see how they did it, these new and at the same time familiar sounds. With this record, I was there for most of the process, and although I watched it happen, the music is now even more of a mystery to me.
As far as our relationship with Sam, [Yarmuth, owner of Triple B Records] we had mutual friends on the east coast and after hanging out, we all became fast friends. He feels like family to me and is just on the same wavelength as us. I can’t remember who brought it up first, but it was a no-brainer to do the record with Sam. He loves hardcore and I don’t think he realizes how impactful he has been for people like me who wouldn’t have opportunities to sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world if it wasn’t for him. I love this roller coaster.
