Forsaken
One of the best doom metal
releases for 2005 came from Forsaken, a band from Malta that released a
real diamond, namely “Dominaeon”. This is a very good and well taken care
of album that will surely enthrall you at its beauty and depth. So, why
don't you have a taste of it?
1. HI! FIRST OF ALL I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL ME
WHAT HAPPENED TO FORSAKEN FROM THE RELEASE OF “ANIMA MUNDI” TILL NOW…
Hello Christine. After the Anima Mundi release
we were receiving a lot of positive reviews and also answered a couple
of interviews on various on line and printed magazines. Overwhelmed by
these results Golden Lake Productions offered us a two album deal which
we signed. Later on we flew back to Germany and played in the Headbangers
Open Air 7 festival. This was an awesome experience for us which continued
to establish Forsaken in the European underground metal scene. At the same
time we continued to play locally as much as we could to promote Anima
Mundi and sell as much we could from our merchandise so that we could pay
the studio expenses. Golden Lake re-released our first 1996 album
“Evermore” with a different cover artwork and an extra bonus Black Sabbath
cover version of Neon Knights.. In September 2004 Mario (keyboards) left
the band because he could not cope with our rehearsal schedules. Moreover
Anima Mundi and Iconoclast were released as a double vinyl release by the
German label Immortal vinyl records. Eventually we started writing
the tracks for the new album which was subsequently called “Dominaeon”.
The whole of June 2005 was spent at Temple studios recording “Dominaeon”
and in November 2005 “Dominaeon” was released and launched with our presence
on the bill at the Keep It True festival in Germany. This was also an unforgettable
metal experience for us to play at such a cult event. Now we are playing
again locally to promote this new album and again pay more studio credits,
and at the same time planning to hopefully play abroad later this year.
2. OUR SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS ON “DOMINAEON”!
IT’S ONE OF THE GREATEST DOOM METAL ALBUMS OUT THERE! HOWEVER, LET’S SUPPOSE
THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO REVIEW THE ALBUM. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE
AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE?
Cheers for your opinion on “Dominaeon”. Well
I guess it would be a bit difficult to review your own material but I shall
try this out. Here it goes…….
“Forsaken from Malta have released their third
album “Dominaeon”, again on the Scottish underground label Golden Lake
Productions. This time the band is Keyboard-less and I can say that the
guitar sounds much more on the forefront of the overall production and
gives a much heavier touch to all the tracks of this release. Dominaeon
is much more doom metal oriented and the heavy/power metal touches present
on its predecessor “Anima Mundi” are practically absent from this release.
The band have also experimented by using real male choirs on the tracks
Obsidian Dreams and The Celestial Alchemist giving a more mystic touch
to the overall atmosphere and epic concept of the album. In my opinion
this is the best Forsaken release so far on all fronts as regards to songwriting,
production and presentation, so all of you who really enjoy True Epic Doom
Metal have to get hold of this release”. What do you think about that?
It’s the very first review I have ever written in my life.
3. GEORGE IN HIS REVIEW WAS UNABLE TO FIND A FLAW
ON YOUR ALBUM. HE THINKS IT’S ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S
THE WORST PART OF YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
This is again very difficult for me to point
out. All I can say is that the four of us in the band do our best to release
the best music we can, then it’s up to the fans and media to judge what
is good and what is crap. Until now the reviews we have received for “Dominaeon”,
namely the review on this webzine written by George “The Volt” Tassis,
have all been very positive and this fills us with courage and determination
to continue on this road we have been travelling on for nearly 15 years.
During these years it’s been a very uphill struggle for Forsaken to gain
some sort of recognition but with hard work and perseverance all is possible
and now we are sowing the seeds we rooted during these years. Honestly
I think it is difficult for me to pin point the best and worst parts in
our music.
4. I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL ME FIRST OF ALL A TYPICAL
FORSAKEN SONGWRITING PROCESS. ARE THOSE GEMS A ONE MAN’S WORK OR IS IT
A COMBINATION?
Our song writing process is not always the
same. Sometimes Sean (guitars) comes out with a set of riffs on which we
construct a song and then I adjust the lyrical content. Or it could be
the other way round. Albert or myself come up with a set of lyrics, and
then as a band we write the music fitting to the lyrical theme of the song.
This happened most of the times while composing the “Dominaeon” songs.
“Dominaeon” is a conceptual album and in the majority of the cases the
lyrics of a song were ready and we wrote the song according to the lyrics.
Lyrically “Dominaeon” was written by Albert (bass) but on “Anima Mundi”
I wrote the lyrics to Carpe Diem and All Is Accomplished. Musically everyone
gives his ideas and we really like to work as a band.
5. “DOMINAEON” IS BY FAR YOUR BEST WORK TO DATE.
SO, WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? I MEAN DO YOU THINK THERE IS STILL SPACE FOR EVOLUTION?
DOES THIS GREAT RESULT FRIGHTEN YOU OR FILL YOU WITH ANXIETY ABOUT YOUR
FUTURE COMPOSITIONS?
Yes I believe it is our best release on all
fronts. We already have some plans as regards to our next release and there
are already some riffs idling around which I am sure that they can build
soulful doom metal tracks. Definitely there is space for more evolution
and I believe there is still so much doom left in us to be unleashed. When
we released “Anima Mundi” we were very pleased with its acceptance in the
metal scene and we were a bit frightened as regards to whether we are going
to exceed “Anima Mundi” or not. But I feel we were successful in this regard
with “Dominaeon” and now we are more than excited to start composing the
new album. Whether it will exceed “Dominaeon” or not I cannot tell but
what I can assure you that we will again put all our soul in the compositions
and do our best to give the fans a good release.
6. LEO, YOUR SINGING PERFORMANCE IS REMARKABLE.
TO QUOTE GEORGE’S REVIEW “GODLIKE”. WELL DESPITE THE NATURAL TALENT AND
INCLINATION ONE MUST HAVE, WHAT GIVES YOU INSPIRATION TO INTERPRET THE
SONGS THE WAY YOU DO? TO PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN
MIND OR IMAGINE WHILST SINGING THE SONGS?
I have been the vocalist for Forsaken from
our first days and this has helped me a lot to improve on all that I sing
for the band. I feel that I have developed my own feeling and identity
as a vocalist, obviously I don’t negate my influences, and when composing
songs in our garage I immediately know how I have to place my voice. The
first thing I do is get the overall theme of the song by discussing its
lyrics with Albert and according to what is going on musically I will match
my vocal lines. I always try to convey a variety of emotions with my voice
like belief, pain, anger, hope and sadness. In the Evermore era I was experimenting
a lot with my voice by using Ozzy and Wino-like vocals, but now I am strictly
concentrating on a more Epic-Doom voice which is basically the style which
I feel is more natural and comfortable for me to sing and obviously
suits the band’s present and clear direction.
7. BY THE WAY WHAT DOES DOOM METAL STAND FOR YOU?
IS THERE ANY OTHER GENRE YOU COULD PLAY, EXCEPT FOR DOOM?
For us doom metal is our true musical expression.
We have various different musical influences in our music but I strongly
believe that our basic root in our songs is Pure Epic Doom Metal. Doom
Metal is such an integral part of ourselves and I believe that it is one
of the best brands in metal where you can show your true human feelings.
We look at Doom metal as being a very pure positive form of musical expression.
Well I guess we can play any kind of music if we want but this will never
happen in Forsaken because we are definitely proudly bound to Doom Metal.
Personally if I was obliged to choose another form of metal to sing I would
choose traditional heavy metal ala Judas Priest, Armored Saint, Mercyful
Fate Saxon etc etc etc.
8. WHY DID YOU GET RID OF KEYBOARDS ON “DOMINAEON”?
ARE THERE ANY ELEMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO EXPERIMENT WITH OR ADD IN THE FUTURE?
Some problems started to develop as regards
to Mario’s dedication to the band. Mario’s main problem was that he could
not cope with our rehearsal schedules. Apart from playing keyboards with
Forsaken, he was and still is the founder member and guitarist of another
band called Weeping Silence. He was either very late or absent for the
only one rehearsal we do every week. Due to the fact that we started and
had to finish the song writing for the new album that same year, he either
had to choose between the two bands or straighten up his situation. After
months of waiting for a change in Mario’s attitude, the situation remained
the same so we took the decision ourselves on very friendly terms and eventually
decided and told Mario that he had to leave the band. We still meet Mario
in gigs locally and are planning to play with Weeping Silence in the future.
Mario has fully understood our decision and accepted it. On “Dominaeon”
we experimented with a real male choir. Honestly till now we don’t have
any new ideas for experimentation as the writing of the new album is still
in a very premature stage.
9. COULD YOU PLEASE DESCRIBE THE COVER ARTWORK
FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET? I THINK IT’S GREAT! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR IT? OH AND I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT LANGUAGE IS THE ONE WRITTEN
IN THE BLACK SUN. DOES IT MEAN “DOMINAEON” TOO?
Basically, the cover depicts the hidden God
as a dark mystical circle (signifying infinity) enveloping the Hebrew Tetragrammaton
JEHOVAH...which is the name given to God in the Greek Christian scriptures.
Rays of light emanate from the circle and fall upon and blind the
Angel of Light (Lucifer) pictured in the centre of the artwork. The cover
artwork is oil on canvas painted by the Polish artist Jowita Kaminska.
She has painted cover artworks for great bands like Exodus, Manilla Road
and Attacker. We met Jowita for the first time at the Headbangers Open
Air festival in Germany back in 2004. She liked our show a lot and showed
interest in giving some sort of artistic contribution to the band. After
a couple of emails to decide how much she will get paid for her work we
agreed that Jowita would be commissioned to do the cover artwork for “Dominaeon”.
Albert gave her the lyrical concept meaning of the album and after a multitude
of sketches and changes in ideas for the artwork we chose a sketch from
the loads she had done for us. We are very happy with the final result
and she has become also a very special person for us and we keep contact
with her frequently.
10. COULD YOU ALSO EXPLAIN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN
THE COVER AND THE ALBUM TITLE? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO TITLE YOUR 3RD RELEASE
“DOMINAEON”?
The cover artwork and the basic message behind
the album concept is that there is only one true pathway to Revelation
and that all begins and ends from one true source - the abscondant or hidden
God. “Dominaeon” is a mix of two words which are “Domine” which means The
Lord and “Aeon” which means a space of time. When Albert wrote the whole
Dominaeon concept, he was trying to put on the forefront the importance
of the essence and relevance of God in every individual that will eventually
lead to salvation. Albert chose this title exactly because it’s the definition
of this entire concept and moreover the cover artwork is a true description
of the album’s conceptual message. So therefore the main focal point of
the whole album revolves around a keystone concept focusing on the omni-presence
and revelation of the Lord even in the darkest and most sombre contexts
of our existence. As such, it is based on Albert’s own humble insights
into this riveting and fascinating aspect of our faith. He has strived
to reflect Christianity's axiomatic teachings in this regard, drawing inspiration
from various theological writings and the New Testament. Here it is important
to know that Forsaken are not trying to form some new kind of religion
or convert the unconverted. We are just trying to present an alternative
perspective to all the negativity in today's metal scene while retaining
a dark and ominous atmosphere. Hopefully, our fans will be able to appreciate
it for what it is.
11. SO, I SUPPOSE NOW IT’S THE RIGHT TIME TO ALSO
TELL US A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT EACH SONG’S TOPIC. WHICH ARE YOUR SOURCES
OF INSPIRATION?
Here I had to consult Albert to get a proper
explanation of every song’s topic and this is what he had to say….
“Dominaeon is our most spiritual/religious
album to date...in part it is inspired by tradtional Christian doctrine
but there are also influences from other world religions (monotheistic)
and existential psychology/psychocosmology particuarly in the album's first
four tracks. Following a brief instrumental introduction, the first track
"Dominaeon", the title track, is primarily intended to set the scene so
to speak. It introduces the listener to the central theme of the album,
that is, God the Father in all His wondrous hues who I describe here as
humanity's pathway to salvation or the "Dominion of Light". This
theme is carried through the next track "Paradigm of Chaos" where the concept
(hence "paradigm") of God's revelation through the bleakness and "chaos"
of our existence is introduced. In the third track "Obsidian Dreams" I
dwell on the bleakness of man's existence (particularly in respect of those
among us who have raptured their relationship with God). Here I emphasise
how those fragments of unrealisable dreams based on wordly, profane pursuits
(metaphorised in different ways in the song text) limit our pathway to
the light. However, even here (and hence the phrases Deus Absconditus,
Deus Revelatus) God or "The Celestial Alchemist" (that is the Creator)
can be revealed to us. The rest of the songs examine how God's revelation
is achieved...namely through His gift to humanity - His Son Jesus Christ.
"Daylight Dies" focuses on how we forego God's (or "the Eternal Liege")
revelation to us in our lives and become subservient to fallacies of faith
which deny His presence (and hence "Daylight Dies")...yet irrespective
of this God's love for man remains unconditional and He sends us his Son
to beacon the path to redemption (see the last verses in this track). "Kenosis"
examines the divine essence of the Son and His word and how through Him
all the pretenses of man as the supreme being (the uber-anthropos of modernity)
wilt and fade away. Yet despite this, man's failings (because he is man)
are set to continue and in "Wretched of the Earth" I focus on these failings
which are tantamount to betrayal of the Lord (our bigotry, our ambition,
our tendency for retribution rather than compassion). However, even here
the path to reconcilation is still present (as explained in the song's
chorus). In the final track "Resurgam" I deal with Christ's defeat over
death (like the "amaranthine" flower which never fades away) and how through
the embracing of His resurrection we can reach fulfillment”.
12. HAVE YOU GOT ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WHAT
SHOULD THOSE ATTENDING YOUR SHOWS EXPECT TO SEE?
Presently we are planning some local gigs.
In fact we have played already on the 15th of January at local club called
The Alley and we are planning another two gigs in March and June. These
gigs are important for us to promote “Dominaeon” and sell some merchandise
and therefore earn money to pay our leftover studio expenses which
are still of a considerable amount. We are also in continuous contacts
to play again in Germany and hopefully also the first time in Greece but
we are still in very early stages so I cannot give any definite news about
that. Basically when you come for a Forsaken show you are going to witness
a true expression of what really Epic Doom is all about. We always give
100% in our shows and do our best to entertain the crowd and also ourselves
giving all our soul through our songs.
13. ARE YOU SATISFIED BY YOUR COOPERATION WITH
GOLDEN LAKE PRODUCTIONS?
Yes we definitely are satisfied and look forward
to consolidating and improving this positive cooperation based on mutual
trust and respect. Golden Lake is a Scottish label ran by two Scottish
brothers who have been part of the underground metal scene for a long time
now and have a lot of experience in the metal scene in general. We have
already released four releases with Golden Lake and the deals we sign with
them have been fair for both parties. We still owe Golden Lake another
new release on contract and we look forward to composing, recording and
releasing this new album with this label.
14. WHAT EMOTIONS, THOUGHTS AND IMAGES DO YOU
WANT TO CREATE TO YOUR LISTENERS WITH YOUR MUSIC? DO YOU THINK YOU ACHIEVE
TO COMMUNICATE ALL YOUR EMOTIONS AND IDEAS?
Forsaken’s passion for Doom and all metal
in general can be felt in our songs. I think that we succeed in communicating
this passion to the people who listen to our releases. A proof of this
can be read on the reviews we are getting for the material we release,
which acknowledge this fact. On stage we also feel one with the crowd and
I always like to go down to the front row and sing face to face with the
people. I feel that the stage is like a natural habitat for me and I always
want to show and share my passion with all the fans. With our music we
strive to show all the emotions, thoughts and images which are depicted
in our lyrical messages. I can mention emotions and thoughts of sadness,
hope and belief. We also want to reflect on the grandiosity of metal as
a genre of music which can be a positive attribute to everyone and is a
true musical means of reconciliation for all fans and musicians like wise.
15. WHAT’S THE IDEAL TITLE THAT COULD SUM UP THE
WHOLE FORSAKEN ESSENCE?
ETERNAL PASSION FOR DOOM METAL
16. IF YOU COULD INVITE FAMOUS MUSICIANS TO PARTICIPATE
IN ONE OF YOUR LIVE SHOWS, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
As a vocalist I would choose Ronnie James
Dio, Messiah Marcolin and Robert Lowe. For me these three vocalists are
the fulcrum for all Epic singers and therefore also for me. R.J. Dio is
definitely a master and one of the best vocalists I have ever heard. I
enjoy all his releases especially the ones with Sabbath and Rainbow and
the first three solo albums. Messiah Marcolin has been and shall forever
be one of my main influences and I would die to sing Solitude and At the
Gallow’s End as a duet with him on stage. Moreover I am just always amazed
by the great originality of the vocal range of Robert Lowe. Solitude Aeturnus
apart from being a Godly band, they have a jewel with this vocalist. He
sounds so mystic and supernatural. Then I would choose Tony Iommi and Leif
Edling. For me they are the best riff merchants ever. They have created
the heaviest riffs on earth.
17. THANK YOU! THESE LINES ARE YOURS. LEAVE A
MESSAGE TO OUR READERS…
First of all thanks to you Christine for this
great interview and also for the interest shown in Forsaken and I also
want to extend this thanks to all the staff at Behind the Veil namely Nikos
and George for their unrelenting support. I urge all the readers of this
webzine to keep their faith in metal and support the entire metal scene
in general. I also invite you all the get hold of Forsaken’s releases and
I assure you of a true Epic Doom Metal experience. If anyone would like
to contact us they can write to me on [email protected]
or to Albert on [email protected]
. You can also visit our website on www.forsakenmalta.com
. So keep the flame burning and DOOM FOREVER ONWARDS.
Christine Parastatidou
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