God Forbid - Earthsblood

God Forbid are undoubtedly one of my favourite bands ever, and I truly believe they have some of the best metal around within the last 5-6 years. So this album was greatly anticipated, despite it having just about the hardest possible act to follow, with it coming after Constitution of Treason. So how did it turn out...

Well for starters, I'll be blunt by saying this not as good as Constitution of Treason. God Forbid's first albums were very thrashy, and focused more on being brutal than making tuneful, meaningful and unique music. Although this is not the same genre as those albums, I fear that the same habits are making their way back in as while the riffage is great and the drummer is still blasting out the constant rhythms which make verses very moshable, the melodic feel which made Earthsblood's predecessor so listen-able and each song so different and incredible in its own way is a lot less present. Songs such as Walk Alone and Empire of the Gun are the notable exceptions, and in my opinion are the best of the album, but listen to songs such as Shallow and you'll see that could be improved so much by some harmonic guitar solos and Dallas' clean vocals.

It's worth noting that the let-downs of this album mainly only apply to God Forbid's standards. They produce some outstanding stuff and this simply doesn't keep up, and I suppose it suffers the same fate as Wrath by Lamb of God; nothing could possibly top Sacrament just as nothing could top Constitution of Treason. As such, this album is still worth a listen as there is still an amazing sound, I would just say it's not the band fulfilling its potential. Would recommend more to modern thrash fans.

God Forbid - IV (Constitution of Treason)

I don't think that the old God Forbid records did the New Jersey thrash metal band any justice for what amazing metal they can produce. It got better with Gone Forever, but I think it is truly this album that brings out the flat out, heart pumping yet melodic thrash metal they can achieve. Whilst Reject the Sickness (1999) made them seem like a same-old type band, this album shows the real potential in progressive thrash. The riffs blend with insane drum patterns effortlessly, while Byron Davis' gut-wrenching screams complement guitarist Doc Coyle's singing to create 10 tracks of showing what metal is meant to be.

In addition to this, this is coming from someone who usually finds thrash boring and uncreative. While I still leave two tracks from this album to the die-hard thrash fans ('Into The Wasteland' and 'Under This Flag') the rest I find exactly what I love in metal: pure bona fide anger in a can yet combined with harmonies and well-constructed instrumental sections which you could listen to for hours. The first track 'End of the World' is one of the three singles released from this album and is definitely one of the best. It shows GF's pure talent for weaving riffs together to make serious headbanging shit. 'Chains of Humanity', another single has undoubtedly the best chorus in the entire album, and 'Lonely Dead' making up for it's slight letdown during verse with two minutes of stunning instrumental at both the beginning and end of the song, including an unusual piano interlude to finish it off. The song also has the best 'Forbid riff yet in my opinion. The album takes a sudden twist with 'Welcome To The Apocolypse', an unexpected tone down with a slow, emotional skit describing freedom being an act of treason in post-apocolyptic USA.


I giving this 5/5 without looking back. If it is bought with the DVD as well, it is worth every penny, as it provides not only an outstanding piece of seriously good metal but also an inspiring record for anyone starting to play metal guitar, drums or bass. Without a doubt one of the best albums I have heard.