God Forbid "Gone Forever" CD
[Century Media]
Ahhh, now this is good stuff. I hope this gets the band a bit more of the positive attention that they deserve, because this has even fewer melodic Swedish death metal influences in favor of more modern thrash ala Lamb of God (blending the old and the new) with a better grasp on the Meshuggah-esque rhythmic playing also exemplified on their last record. But more importantly the vocals are further expanding into a more distinct aggressive rasp with some awesome singing passages as well, and the songwriting has improved vastly. The core of their sound and their influences remains (including the killer solos), but they're putting things together in a more powerful and memorable manner, with a fucking amazing recording that totally obliterates their last effort. Everything sounds clean and crisp, and I love the guitar sound! I could stand to hear more bass or a bit more depth to the drums, but the vocals sound fucking killer and the guitars are perfect for this style. Opener "Force-Fed" kicks things off right away with the most memorable chorus on the disc, "Antihero" and "Better Days" borrow the melody of modern Swedish death metal and spice things up with the speed and energy of total thrash, "Washed-Out World" subtly blends in acoustic guitars against distorted chords prior to the pre-chorus, and a decent chunk of the title tracks sounds like it could've been on any decent San Francisco thrash band's late-80's LP. In addition to being printed on lovely matte paper, the artwork on this thing is fuckin' great. I don't know, something about it really has an excellent aesthetic that jumps out at me. The lyrics are actually sort of succinct and deal with the struggles of everyday life (and a few tackling issues related to war), usually including a hint of hope within some otherwise bleak passages: "And in the end I'll rise, Endured the event that should have been my demise, Looking forward to a new life, my second chance, In a candid instance I witness life flash before my eyes, My sense of purpose is encouraged by my will to survive..." Very cool. I'm not absolutely blown out of the water by this, but they're getting close. A definite progression is evident here. Their next record could be the big one. Thumbs up from me. (7/10)
Running time - 41:38, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Force-Fed, Antihero, Gone Forever]
God Forbid - http://www.godforbid.com

This review has been displayed 2103 times.