Artist: Forsaken
Title: After the Fall
Type: Album
Label: I Hate Records
Maltese Epic Doomsters Forsaken now unleash their fourth album with tales of suffering and Christianity. This has taken me quite by surprise, just to state that this album has not been out of the stereo for over a week now, and I am still playing it! Right from the start ‘Aidenn Falls’ gets all the Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus – isms right up front, but not content with being followers, these Maltese chaps have enough energy and quality in their music to rise above even such titans as those mentioned and take the epic doom award for biggest impact. Majestic crisp vocals courtesy of Leo Stivala certainly give the album immediate owe-inspiration. With vocals thoughtfully laid down there are plenty of passages that are quite poetic, even if sometimes it appears that he has eaten a thesaurus!
‘Vanguards of the Void’ is a killer epic journey into hell and is a wonderful attentive 8-plus minutes long. This is the point I am trying to make, even though some of the tracks are quite long in duration, you simply cannot turn them off nor do you ever have to want too. The music keeps you perched on the edge of your seat and fuses sorrow with some chilling moments of genius. ‘Armida’s Kiss’ is another perfect example and stand out track. Although the album starts out terrific, things improve even more so as the minutes pass by. Not content with many a doom reference, the band excite us with some Dio inspiration and some classic metal guitar work. The whole album package excites so much it could be crafted from priceless ivory, right down to the magnificent artwork by Jowita Kaminska.
A timeless Doom classic right up there with albums like Nightfall, Beyond the Crimson Horizon and Born Too Late. If you thought ‘Death, Doom, Magic’ by Candlemass was good, blimey, you should really check this album out, you will love it, I for one certainly do.
http://www.forsakenmalta.com
http://www.myspace.com/forsakenmalta
http://www.ihate.se
Paul Maddison
MTUK HOME
