Forsaken - Anima Mundi
2004 - GOLDCD015 - Golden Lake Productions
By Philip Whitehouse
Malta is not a country particularly known for its thriving metal scene - in fact, the only other band from that fair land which springs to mind is
Beheaded - but if
Forsaken are anything to go by, it seems that what the Maltese lack in quantity of metal groups, they more than make up for in quality.
This is
Forsaken's second studio album since their formation in 1990, when they were simply known as
Blind Alley. Debut album
Evermore was released in 1996, and then it all went quiet until 2002's four-track
Iconoclast release. So, you couldn't really accuse
Forsaken of rushing out their albums, it seems. Still, considering
Forsaken's brand of crushing, epic doom metal generally resides in the slow, mournful hinterlands habited by the likes of
Candlemass and
Solitude Aeturnus, and further factoring in the fact that long-standing guitarist Daniel Magri died from a long-term illness in early 2001, this drawn-out approach to recording is pretty appropriate.
The music, as previously mentioned, is epic, atmospheric doom metal spiced up with influences from more traditional areas of the heavy metal world. Vocalist Leo Stivala intones the unusually literate lyrics in a prevalently dramatic, booming voice, occasionally switching to more traditional clean melodious singing. Every now and again, he throws in a booming death/doom grunt as well, such as on the dramatic climax to album highlight 'Sephiroth'. The guitars meld heavy-as-lead doom metal riffage with more melodic lead breaks, which intertwine with the tastefully-applied keyboards to create complimentary atmospheres of menace, bleakness and grief. All this is punctuated by the thundering rhythm section - rolling thunder drum-fills and growling, sub-sonic bass laying down the momentum and groove.
Occasionally, the album tends to drag under a seemingly forced atmosphere of medieval gloom - 'The Poet's Nightmare', for instance - a track where selected excerpts from H.P. Lovecraft's work of the same name are narrated over Gregorian chant-like keyboards for a minute and a half - could have happily been jettisoned. But for the most part, this is a great example of memorable, effective epic doom.
7.5/10
Forsaken Official Website
Golden Lake Productions Website
