Spring Break
God Forbid deliver good, not great, album
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Focus
After the opening instrumental track on God Forbid's latest release, "Earthsblood," you get a feeling as to what kind of album it's going to be. With a deep and demonic yell, frontman Byron Davis makes his presence felt, and then the band proceeds to tear your eardrums out on what is one of the album's most kickass tracks.
But around three and a half minutes into "The Rain," when the song feels done and sounds it as Davis melodically whispers as all instrumentals fade, "And in this moment, right here and now / I can't stop the rain," the song kicks back in for another two minutes.
And that right there is the best way to describe God Forbid's fifth album: It's great for a while, but ultimately overstays its welcome.
Musically, the songs are great. Production values have certainly been ramped up - as the band continues to make its rise on the metal scene, it must be getting more money toward actually putting the albums together - and it helps a lot. Everything just has a bigger sound, but sometimes it feels as if the group is overdoing it. Of the album's 10 songs, five are more than six minutes long (title track "Earthsblood" clocks in at nine whole minutes) and you run into the same problem with "The Rain" - it sounds great for the most part, but it doesn't progress anywhere after the three-minute mark.
The band's best work can be found on the half of the album under the six-minute mark. The album's opening instrumental, "The Discovery," is the calm before the storm that is making its way back into major metal albums again (much like last week's superb Lamb of God album, "Wrath"), but God Forbid opts for a more epic approach with ominous riffs, violin and deep, pounding drums. This then makes a great transition into the aforementioned "The Rain."
"Empire of the Gun" ranks among the brightest spots on the album. The vocals are cleaner, but still have some of that metalcore grime, and the music boldly stampedes on. "The New Clear" slows the pace down with a darker, almost beautiful, vibe - it's quite stunning.
While it can be argued that God Forbid isn't another metalcore act selling out to formulas that sell albums and would much rather craft seven-minute metal epics where melodies soar, it only works if the group can entertain the listener for the full time. It's an admirable effort - a good album that is wonderfully crafted - but it is definitely not what the band needed to propel it into the spotlight.
But around three and a half minutes into "The Rain," when the song feels done and sounds it as Davis melodically whispers as all instrumentals fade, "And in this moment, right here and now / I can't stop the rain," the song kicks back in for another two minutes.
And that right there is the best way to describe God Forbid's fifth album: It's great for a while, but ultimately overstays its welcome.
Musically, the songs are great. Production values have certainly been ramped up - as the band continues to make its rise on the metal scene, it must be getting more money toward actually putting the albums together - and it helps a lot. Everything just has a bigger sound, but sometimes it feels as if the group is overdoing it. Of the album's 10 songs, five are more than six minutes long (title track "Earthsblood" clocks in at nine whole minutes) and you run into the same problem with "The Rain" - it sounds great for the most part, but it doesn't progress anywhere after the three-minute mark.
The band's best work can be found on the half of the album under the six-minute mark. The album's opening instrumental, "The Discovery," is the calm before the storm that is making its way back into major metal albums again (much like last week's superb Lamb of God album, "Wrath"), but God Forbid opts for a more epic approach with ominous riffs, violin and deep, pounding drums. This then makes a great transition into the aforementioned "The Rain."
"Empire of the Gun" ranks among the brightest spots on the album. The vocals are cleaner, but still have some of that metalcore grime, and the music boldly stampedes on. "The New Clear" slows the pace down with a darker, almost beautiful, vibe - it's quite stunning.
While it can be argued that God Forbid isn't another metalcore act selling out to formulas that sell albums and would much rather craft seven-minute metal epics where melodies soar, it only works if the group can entertain the listener for the full time. It's an admirable effort - a good album that is wonderfully crafted - but it is definitely not what the band needed to propel it into the spotlight.
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