Artist: The Forsaken
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 1/23/01
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Title: Manifest of Hate Artist: The Forsaken Label: Century Media Release Date: 1/23/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
I loved this disc from the very moment I put it on. Manifest of Hate is a Swedish death metal juggernaut that melts your skin at first contact. And while it’s nothing that we all haven’t heard before, it is done extremely well. Every aspect of this album, from songwriting to production, is of a very high caliber.
Do you remember and long for the days of the mid 90s, and the explosion of Swedish death acts that continued on after the early Entombed years and fortified Sweden as a forerunner in the metal realm? Well if you do, this disc might be just what you’re looking for. Now that bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and The Crown have evolved their sounds and become a little less brutal, The Forsaken fills a nice void that was left by those bands that have moved on.
"Manifest of Hate is a Swedish death metal juggernaut that melts your skin at first contact." The riffs are relentless and captivating, showing an ability to make brutality and speed catchy at the same time. I think of this album as a perfect mix between The Crown as they are now, and the way they sounded when they were still Crown of Thorns. Brutally heavy and uncompromising, but thrash-like when it comes to hook. The vocals add to the overall punch, being thickly produced and dense, perfectly complementing the slash and burn attack. “Betrayal Within Individuals” stands out as the single track that encapsulates what this band is all about.
They also have a keyboard intro that sounds more like it belongs on a Cradle of Filth record than on this one. “Intro/Manifest of Hate” is a nice little break from the carnage, and of course we know it’s not COF because there aren’t the sounds of women in heat in the background, but I digress…
So if you’re not sick of this type of music, this album will be a great addition to your collection. I’m tempted to recommend it to everyone, but I can’t, just because you probably have a lot of discs that sound a lot like this one. I’m also tempted to refer to this band as The Foreskin, but I won’t do that either.
Death's Review:
I gotta confess: I just love riffs. And, no offense to Sabbath-inspired doom, but no sub-genres of metal ever had better riffing than thrash and speed.Eighties style. Testament, Exodus, Slayer, Megadeth, Destruction, Kreator, Forbidden, Violence, Flotsam and Jetsam -- I was weened on those riffs, and it was under their influence that I learned to play guitar.
Sadly, however, for a long period in the 90's, bands forgot about the riffs. With all due respect to exceptions like Morbid Angel, Nevermore, Iced Earth and Pantera, the bands who were all the rage in the 90's were into guitar-burying, multi-tracked and layered "atmosphere," or single-note harmony speed picking. Trust me, if there is an antonym to "riffage" out there, it is "atmosphere." Hey, I like Pink Floyd just as much as the next guy, but only because they were so fucking talented, catchy, intelligent, introspective and completely morose, all at the same time. Not too many other bands can really say that, now can they?
"Manifest of Hate is good, but somehow it doesn't quite capture my sustained attention." So what does all of this have to do with The Forsaken? Don't worry, I'm getting there. You see, in the last couple of years, the riffs have come back into vogue a little bit. Lamb of God shred with the best of 'em and youngsters like Decapitated carry the brutal death metal end of the torch, but for a while recently it seemed the real strides were being made by the new wave of Scandinavian death/thrash. Bands like The Haunted, The Crown and Carnal Forge picked up where At the Gates left off in the mid 90's and where some critics might say In Flames has gone astray in the new millennium.
You can now add The Forsaken to the Haunted/Crown/Forge list. Manifest of Hate comes right out of the box with great opening riffage ("Seers Hatred") which quickly grabs the listener's attention and immediately slays all within ear shot. At the Gates is back!!
Well, not quite. Manifest of Hate is good, but somehow it doesn't quite capture my sustained attention. I betcha I know why: (1) the vocalist has just enough of that Cradle of Filth, quasi-black metal screaming tint to it (maybe it's nothing black and it's just the screamed Scandinavian accent I am hearing?), and is otherwise doing nothing really particular of note; and (2) I have heard far too many European death metal bands incorporating a thrash element lately to get too excited about another one. Sure, these dudes are playing thrash, and I'm psyched about it. But trust me, this ain't San Francisco 1987. I do love some of the tracks, particularly the call and answer chorus part and the riff which closes the solo and starts the next verse of "Betrayed Within Individuals"; this stuff simply feels more powerful than many of the more meanderingly forced attempted melodic passages. But I can't help but think I'm mostly propping this band for what they are not: drenched in keyboards and covered in corpse paint.
"In my increasingly jaded heart I know I'm already bored with this." Believe me, the score I'm about to put forth probably isn't fair. I'm sure that upon past occassion I've given 4's to bands that probably aren't as cool. But I have to be honest: if you know what I'm into and where I coming from musically, and I tell you to run out and spend your hard-earned cash on this 'cause it's better than Testament's The Gathering or is the next evolution of At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, I'd be bullshitting you. 'Cause in my increasingly jaded heart I know I'm already bored with this, and I also know that you probably have three or four other CD's in your collection that you bought this year after reading about its thrashy greatness, only to put them on the shelf after a week and reach for something tried and true instead to satiate your thrash fix. So I'll go out on a limb, give a stingy score for a change and give The Forsaken three skulls. In the meantime, maybe I'll see them live and they'll prove me wrong. If so, I'll see you back here in ten months behind the link from the Two Year Anniversary score adjustments.
Hel's Review:
I didn't even know there was a Swedish death metal band called The Forsaken before this album arrived. Now, I not only do I know they exist, I'm hoping they'll come play in the U.S. soon.
"The vocals contribute greatly to the album - the vocalist possesses (or is possessed by) an impressive range of different voices to summon from." Yes, kids, more death metal. No, kids, this isn't a particularly revolutionary death metal album. Not revolutionary, but clearly far above average. The Forsaken have presented us with an entertaining and expressive Manifest of Hate.
The band members are talented, with the drummer providing an interesting backdrop over which the guitars paint mostly standard death/melodic death riffs interspersed with the occasional blistering solo. The vocals contribute greatly to the album - the vocalist possesses (or is possessed by) an impressive range of different voices to summon from.
While not extraordinary enough to knock me on my ass, few things are these days, as I continue to become increasingly jaded. The ultimate strength of this album is that there truly isn't a dull moment from beginning to end. This is one I wish I had more time with - it continues to grow on me with each listen. This band is definitely a keeper, and this record is a must for all death metal freaks (yes, like me). I look forward to more.
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