Forever I Burn

The Tragedy Dialogs (2003)

Jesse Raub

Cliché hardcore/metal band name? Check. CD title meant to spark interest and yet remain philosophically aloof? Check. Weird guy with long hair and grossly separated mustache and goatee? Check. Absolutely shit-kicking balls to the wall metal and hardcore riffs that don't suck? Check. Wait a minute. Lack of stupid whiny emo-shit choruses that make the rest of the song suck? Check. Wait, wait, wait. Forever I Burn is ruining my theory of being able to write off a band based on their cliché hardcore name. And damn them for it.

This music seriously just kicks ass. It has everything about metal/metalcore/hardcore that's good, and none of the baggage. And they even sent a Mad-Lib on the same sheet as their press release!

People have always been telling me how much they love double-bass-pedal-predictable-heavy-breakdown-hardcore bands. I always said that they all sound the same. Forever I Burn does sound the same. The formula is applied generously. To every song. And it still works. I'm serious. No kidding.

I think I've discovered the key pieces which make this album work for me. First of all, the vocals aren't the typical throat cancer vocals that I abhor. Instead, they are of the higher pitched scream/shot variety more akin to Refused than Zao. I'm serious. I hate those throat cancer vocals. Next, the high guitar riffs (and the low ones too) are absolutely insane. Not only do they manage to be badass, but they present a technicality that is almost jaw-dropping. Honestly. We're almost talking Van Halen or Dokken worthy. Also, the song writing catches you off guard by sailing into breakneck speed verses from ultra slow and heavy breakdowns. Finally, the drums are near flawless. They encompass the entire sound of the band and tie everything together smoothly and create a complete metal/metalcore/hardcore package that'll knock your socks off. All the fills are amazing. The technicality of this band (minus the bass) is beyond words.

For some reason, after the five listed tracks stopped, two more tracks were left simply titled "1" and "2." No mention of them in the liner notes or press release. Or on the album anywhere. They're industrial/electronic beats with the guitar riffs and vocals and stuff. Sort of have a The Faint-y vibe to them. Extremely awesome. Metal dance beats. Who knew?

In summary, Scott must have accidently sent me a good record assuming that by the band name, the band was terrible. He was wrong. I was wrong at first too. Stupid band breaking down my stereotypes. Now I have to actually LISTEN to every band instead of just pretending to and writing off acts for having dumb names.

Disclaimer: Whatever Jesse says should always be taken with a grain of salt. As the token Punknews pretentious hipster/scenester, it's his job to like music that you hate in order for you to feel better about the music you listen to. Because of this, Jesse likes to include humor in his reviews that is borderline "sarcastic." This is a dangerous technique seeing as how half of the Punknews readers are either A) illiterate or B) just plain ignorant. He assures you that he doesn't actually write bands off just because of their name, and almost ALWAYS listens to a band before judging them.