Sound: Like many other American metal acts that sprouted up from the underground in the last decade, God Forbid has fully embraced the sound of Swedish death metal. The New Jersey quintet’s four previous full-lengths have helped build them a respectable following throughout the world. Their potent mix of twin-guitars, driving drum patterns, and air-tight rhythms has always shown of a band with formidable playing chops. That said their earlier albums never fully delivered on the promise that their musicianship obviously had been hinting at. Their brand new effort, Earthsblood, is another animal all together. God Forbid not only arrives with the strongest material of their career, they also do it with a fluidity that makes it all look easy as cake. Siblings Doc and Dallas Coyle bounce one relentless riff after the other off each other like a true guitar duo should. They never seem to run out of interesting parts to play but more importantly, every new guitar riff complements the other. This is the kind of assured songwriting that usually comes with years of experience and the band come off like veterans. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: Frontman Byron Davis has a screechy vocal delivery but he manages to maintain a clarity that serves the band’s striking lyrics well. While he maintains this type of attack for most of Earthsblood, he also introduces a lot more melody through the use of cleaner vocals in sections. Sure, he’s far from the first person to go with this kind of approach in modern metal, but the way he adorns certain songs is a revelation. The vocals were produced by Fear Factory’s Christian Olde Wolbers and hiring a separate set of ears to work on this aspect of the group’s sound has paid off. The way Wolbers’s captures Davis’s chameleon-like performance is one of Earthsblood’s best attributes. We wouldn’t be surprised if the band elects to go with even more of the unaffected vocal style on their next album because Davis proves he has the skill to lead them in that direction. // 7
Impression: Dallas Coyle has been talking up Earthsblood in the press for months so expectations were rightfully high. Like a classic thrash release from the 80’s, God Forbid opens the album with a gorgeous instrumental. “The Discovery” was orchestrated by Michael Romeo, from progressive metal greats Symphony X, and features piano by Kevin Coyle (Dallas and Doc’s father). The album then continues with the sprawling melodic death assault of “The Rain” which sets the tone for the remainder of Earthsblood. The track is jam-packed with icicle-sharp guitar riffs, shifting tempos, and Corey Pierce’s thunderous drumming which brings to mind the work of Nick Barker (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir). Not only do these songs find the band firing on all creative cylinders, there are also some daring experiments on the album. “The New Clear” is the kind of thing you wouldn’t have seen God Forbid even trying to attempt on their earlier full-lengths. The song has a tribal rhythm running beneath it during the first section with Davis caressing it with a Mike Patton styled vocal. The song then unravels in a completely harsher direction revealing a wall of guitars and acidic vocals ending everything in epic fashion. Thrilling moments like this are all over the place on Earthsblood. It might have taken God Forbid five albums to find their footing but when the outcome is this strong, we can’t complain too much. // 8
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And i can say the album wasent bad. but i hoped for more!