Forsaken are a 6 member metal band that hail from Bangalore, India and have been pretty active ever since their formation in 2009.
and before i pigeon hole them into being a "contemporary metal band" playing "this" kind of metal" i decided to give a good listen to their album and here is what i really think...
Track Listing
1. Nothing (Prologue)
2. Alter Ego
3. DesolateD Dreams
4. Hemispheres
5. The Impossibility of Reason
6. L.I.E.S.
7. Unsterblich
Band Members
Shivam - Throat
Akshay - vox/Axe murderer
Owais - Skin Basher
Bharath - Axe murderer
Nakul - Ebony and Ivory
Sunil - Thick
Track Wise Postmortem
1. Nothing (Prologue) - is a 2:09 minute instrumental track which is mostly clean guitars with lots of reverb and delay and the accompanying bass work. it worked with me coz its got a lovely catchy hook to it. just wished it was longer with the whole band playing along. keeps the suspense levels high as what to expect from the next track
2. Alter Ego - probably the most played track on their set list, it starts with a keyboard intro and the ambient landscapes they painted in the previous opener track was pretty much shattered with some raspy vocal shrieks . The feel i get here is pretty much early 90's melodic death metal. Owais on drums gives the track ample groove to bang your heads to while the riffs are sharper than a cats claws
3. DesolateD Dreams - the intro and the feel of this track brought back fond memories of 1998 when i had first got to hear of bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility . Mid paced track, with oodles of feel and definitely a fav of mine...would love to check this track played Live! If this track got any slower it would have been kick ass Doom!
4. Hemispheres - The Album is called "Hemispheres" and you would think the track with the same name is going to be all balls out thrash and in ya face pounding metal! well, think otherwise, coz this 5:46 minute track starts off with their trippy dreamy heavy delay meets reverb clean guitars with the occasional short burst of crunching distortion. An all out Instrumental affair and totally surprised me! (and a tiny solo error at 5:07)
5. The Impossibility of Reason - another weird and totally different intro to begin this track, but things fall into place after a short while. has a very heavy Gothenburg feel to it throughout and riffs are pretty strong and infectious
6. L.I.E.S. - is the longest track on the album clocking at 6:45 and again has a subtle acoustic guitar intro with a solo played over it. and the clean vocals surprised me even further, almost making the entire track a power ballad. i say almost, coz the track gains momentum halfway and the guitar solos go all over the place, and u get to hear some growls at the end!
7. Unsterblich - finally, the last track here is OLD SCHOOL THRASH. like one of those lost gems which has been again discovered.The keyboards add a twist halfway and i totally dig this track and its been playing in my head for a long time now.
The production on this release is decent if not great. and the band is totally committed to creating music which they love and dont seem to bother much about trends which most bands today are only worried about.
Another feature which was pretty unique to me, all their tracks have a very unique vibe to them and when they say they are "different" from other bands, its pretty much obvious in the melodies, grooves and song structure that they truly are UNIQUE. The rhythm section and drums deliver the goods throughout the album.
and the coolest part , the entire album is available as a free download! No cribbing about how many long hours and painstaking jam sessions that went into recording the 7 tracks here, or No cheap ass gimmicks about buying their music to "support the scene" or any other bull crap.
and off course if the fans really like the music, then No harm in Buying it and genuinely showing support to the band.
a few suggestions
1. the mixing was not too good as some parts sounded louder than the rest , esp the vocals which should have 'blended in'
2. the guitarist should seriously concentrate more on 'phrasing' to avoid sounding too repetitive
well, its a free download! so stop the whining and listen to what is otherwise a very very good release. would love to see them live , coz in the end, being a band means playing live! anyone can create magic in the studios but the most important thing is , how cohesive they are playing LIVE.
and i am pretty sure they wont disappoint!
Cheers till the next postmortem session
My Rating
7/10
Album Review by Bed Pan Boy
check out Bed Pan Boy's tribute cover to Forsaken's track "Disengage" here
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