So sayeth the eternal press release that doth hope for too much acclaim, kind sirs!

Seriously, this is not the worst thing to come down the pike in ages, but it is not the most original or inspired, and certainly not the best, either. Is it "powerful"? Partially. Is it "majestic"? Sort of. Is it "epic"? Not really. Is it "extremely heavy"? Definitely not. Are the riffs "crunchy [and] stompin'"? Crunchy like breakfast cereal at times, but certainly not stompin’. Are the keyboards "eerie"? Well, no. Cheesy comes to mind. Are there "superb clean vocals"? The vocals are so-so and not even always clean. Is the album "rounded off with a top notch production"? Um, pretty much because all is audible. Can it "get much better than this"? No question.

This is not to say that the album is completely without merit, it is just that it does not measure up to the overly hopeful the press release. In fact, at times the CD is laughable, and I am not referring (only) to the pictures of the band members. "Misery, my lustful concubine" made me laugh aloud when I heard it. I had to check the lyric sheet. Maybe in Malta they are "veterans of doom metal" but this reeks of wannabe Goth 'Metal' a la Babylon Whores if force fed Queensrÿche by none other than Ronnie James Dio. The best moments aspire to be as good as the worst moments from Judas Priest's Jugulator – with a ton of cheese on top. Maybe that is not a fair assessment but the music of Forsaken just does not match the description at all. This is not doom metal. Electric Wizard, Evoken, and Warhorse are doom.

Parting shot: "Carpe Diem" sounds like Forsaken simply slowed down and lengthened a song from a Bronx Casket Company album. However, I will choose to listen to BCC. Maybe these so-called "veterans of doom metal" should go back from where they came.

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 51:54