The Forsaken - Traces Of The Past
Century Media - CD 8218-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
The Forsaken have been treading the boards since 1998, when they were initially known under the rather Floridian-death-metal-monicker of Septic Flesh. Six years and two albums have seen the Swedish quintet gradually hone and develop their captivating blend of melo-death, hyperspeed thrash and blackened attitude into a potent and impressive sound. So, now that third album Traces Of The Past is upon us (after a mystifying 12-month wait for the USA compared to the rest of the world), how well do The Forsaken stand out amongst the myriads of contemporary competitors from their country?
Well, let's put it like this - take the best parts of At The Gates' Slaughter Of The Souls, Carnal Forge's latest release, In Flames' Clayman, a dash of Bay Area aggression and a smidgen of chilling black metal atmosphere, mix it all together with a healthy dose of technical knowhow and songwriting nous, wrap it in a flawless production and serve - there you have The Forsaken's new album. Every song is a breathtakingly well written exercise in brutal riffage coupled with technical yet memorable lead-guitar work, also showcasing Nicke Grabowski's enviable skills with the sticks and vocalist Anders Sjoholm's vocal dexterity. Not to forget Stefan Borg's four-string proficiency, of course!
Album highlights: 'Acid With Acid - Piece By Piece' starts from an aggressive thrash grounding, before the drum patterns and rhythms start jumping all over the place, a blast-beat here, some triplet-wristed machine-gun riffage there, then a solo that sends respectful nods Morbid Angel's way before returning to the 'swedeathrash' template so flawlessly it sounds like no change has been made. 'One More Kill' features a really cool ambient dissonance-based black metal chorus, while as the album progresses the brutality gets gradually ramped up with tracks like 'First Weapon Of Choice', which occasionally recalls a thrashier Meshuggah.
Then, as if all that isn't enough, the five bonus tracks show the band blazing through Metallica classics 'Blackened' and 'Creeping Death' (complete with partially-improvised solos and faster drum patterns, making the originals sound inferior), Slayer's 'Spirit In Black' and Grave's 'You'll Never See' as well as throwing in a track from the band's demo days.
Seriously, if you're even vaguely intrigued by the whole Swedish melodic metal thing, or you have a passing interest in the melodic death or thrash metal genres, you need this album. The complex songwriting never compromises the melody, the brutality or the flow of the album, while the production keeps everything crystal clear. Go get it, right now.
9.5/10
The Forsaken Official Website
Century Media Website
Century Media - CD 8218-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
The Forsaken have been treading the boards since 1998, when they were initially known under the rather Floridian-death-metal-monicker of Septic Flesh. Six years and two albums have seen the Swedish quintet gradually hone and develop their captivating blend of melo-death, hyperspeed thrash and blackened attitude into a potent and impressive sound. So, now that third album Traces Of The Past is upon us (after a mystifying 12-month wait for the USA compared to the rest of the world), how well do The Forsaken stand out amongst the myriads of contemporary competitors from their country?
Well, let's put it like this - take the best parts of At The Gates' Slaughter Of The Souls, Carnal Forge's latest release, In Flames' Clayman, a dash of Bay Area aggression and a smidgen of chilling black metal atmosphere, mix it all together with a healthy dose of technical knowhow and songwriting nous, wrap it in a flawless production and serve - there you have The Forsaken's new album. Every song is a breathtakingly well written exercise in brutal riffage coupled with technical yet memorable lead-guitar work, also showcasing Nicke Grabowski's enviable skills with the sticks and vocalist Anders Sjoholm's vocal dexterity. Not to forget Stefan Borg's four-string proficiency, of course!
Album highlights: 'Acid With Acid - Piece By Piece' starts from an aggressive thrash grounding, before the drum patterns and rhythms start jumping all over the place, a blast-beat here, some triplet-wristed machine-gun riffage there, then a solo that sends respectful nods Morbid Angel's way before returning to the 'swedeathrash' template so flawlessly it sounds like no change has been made. 'One More Kill' features a really cool ambient dissonance-based black metal chorus, while as the album progresses the brutality gets gradually ramped up with tracks like 'First Weapon Of Choice', which occasionally recalls a thrashier Meshuggah.
Then, as if all that isn't enough, the five bonus tracks show the band blazing through Metallica classics 'Blackened' and 'Creeping Death' (complete with partially-improvised solos and faster drum patterns, making the originals sound inferior), Slayer's 'Spirit In Black' and Grave's 'You'll Never See' as well as throwing in a track from the band's demo days.
Seriously, if you're even vaguely intrigued by the whole Swedish melodic metal thing, or you have a passing interest in the melodic death or thrash metal genres, you need this album. The complex songwriting never compromises the melody, the brutality or the flow of the album, while the production keeps everything crystal clear. Go get it, right now.
9.5/10
The Forsaken Official Website
Century Media Website
