Band:	Forsaken
Album:	Anima Mundi
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	October 2004

01. Kindred Veil
02. Sephiroth
03. The Poet's Nightmare
04. Whispering Soul
05. The Eyes Of Prometheus
06. Carpe Diem
07. All Is Accomplished

Forsaken come from Malta, an unusual location for metal, but they are everything but newcomers: 13 years of existence, a shitload of albums, EPs and demos, a deal with the Scottish label Golden Lake Productions, and finally their latest album to date, Anima Mundi. Two years ago they sent me their EP Iconoclast, which was good but had nothing really stunning, except a really brilliant song ('Via Crucis'). The rest was only a bit more than average. So my question is the following: what the hell happened to them? If Anima Mundi is not a breakthrough album, then I'll stop listening to metal and plunge happily into r'n'b. First look at this cover, and tell me it's not beautiful... First good point.

This album is brilliant. Smells like teen spirit. Seriously, it's an album made by young and enthusiastic guys, who want to prove that even when you come from a small country, you still can be talented. Of course it's really hard to be original in that kind of doom (everything's already been done by Candlemass and St Vitus among others), but Forsaken, with all the experience acquired in more than one decade, knows the game. The music goes from pure epic doom ('Kindred Veil'), to experimental stuff, like 'The Poet's Nightmare,' a tale told by Kevin Drake over a slow and heavy musical background. Majestic tracks with intense and elephantine pace, dark and doomy atmospheres, esoteric lyrics are mixed with a few more mid-paced songs, like 'All Is Accomplished.'

The strongest point of Forsaken is undoubtedly the vocals of Leo Stivala: clean, powerful, heavy and accompanied by occasional growlings, the guy is certainly talented, just like all the musicians. There's no garbage material on Anima Mundi, every song has its qualities, and what does it make in the end? A catchy album that every doomster must have. Whether you know them or not, I urge you to get an album that could as well become a classic... Why are you still reading? I said BUY IT!!

Highlights: Kindred Veil, The Eyes Of Prometheus, All Is Accomplished