(Vidar/Taliesin/F(t)M/Massengrab) / june 2001.
This is a cd-r opus with a pro kover ! They play black industrial musik and their madness could reach all of you when you need other sounds than typical "pure" black metal musik. This is experimental sometimes, of course. But the whole still remembers their black metal influences. A lot of samples are there to strengthen the structure. This is very dark and mzrtizl with the machines rythms use : sick and great ! Very tortured. When you listen to Darkthrone, In Slaughter Natives, Laibach or G.G.F.H. and Rammstein you should have to listen to Forge too. Are you ready to musikal war ? So, listen to their message written on their cd : "In truth hell you that daily visit to museums, libraries and academies are, for artists, as damaging as the prolonged supervision by parents of certain young people drunk with their talent and their ambitious wills. When the future is barred to them, the admirable past may be a solace for the ills of the moribund, the sickly, the prisoner. But we want no part of it, the past, we the young and strong futurists".
Forge - The World's Only Hygiene / 2001 - self-release
Forge is a four-man outfit of extremely intense, creative and hateful industrial/black metal unlike any other I've heard thus far. Right from the beginning you can tell it is going to be different. This band contacted me about sending their promo and I'm glad they did. Forge demonstrates some incredible creativity here, as well as maintaining the brutality one would expect from true black/industrial metal. Harsh, Norse-style black metal vocals rage forth overlaying truly ingenious industrial/black metal rythyms that are as refreshingly creative as they are intense, keeping attention strongly rooted on both their music and its atmospheres. Synth, samples and effects are used throughout and are used tastefully; meaning they are not over-done nor just 'thrown in' for effect. They are used like an arsenal of audio weaponry, trampling any signs of light, love or musical conformity into dust. There are times the music has a definite maniacal feel to it and/or frenzied feel that is executed with great precision, yet without sounding 'mechanical'. There is strong conviction behind Forge's music; its can be 'felt' as well as heard.
The black metal riffs on this album in themselves are strongly influenced by industrial beats and rythyms, giving their music the black metal atmospheres of cold, hateful, mysterious & darkly emotional essences; tastefully written with excellent usage of intense and moody notes, and utilized where necessary and thats all. The entire album follows such a writing style, which is extremely commendable: riffs are used where they will have the most effect, then they move on. This does a few things, one of which is to keep the music from becoming monotonous. The second thing is that the uniqueness and power of each riff is much more powerful and appreciated as it is not 'over-done'. There are some definite strong atmospheres on this album, ranging from hateful to grim to mounrful to at times straight-out maddening, maniacal & twisted. Yet, at all times throughout the album from beginning to end, it never strays from the raw, untamed black metal 'feel'. Production for this album and what they have created, in my opinion, is perfect for their style. Raw, yet 'understandable; all instruments clear enough to be heard, but raw enough to maintain the undeniable hateful essence behind the music. Punishing down-beats, double bass spurts both slow and fast, slower industrial beats... all tastefully composed, and none lacking power. Actually, the further along into the album one listens, the more intense it seems to get, at times exibiting a little more of the black metal influence in their beats. Always though, they maintain the industrial feel to their music and find very powerful and creative ways of melding the two genres together successfully.
Forge is, without a doubt, an extremely talented and creative band who have managed to bring together, extremely intensely I might add, the genres of industrial and black metal; molding them into an intense miasma of seething hatred, intense atmospheres and tastful composition. This seven-song, twenty-two minute demo is definitely worth obtaining