There’s no danger of Forbidden Son getting Radio One airplay. Although the CD kicks in with a fairly sensible track clocking in at just under 5 minutes, tracks become progressively more lengthy with the final track almost double the length of the opener.
This Irish four piece who began life in 2005 are still relatively inexperienced, and this shows through in the music. There is the tendency for the musicianship to sound sloppy on occasions, although this is nothing that can’t be ironed out with practise.
The vocals are weak and a little too whiny for my tastes, and while I can’t help but think of Trivium with the riffing on Reflect the Night, and the fist pumping chorus of ‘Bleed’ there are some strong traces of more respectable metal influences in the sound. Guitar harmonies harken back to the sound of Iron Maiden in their early days, while ‘SOS’ has more of a Black Album era Metallica feel to it.
‘Arise’ begins with a dark and moody intro before kicking in with some mid paced thrash that reminds of Megadeth before the track picks up speed and becomes gradually heavier. This instrumental may be excessively long but it is heavy and catchy enough to ensure that it retains my attention till the end. There is no evidence of show-off guitar wankery or desperate attempts to out-solo each other here, just straight forward metal.
There is plenty of room for improvement and a lot of work still to be done, but Forbidden Son are heading down the right path.
http://www.myspace.com/forbiddenson
