Ethereal Metal Webzine

Review by Ryan Murray | May 6, 2020 | Official Band Facebook

Forgery System, a metal band from Italy had their beginnings in 2012. Originally going with a hardcore-punk/thrash metal sound, the band faced a line up change about a year in and ended up moving towards a more groove/metalcore sound.  

Their newest release entitled “Demons Among Us” was released in 2020.  
While I’ve never heard of this band, I really enjoyed listening through this EP! Musically, for me, this is reminiscent of bands such as A7X, Bullet For My Valentine, Disturbed and All That Remains. There are some really awesome and heavy grooves, but then moments where it’s brought back quite a bit but still rocks.  

Vocally, there’s a mix of screaming vocals and melodic vocals. Both fit really well with the music!

Intro
The EP opens with a 1:21 intro. This starts off rather ethereal sounding, even rather demonic at :42 seconds. At :46 seconds the drums come in and a moment later we get a nice blast beat! The remainder of the intro reminds me of old school A7X.  

Unstable
This song hits hard right away, and has an awesome groove throughout! Wait for the guitars from 1:47 – 2:05! Absolutely love that groove. Then the guitar solo at 2:10 is great! I really like how it fits and “locks in” with the underlying groove. Get ready for a hard break down after the solo!  

“Fight with rage and I’m going crazy.”

This song, for me, is about the inner battle with rage. We all face rage at times. The fact that we face rage doesn’t define us though, it’s what we do with that rage that defines us. If we let the rage that we face consume us, then we let that evil win. 

Theatre of Basterds
This song starts off a bit more mellow, but slowly builds and has a great groove throughout! This song reminds me of “4 Words To Choke Upon” by Bullet For My Valentine in the delivery of the vocals and the aggression. At 3:20, the heaviness pulls back into a very interesting mellow section leading into an awesome sweeping guitar solo to finish out the song, which kind of gives me Dragonforce vibes. 

“Don’t want to stay here alone The price I’ll pay is too much for what you’ve done It’s like I’m drowning in the rain But there’s no one who can save me”

For me, this song is about those in our lives that hurt us deeply. We’ve all faced that situation where someone who is supposed to be really close to us stabs us in the back. It hurts and it stings and then we feel alone.

This song really speaks to me lyrically. I have someone in my life that has done this to me repeatedly. Someone who was supposed to be really close to me but who continuously stabbed me in the back, and would then make themselves out to be the one who was wronged. It hurts and it’s painful, but we can’t allow these people to have this kind of power over us.

Colourful Worlds
There’s something musically and vocally about this song that reminds me of “Toxicity” by SoaD. This song starts out a bit lighter and melodic on electric guitar and harmonizing melodic vocals, but then slowly picks up into a heavier groove just before 2:00. 

I know lyrical content can be taken in different ways, but for me, this song talks about the inner struggle that someone faces when they’ve lost someone very close to them. Sometimes the inner demon we face is too overwhelming. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy and the darkness completely fills us and we see no other way out but to end it all.

“Now we can finally live together, together forever And I’m dreaming of my last scream from the silent mouth that kills with the sound.”

I’ve lost two very close family members to suicide. The inner demons that they faced must’ve been all consuming. I still have conflicting feelings about it. Sometimes it’s sadness, sometimes it’s grief, and sometimes it’s anger. I find myself struggling to understand why or if I could’ve done anything differently.  

“But I keep on praying for my crimson, will it come back to me? Stop it, just stop this we just need to stay.”

When we are consumed with darkness, different people have different ways of dealing with it. For me personally as a Christian, I find my relationship with God to be my light. We have to help those around us see through their darkness.

Easily Replaceable Piece
It’s time to pick it up again! This song has got a rather heavy groove all throughout and has an awesome lead guitar throughout as well. Don’t miss the break down at the end…and watch out for the short false ending, it tripped me up!

This song, for me, is about the feeling of going through life as if we are just replaceable. All too often do we struggle with wanting to belong or wanting to feel cared for.

“You’re just an easily replaceable piece.”

We have to be careful with who we let in to our circle. There are those out there, who no matter what, seek to make us feel as if we are disposable and replaceable.

Lost Embers
The final (bonus) song! For me, this is my favorite song! In your face guitar riffs, break downs, melodic vocals and heavy screaming throughout. The pulled back guitar solo adds a lot to this song! This song really makes me think of All That Remains. Truly an awesome ending to a great EP!

This song, to me, is not only about defeating our inner demons no matter the cost, but also about helping those around us defeat their demons as well.

Two parts that REALLY stick out to me – 

“But now I’m even stronger We won’t let you feed no longer We will drive you out of our heads.”

“We are embers of a bonfire that’s about to go out. Will you burn with me to the end? Open your mouth and say: ‘Yes’”

Overall, this EP was a great surprise! I absolutely love the heaviness and the moments when it pulls back equally. I love the grooves and break downs. I think the clean vocals and screaming compliment each other well. I’d give this album a 4.0 out of 5.0!

If you haven’t yet listened to “Demons Among Us” by Forgery System, you’re definitely missing out!  Please give it a listen!