Forsaken's Anima Mindi is probably one of the best doom metal efforts released in a long time, the album, by this talented group from Malta, managed to combine atmospheric doom metal with melody, and was preformed with complete professionalism and conviction, with a new album coming out soon, I sent Albert Bell, the band's bassist and somewhat spokesman, some questions:

1.Hi Albert, my first question is about the new studio album, when is it out?

Hi there Alon. Greetings and cheers for the opportunity to get across to your readers. We're going through some very hectic and busy times in Forsaken at the moment. We finished recording last July. We’re presently waiting for the mastering to be concluded and the finishing touches to the sleeve design. However, everything is on track for an October 2005 release as we planned before entering the studio. We hope that the album will be available before our appearance at the Keep it True V festival next November in Germany which would be a great way to launch the new album. The album is titled “Dominaeon” and as with our last three albums, will also be released in CD format on Golden Lake Productions (Scotland), though we are also planning a vinyl release on Immortal Vinyl Records (Germany) in 2006.

2.How is it going to sound like in comparison with your last album?

Good question. We were very satisfied with the production values and songwriting qualities on display on Anima Mundi. The critics also loved that album so for us completing “Dominaeon” has been a real challenge and we have tried to ensure improvements in all departments, including the production, the lyrics, the song writing and arrangements and so forth. One marked distinction between “Anima Mundi” and “Dominaeon” is the absence of keyboards. After Anima Mundi was released we parted ways with our keyboard player Marion Ellul and decided to go for a more bottom-end guitar sound. This does not mean that the album will not be atmospheric as we were also very creative in this regard on the new album also…however all the atmospherics were captured through the use of percussive instruments (e.g. wind chimes, a 16th century funereal bell etc..). We also used a full-blown eight member male chorus on two of the tracks which we think sound more animated and authentic rather than merely using synthesised sounds. As regards to the songs themselves there are pretty much in the vein of our last two releases….we haven’t gone towards death-grind, black metal or anything like that…it’s still epic, doom metal at its best…with the emphasis on doom rather than anything else. I also think that “Dominaeon” is more experimental than “Anima Mundi”. We haven’t rehashed our previous songs as most bands seem to do after a few releases. Moreover, “Dominaeon” is a concept album and follows a particular lyrical theme from the beginning to the end and we also tried to ensure that this is reflected in the music…I’m sure that our fans will enjoy the album….in my opinion it’s our most mature and complete album to date.

3. There’s also a re-release of an older album, Evermore. Why has it been re-released?

Evermore was originally released in 1996 on a small underground Maltese label called Storm Records who despite all their good intentions did not really promote and distribute the album widely abroad. Consequently, several people who are interested in the band had missed out on the album’s original release. We had been considering re-releasing the album for a few years until the opportunity arrived to re-release it with Golden Lake. When Golden Lake approached us on the matter we had no qualms about re-releasing the album as we’ve always felt that the album deserved more exposure than it had originally.

4. What’s different about this release from it’s original one?

To make the re-release more appealing and a worthwhile purchase for our fans we re-mastered all the original tracks, and also added a bonus track in the form of our cover version of Black Sabbath’s Neon Knights which had originally appeared in the “Dehumanised Witch” Black Sabbath MK II (Dio-era) tribute released by MidWest Metal Records (USA) in 2000. Moreover we also repackaged the album with a brand new sleeve design made by Chris Zarb (Iconoclast and Anima Mundi) and also included liner notes and previously unreleased photos.

5. Your band has been active for quite some time. Can you tell us how it started?

The band was formed in 1990 and was originally called “Blind Alley” . Only Simeon Gatt (drums) and Leo Stivala (vocals) from our present line-up pertain to the band’s original formation. I joined in July 1991 as a replacement for the band’s original bassist who had left for personal reasons. Shortly after I joined we changed the band’s name to Forsaken and decided to take a more doom metal direction. We debuted live on Friday 13^th September 1991 here in Malta and you can say that we never looked back since that fateful day. We released our debut demo “Requiem” early in 1992 and a 7" Ep called “Virtues of Sanctity” in 1993. Sean joined the band as a replacement for Kevin Azzopardi in 1994 and we played extensively on the live front in Malta and abroad until we released our first full-length “Evermore” in 1996. Following the full-length’s release the band went through some turbulent times culminating in the passing away of Daniel Magri (guitars) in January 2001 who had been in the band since 1992. After some soul searching and lengthy considerations on the future of Forsaken, we decided to venture forward and recorded a label promo in 2002. This was distributed amongst a select number of labels and landed us a record deal with Golden Lake Productions. Thankfully, ever since we teamed up with Golden Lake the band had undergone a new lease of life, releasing the Iconoclast MCD in 2002, Anima Mundi in 2004 and the Evermore re-release in 2005. Apart from that we’ve also re-launched the band on the live front abroad appearing in the Doom Shall Rise festival I in Crailsheim, Germany in 2003 and the legendary Headbangers Open Air also in Germany in 2004 and lots of local gigs. The release of Anima Mundi (with all the Iconoclast MCD tracks as bonus) on vinyl on Immortal Vinyl Records (Germany) this year was another huge highlight for the band…and now there’s the new album, our appearance at KIT V, a number of local gigs and more vinyl releases to look forward to in the immediate future.



6. You were actually active in a band called Exorcist back in 1984, what kind of music did the band create?

Exorcist was my first ever band. We were all still learning our instruments at the time so our music was pretty primitive really and initially I wouldn’t say that we had a definitive style. In fact the first original Exorcist formation disbanded after a few months after we started rehearsing. I decided to keep the band name and started looking for some other like-minded underground metal musicians. After a few months I teamed up with two brothers Mike Rizzo (guitars) and Ritchie Rizzo (drums) and we started getting some songs together. At the time we were all hugely into speed/thrash metal, so you could say that our style was somewhat similar. We recruited a vocalist called Karl Fiorini to complete the line-up and played several gigs here in Malta between 1986 and 1989. Mid-way through that three year period we changed our name to Kremation as we had discovered another band called Exorcist. Over time most of the others started to outgrow the style we initially started to play and steered more toward a progressive rock/metal direction. Though I appreciate lots of different types of music, I’ve always been a metalhead at heart and I left Kremation to seek new pastures. Unfortunately the other guys disbanded shortly afterwards. After that I spent two years with another seminal Maltese thrash band called Vandals (who have recently reformed), however after Trouble’s eponymous 1990 release there was no other musical path left for me than doom metal. I was fortunate enough to be meet Leo and co after I left Vandals and throughout these past fifteen years with Forsaken I have been able to explore the music I really love and care about – doom metal.

7. Why did you pick to deal in doom metal, and what bands influenced you at the time?

When I first started to listen to metal in my early teens I was captivated by the combination of aggressiveness and melody produced by Sabbath and other archetypical British metal bands like Judas Priest. After that I started getting into and exploring the depth of talent of NWOBHM bands like Saxon, Maiden, Angel Witch, Witchfinder General, Raven, Venom, Motorhead on so forth. Over the years new exciting sounds were emerging via the European and the BA San Francisco thrash/speed metal scenes and you could say that I spent most of the mid to late 80s heavily into that music….there were so many quality bands at the time from Celtic Frost/Hellhammer, Kreator, Destruction, Coroner, Onslaught, Atomkraft, Artillery, Sabbat, Hexanhaus, Mekong Delta and many more in Europe to US bands like Slayer, Exodus, Testament, early Metallica and Megadeth, Anthrax, Possessed, Dark Angel, Holy Terror and Agent Steel. Suddenly everything started to turn sour in my view….several bands started to disband and the ones that survived seemed to lose their creativity and mystique while the new thrash/bands that were emerging like Xentrix or Toranaga were only pale imitations of the genre’s originators. So I started to expand my musical horizons so to speak. On the one hand there was the surge of death metal, death-grind, US crossover and industrial music (a la Ministry and Fear Factory) which were not really ever my cup of tea really…and then there within the subterranean nether regions of the metal scene was doom metal – lurking to be uncovered and explored. Obviously I was already very well acquainted with Sabbath (which remain to this day one of my most loved if not my favourite all-time band) and Candlemass which I had come across in my thrasher days via their seminal Nightfall-Ancient Dreams and Tales of Creation era…Witchfinder General was another band who can be considered doom metal who I was well acquainted with through my NWOBHM period. However as I said earlier for me my defining initiation into Doom came through Trouble’s 1990 self-titled release which I still consider to be one of the genre’s most momentous milestones. After that I could not be content playing another style of metal other than doom so really the decision to shift toward playing in a doom band was natural and the only reasonable path for me to take. When I was invited to Blind Alley’s rehearsal room and heard “Labyrinth of Destiny” (which was to feature on the “Requiem” demo) with its doom laden riffs and harmonies, I realised that this was the band for me. Finally. I had met some guys who were equally enthralled by doom metal. In fact you could say that though we were initiated into doom via diverse pathways, Simeon, Leo and I discovered the richness of doom metal together.

I remember that apart from rehearsing (and drowning lots of molten Maltese Lager) our major pre-occupation was with acquiring all the doom metal releases (from demos to unreleased albums to official releases) we could muster. We started off with Solitude Aeturnus and Hellhound’s back catalogue where we unravelled the passion of St Vitus, Lost Breed, Unorthodox, The Obsessed, Revelation and of course Count Raven….I still remember that we had acquired a run-down copy of Storm Warning from a friend of ours and we met in our rehearsal room to listen to it…as soon as those mournful riffs started blasting out from the hi-fi we had there was no turning back…we were converted to the Raven’s fold for life. I started writing to like-minded doom metal souls across the globe in search for more and more bands and forged long-lasting links with Mirror of Deception and Dawn of Winter from Germany amongst many others and soon my doom collection surpassed any of my previous forays in the metal scene. Of course there are several other doom bands that I’m really into apart from the ones mentioned above. I’m a huge Pentagram fan for example…Place of Skulls are another fave (who I had the pleasure to see at this year’s Doom Shall Rise) and on the epic doom side I am a passionate admirer of Rich Walker’s work with Solstice and Tom Phillips’ While Heaven Wept. The list is endless really…Thunderstorm from Italy are also continuously present in my play list and there are several new quality doom bands who are simply astounding. Doomshine and Isole are two cases in point. Doom is the most exciting metal sub-genre around today and definitely the most sincere….no pretences, no fake images and posturing….just pure, molten and true metal…the way it is supposed to be.

8.It took you quite a long time to record a full-length, why is that?

There were various reasons. First of all we had a number of line-up changes between our 1992 demo and the eventual recording of Evermore in 1996. Shortly after the demo, Cay our keyboardist left the band as he was not too keen on the musical direction we were taking particularly after recruiting Daniel as our second guitarist in 1992 to team up with Kevin Azzopardi. Then we parted ways with Kevin in 1994 to make way for Sean Vukovic. With these line-up changes the recording process was stalled to allow for each new member to learn to tracks and also get adjusted to life in the band. Moreover, once we achieved a stable line up our priority was the live front rather than to release a full-length album as in those days bands in Malta could never fathom the possibility of an extensive recording without first establishing themselves as a live act. It made sense in my view as it allowed a band to develop a style and tightness before venturing into the studio. In fact, when we toured France and Spain in 1994 we had only released the demo and a 7” Ep on Arkham productions (France). Our main aim at the time was breaking through the band as a live act first and foremost. After this was achieved we then felt prepared to take on the challenge in the studio.

9.Anima Mundi was an excellent album in my opinion and a classic doom release, what kind of reaction did it receive from the world metal press?

The reaction was tremendous, by far exceeding all our expectations and the reviews keep on piling in even though it’s well over a year now since the album was released. What’s interesting is that the album was also very positively reviewed by the non-doom oriented metal press…that’s especially pleasing for us as it shows that our material has the potential of reaching a wider audience than the doom scene even though our loyalties lay 100% with the doom metal community.

10.Your guitarist, Daniel Magri, sadly passed away at 2001, how did his passing affect the band?

Daniel’s passing away was a huge blow on the morale of the band. He had been a crucial part of the band ever since he joined in 1992. He was always in the forefront of things both on the musical and logistical side and taking the initiative in various ways. He also took a leading role in the studio and was particularly influential in the writing of the material on Evermore. However, apart from that he was a very close friend and remains sorely missed by us all to this day. You could say that our decision to continue with the band was inspired by Daniel’s wishes for the band to so. He was totally committed to Forsaken, so the band just had to carry on. Moreover, after some lengthy deliberations we came to the realization that there was still a lot we could offer and I guess our releases over these past four years are clearly indicative that our decision to carry on was more than justified.

11.How did you come in contact with Golden Lake productions?

Simeon (our drummer) and I had set up a distro some time in 2001 and we had already been in contact with Golden Lake for a number of trades with their releases. When we recorded the label promo in 2002 we decided to include Golden Lake in a short list of labels we thought might be interested to work with us. In fact we received a very favourable offer from their part for the release of a MCD after we sent them the promo and our relationship with them has been growing from strength to strength ever since. We presently have a two-album contract with Golden Lake. “Dominaeon” shall be the first of these releases and there’s another one to look forward to…so there shall be more busy times ahead for both Forsaken and Golden Lake.

12. We really don’t know too much about Malta in Israel, can you tell us a bit about the country? What are the native languages there?

Malta consists of an archipelago of islands in the heart of the Mediterranean with circa 400,000 inhabiting the largest of the two Islands – Malta and Gozo. Maltese culture in my view can be best described as a hybrid or assimilative culture drawing from the myriad colonizers that dominated the country for most of the island’s history until we gained independence from the British in 1964 with the last of the British forces leaving the Island in 1979. Despite having its own distinctive traits including our own language – Maltese (a combination of both romance and semitic roots) which is now recognized as an official EU language following Malta’s entry into the European Union in 2004, Maltese culture oozes with divergent influences. This can be seen in the rich, multi-faceted texture of our architecture to our political, government and education system with the latter remaining firmly rooted in the British tradition. Given our geographical proximity to Italy, the Italian influence is also very much present in the Island and comes to the fore in various aspects of the Maltese’ lifestyle from our cuisine to other aspects. Another defining aspect of Maltese culture is its Catholicism. Malta is profoundly Catholic and remains one of few countries worldwide where abortion and divorce are not legalized.


13. What kind of a metal scene do you have?

As you can expect given the small size of the Island, the scene here is quite restricted with only a couple of venues where metal bands can play. Professional recording studios that are suitable for metal bands are also few and far between although the studio that we’ve used for our recordings – Temple Studios – is easily comparable to Europe’s finest. As regards to metal bands there are quite a number of quality acts that are also managing to get the attention of the international metal scene. Beheaded for example are certainly one of leaders when it comes to the worldwide brutal death metal scene and metal core band Slit are also getting very strong reviews from their live performances across the UK and Europe. Both of these bands and some others (like Martyrium – a quality black metal band) are now signed to foreign labels so the exposure of Maltese metal is now much healthier than it was when we started out. I’d say that the most popular forms of metal in Malta are death and power metal. Doom metal remains has a very limited following here, though as our appeal seems to cut across style boundaries our gigs in Malta are pretty well attended with about 200 people or so turning up for every gig. Obviously, as the scene is pretty limited bands can’t afford to gig that much here as you’d be risking over-exposure by playing to the same crowd week in, week out.




14. What is the lyrical content of the band about?

Our lyrics tend to dwell on introspective accounts of man’s spiritual and emotional dimensions though we have often ventured away from this broad thematic complex in a number of instances and even forwarded some socio-political commentary (though still in a metaphorical way) in some of our lyrics. For example Via Crucis on the Iconoclast MCD looks critically at the increasing institutionalization and rigidity of the Christian faith and calls for the rejuvenation of Christendom’s core, universal values. In Wither the Hour (also on Iconoclast) we examine humankind’s increasing fragility in the wake of over-reliance on technology-driven, profit-motivated political credos that dehumanize our species and through us back toward an atavistic existence where the sense of the social is lost. However, the main recurrent lyrical theme running through Forsaken is the exploration of the spiritual and its impact on our lives….this will be even more evident on “Dominaeon” which I think constitutes our most important lyrical statement so far and drives at the very core of monotheistic belief and how God reveals himself to man even in the most improbable and desperate human conditions.


14. What kind of memorable live shows did the band have?

As you can imagine we have had quite a few throughout our 15 year history. However, the Doom Shall Rise I festival in 2003 ranks highly as one of our most memorable moments on stage. The whole event itself in fact was an occasion that will be forever entrenched in our hearts. Being part of the doom community and meeting so many people we had been in contact with over the years apart from sharing the stage with the like of Revelation and Thunderstorm led to two days of continous elation…it’s like being on a never-ending high! Our show at last year’s Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany was also a great occasion for the band…we played a very tight set on the day and managed to win most of the crowd over that in itself is indeed a very gratifying experience. We’ve also had some great shows here in Malta and some crazy ones in the mid-90s in Gozo where there was a thriving metal scene. Our 1994 France/Spain tour was also another huge experience for the band which we often reminisce fondly about. All in all I’d say that you would never have fully experienced what Forsaken is all about until you attend one of our shows. At the end of the day….the stage remains our most natural habitat!

15. A band that recently resurrected is Candlemass, were you a fan of their music and
what do you think of their new album?

As I said earlier Candlemass were one of the first doom bands I was into and all the guys in the band, especially Leo are heavily into Candlemass. Their new album is awesome in my opinion. It is testimony to Leif Edling’s songwriting mastery and knowledge of doom metal. True, it may not sound like their old albums, but one could not realistically expect them to record another “Night Fall” or “Ancient Dreams”…the throes of time impact everyone and over all these years each member would have expanded his influences, playing styles and so forth. I shall also be looking forward for the next Krux album. Their first one was a majestic piece of work and hopefully there’s more to look forward to from both Krux and Candlemass in the future.

16. What kind of live shows are planned now for the band?

We have a gig planned for the 8th October 2005 here in Malta with local death gods Beheaded. After that we’re off to Germany for the Keep it True V festival on November 5th together with Virgin Steel, Raven, Slough Feg and many more. When we return we’ll be launching the new album in Malta on November 26^th at the Signals Club with some more dates to follow in Malta to promote the new album. We will also be looking at the possibility of touring abroad next year though nothing is confirmed at present.

That's it, thanks for doing this interview!

Thank you again Alon for all your support to Forsaken. Hails and doom forever onward!

Alon Miasnikov

blog comments powered by Disqus