God Forbid hail from New Jersey, USA. They play a hybrid of modern thrash, melodic death and metalcore. The band formed in 1996.

GONE FOREVER (2004) CENTURY MEDIA

God Forbid was an entirely new acquaintance for me, when I received this album for reviewing. A quick check on the net showed that 'Gone Forever' is their 3rd full-length album. Their label have chosen to market the band as "the new wave of American metal", whatever that means. To me they sound like a mix of most bands in the extreme side of metal during the last decade or so. I'm not talking about the black metal scene, but rather anything from the modern thrash metal, ala Machine Head and Pantera, through the melodic death metal bands, such as Arch Enemy and In Flames, and with hints of the recent wave of metalcore/nu-metal bands, ala Korn and Slipknot. What grabs my attention is their ability to write melodic passages greatly rooted in the traditional metal, yet delivering it in such an aggressive and modern way. They are not afraid to use shredding guitar-solos and duel leads. But at the same time they also play riffs that are so heavy (in every sense of the word), they can knock down a brick wall! Add to this the guttural growls, and occasional clean vocals, delivered convincingly by Byron Davis. I'm not sure that the band, despite my immediate likening, will get the recognition they deserve. Both the name of the band, and the artwork on the album, are quite misleading. I would never have given them a chance if I were not given this promo for free. But I'm glad I did, as I've spent numerous hours listening to this album. So give it a try, if you get the chance.

Killer tracks: Force-Fed, Antihero, Precious Lie, Living Nightmare, Gone Forever