Reviews list for God Forbid - Gone Forever (2004)

I was first introduced to the band God Forbid at Mayhem Festival 2009 when myself and some of my more metal friends took the trip across the border from Ontario to Michigan. We had been to Mayhem Festival the previous year when they visited closer to home, but this time we had to do some cross border shenanigans. They played the same stage as Trivium and All That Remains; both bands I was quite familiar with ahead of time. I thought "oh cool a new American metalcore band to dive into. Then I listened to the music and was immediately turned off.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that GF (God Forbid) had talent, but one listen to Gone Forever and you could tell that this band wasn't performing at full capacity. They could write solid hooks and the overall compositions were thoroughly constructed, but to expand these concepts beyond the initial honeymoon phase, God Forbid transforms into a painfully generic melocore band. Like those bands who played Mayhem Festival with GF in 2009, they would use decent song structures, breakdowns did not serve as interjections, and they could write an above average chorus. Unlike Trivium and All That Remains, this consistency does not pan out for an entire album. "Antihero" and "Force-Fed" start the album quite strong, but by the time we get to "Soul Engraved", "Judge the Blood" or even earlier songs like "Precious Life" you can see that the well runs dry fast.

And it isn't helped at all by the clean vocals. If they had ditched the clean vocals entirely, Gone Forever could have been an above average 2000s melocore record. But GF's clean vocals are so sheepish and non-committal. It's the kind of raspy singing you expect to hear out of Rob Flynn. Similar metalcore bands would have clean singing also, but those vocals were a clear counterpoint to the harsh screams; whether it be dual vocal acts like The Devil Wears Prada or Alexisonfire, or the rare vocalist that could do both by themselves (i.e. Howard Jones, Matt Heafy). On Gone Forever, GF are trying to cash in on a trend to get popular, but can't even do it correctly.

If Gone Forever sounded closer to an Unearth album like The Oncoming Storm or III: In The Eyes of Fire without any clean vocals, we might be telling a different tale. That still wouldn't change how this album loses momentum halfway through, but at least it would be slightly more tolerable to listen to. God Forbid fall into the singles band territory, where their best songs are the ones promoted by the record label and radio. After those however, you won't miss much.

Best Songs: Antihero, Washed Out World, Living Nightmare

Before I've even heard of this band God Forbid, the only song I knew with the title "Gone Forever" is a song by one of my alt-rock/post-grunge-loving brother's favorite bands Three Days Grace, and when I heard that song when I was much younger, long before I started listening to actual metal, I thought, "Mm, good song." Little did I know, over 5 years later, I would be listening to another song and album titled by "Gone Forever" that I think it's way better!

First off, that cover artwork by the legendary Travis Smith is really impressive, showing an eagle in apocalyptic background ruins. 3 years after the melodeath-metalcore Determination, God Forbid came back with their third album Gone Forever with a higher style range of classic thrash influences added to their hardcore.

"Force-Fed" opens the album with thrashy melodeath riffs until the destructive screaming from vocalist Byron Davis comes in. This track shows God Forbid's melodic sense inspired by Killswitch Engage, while the heavier mosh-like parts with more of Byron's screaming really kicks a**. There's also some hymn-like clean singing. And in the end, there's a true heavy metal guitar solo! The second track "Antihero" is one of my favorite songs from this band. Melodic guitar leads cuts through my eardrums to the point of breaking them until it makes way for shattering mid-tempo moshing riffs with sweet angry vocals. Then it's back to the Arch Enemy-like melodeath/thrash mayhem! The clean singing is more prominent in the chorus of "Better Days", taken from its eponymous EP released a year earlier. That song has such an upbeat riff.

"Precious Lie" also has a somber clean chorus surrounding heavier verses, but that makes the song a little too predictable. At least the short solo is nicely unique. "Washed-Our-World" has more predictable clean vocals, but once again there's good riffs and a well-done solo. That song can be a bit draggy due to its length, but it still has some good stuff. "Living Nightmare" starts with a Trivium-like opening riff. The song goes on decently until an awful breakdown at the end of the second third of the song which gets wiped away by awesome solos and an amazing melodic thrash ending.

"Soul Engraved" is a killer song with catchy riffs. What really helps it stand out is the clean chorus by guest member Thomas Cummings, later known as Bad Wolves vocalist Tommy Vext, and Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis performing an awesome shredding solo which unfortunately fades out when it's still great. The title track is another awesome song with a good soloing. "Judge The Blood" has a great piano intro, good riffs, melodic solos, clean vocals, and invading breakdowns, all in a decent dish.

HOLY COW!! What an outstanding album! Gone Forever is an aggressive mix of thrash, melodeath, and hardcore you just gotta get. And it's a nice pump-up before the even better IV: Constitution of Treason. GO GET IT!

Favorites: "Antihero", "Better Days", "Living Nightmare", "Soul Engraved", "Gone Forever"