"Come on people, another band who simply want to give you their music. There are loads of them out there if you look hard enough and you'd be suprised how often little gems like this pop through the letterbox. Forena specialise in a tasty blend of dark brooding alt rock, taking say the tunes of Muse but adding the grit of The Wildhearts and dirtying it up a bit. All four tracks are slow burners that draw you in rather than going straight for the jugular, building atmosphere and then hitting you with some serious guitar action. Forena are unafraid to take the quiet route, allowing the songs to breathe, as on "Flames", in a way that is positively fragile at times. "Smother" on the other hand is more upfront, but never in your face screaming for attention, it's far more devious than that like a demon befriending you before ripping your heart out. A little rough around the edges as one would expect from a demo, but one can only wonder what they could achieve in the long run. Ones to keep an eye out for."
Reviewed by Grebo for the Vanity Project
"I don't know if it's my sheltered social life but there seems to be an absense of unsigned metal bands around. All the metal acts I come across seem to have loads of albums out and I can't remember coming across an unsigned act since I saw The Shock in Bristol in 1992. Just when I was beginning to think metal bands must appear fully formed from some sort of heavy metal vortex along pops a CD from Manchester youngsters Forena. The lines between rock, pop, metal, indie and alternative have always been blurred but there is no doubting where Forena are coming from. Opening track "Smother" explodes into life with thick guitars and a bassline that reminds me of Soundgarden, whilst lead singer Jason sings with voice that twangs and whines like a young Dave Mustaine. The songs have an interesting mix of classic metal riffs with more subtle Seattle sounding embellishments. The ballad "Flames" which follows the first track isn't as powerful as the other songs on this CD but then again rock and metal bands often find it hard to write light music with as much punch as their heavier material. Forena aren't perfect. They need to find their feet a bit but they are consistant in their song writing and seem to have a strong idea of where they are going. I like it that they have used various musical influences in their writing and are obviously open to numerous rock genres. Their music is hard hitting and intense stuff and it's great to know that there are young bands out there genuinely trying to produce credible metal music."
Reviewed by Emma Farrer for This Is Not TV
"Apparantley there's been some confusion regarding placing a genre on Forena's music. Genre's aside, this is a pretty effective set of songs. "Lay This Hate To Rest" begins with the song "Smother", whose almost tribal sounding drum beat really adds to the intimidation behind the theme of vengence. It is a bitter and introspective EP without coming across as pretentious. Forena have chosen to write about the strength of human emotions and the overwhelming forces surrounding them are reflected in the music. "Flames" is a deeply solemn song which, in it's introduction, sounds almost like a hymn. Its lucid vocals aided by the distraction in the lyrics serve to create a truly painful tone. Songs like "Hold Me Down", "Broken", "Smother" and "Flames" aren't exactly going to leave you with a grin on your face but this obviously wasn't the intention of the band when the CD was written. If you want to feel happy don't listen to this. However, if you're in the mood for a bit of good old fashioned self pity or you just fancy listening to a damn good CD, stick this on and you'll be surely satisfied. Extremely bitter sounding songs like "Broken" are laced with anger and this goes for the rest of the CD too, along with the intensely personal feel and a depth of melancholy so intense that it taints the tone of the whole CD. I've never seen Forena live and although I wouldn't usually be drawn to this kind of music, I'd be intrigued to see whether the band could pull off the kind of intensity they show on their CD live."
Reviewed by Tonia for www.freewebs.com/girlgerms
"Forena are epic.Sometimes in a Muse style. They play with tempo, sounds... well anything they can really. They can be called dark, extreme sometimes, but always with a point. As well as having very melodic points, they can also strum out some heavier things as well, giving them a unique, all round sound."
Reviewed by Fran for Dirty Pink and Blue
"Stockport's students union bar, a regular haunt of my past, and if I dare be so mean, I really would never have stepped foot in there again if it wasn't for the band I was about to see! FoReNa, 1 of 2 bands for the night, played an 8 song set, and I enjoyed every tune. Influenced by bands such as Muse, you can hear the thoughts and feeling of the band in the music. It's dark and moody, just the way it should be when you use the lyrics: "around me all I see is greed and hate, but you have signed and sealed your fate". Their music is a mix of slow, dark, thumping rhythms and mad thrashing guitar and drum. They are not afraid to play around with the tempo, and seem at home on the stage. I have seen them before at the Grand Central, but the sound tech wasn't up to much, so to see them play with some good noise control was a treat! I must say that my favourite songs tent to be the heavier tunes and if they beefed up a bit more then it's possible I would start stalking them! Please go and check out their website. There you can look at pretty pictures and browse the lyrics for their tunes. There are also some MP3's you can listen to, which are cool including On The Edge, 1 of my fav songs from the set."
Reviewed by Jen Shaw for www.cumbersomecucumber.co.uk
