Band: Forsaken
Title: After The Fall
Label: I Hate Records
Distribution: Twilight - Bertus
Release date: 01/04/2009
Review: CD

There are not so many internationally known bands from Malta, and besides the brutal Death Metal formation Beheaded, I think Forsaken might be the best known one. In fact, the Maltese Forsaken (I guess there are / were about ten Metal bands with that very same moniker) started in 1990. After a first demo tape and a 7”, both bringing an epic form of Doom Metal, the band recorded its debut album, Evermore (1997), which showed a more traditional Heavy Metal direction. However, the band’s sound returned to the early years-approach, proven on a few interesting new releases, Iconoclast (2002), Anima Mundi (2004) and Dominaeon (2005), which were all released through Golden Lake Productions.
The fourth full length, After The Fall, is not that different from any former material (except for the debut). The album consists of long (the average time of the songs, the intro Tenebrarum not included, clock almost seven minutes) and dynamic, somewhat ‘traditional’ hymns, yet one cannot ignore a modest honesty behind every track. This convinced performance, as well as the organic compositions and lyrics, dealing with biblical themes and Christian doctrines, are of a high quality. Forsaken easily succeeds to add the right elements at the right time to make every song worth listening to completely. All of these songs combine melody with a pounding rhythm and a heavy sound. Only a few times some Heavy Metal elements may appear, and some parts are just overwhelming - listen for example to Dies Irae (Day Of Wrath), with those enormous and huge riffs. After The Fall breaths from the spheres of the early nineties, and at the same time it sounds timeless.

85/100

Ivan Tibos.