Originally written by Ty Brookman
Melodic Death Metal merchants, The Forsaken return with their followup to 2002’s Arts of Desolation. Upping the ante from a technical side of things,Traces of the Past incorporates the aggression of Manifest of Hate yet still embodies the proficiency of Arts of Desolation but ultimately finds the band progressing perfectly in their not too lengthy metal career. An album a year since 2001 and all three I can easily report are worthy as a motherfucker. Basically TF could eat Bjorn and his candy coated Soilwork for breakfast in terms of quality product spit forth in such a timely fashion. TF has stayed true to their sound and in turn have three albums brimming with merit and full-on integrity to show for it.
The first half of TOTP finds TF showcasing their more melodic side but still not falling off the ledge of mediocrity and/or sappy dual harmonies that usher in Chucky Cheese and his entourage for the big birthday bash down at the mighty pizza parlor. I guess one could even say TF has softened a bit in terms of blatant bruiser metal but where they make up for it comes by way of the composition itself. It’s quite apparent their songwriting is maturing into the thinking man’s game but may have a few longtime fans of the band miffed at all the noodling the guitars spit forth throughout the album. Depending on your tastes, this will either impress you that much more or you will fucking shake your head at where their progression has lead. I think the second half of TOTP will find the aggression junkies a bit more satisfied as it seems to contain a more straight forward death metal approach. Either way I find the album enjoyable from beginning to end due to its diversity and very apparent high-end musicianship. And yes this even includes theMetallica cover, “Blackened”. There is a bit for all within TOTP, from the astonishing lead work comparable to some on the latest Decapitated. To the riffs of absolute fucking steel that reach the level of Anata’s latest opus. At the root of the album of course lies the original Swedeath sound, the one that strengthened the scene not that long ago and the one you can still say with a straight face that you fucking dig!
Bottom Line: The Forsaken are great players, no matter how you spin the fucking bottle. The three records they have under their belt progress in a perfect fashion and in all actuality there isn’t much to rag on beyond the fact that they barely tour this shit. TOTP finds them making the next step in a direction that I am quite confident has made them all the happier as modern day metal musicians. I really have no fucking idea what the hell Century Media USA is doing with this album as far as an American release, but their lack of support on an album that has been laying around since November in other countries has me a bit confused and quite fucking bent. Get on the fucking ball and show The Forsaken some support, STAT!
