Review: “My Spot In The Void” by Forsaker

Australian Deathcore act Forsaker captured our attention exactly a year before the release of their debut full length on 1st January 2020, with a stand alone single entitled “Rotten Mind” that features a guest vocal appearance by Alex Teyen of Black Tongue. The 5-Piece band originating from and stretching along the East Coast comprised of Brodie Servin (vocals, lyrics), Scott Jones (bass), Nazareth Tharratt (drums) alongside Zac Day and Bailey Sheehy (both guitarists), cite influences in Alpha Wolf, Sworn In, Reflections and Yüth Forever and started their carrier in February 2018.

The two minutes and two seconds that introduce the album in “From The Dirt” has a horror film inspired vibe with a dark spoken word and tension loaded atmospherics before breaking with a set of back to back breakdowns straight from the Emmure playbook. It’s as tight a start to a Deathcore album as you could hope and when “Cold” kicks in, it’s the full throttle onslaught that you’d expect. Crushing guitar tones, a killer drum sound and slab after slab of breakdown riffage are joined by a varied and ear drum splitting vocal that showcases range and uses pitch changes to lethal effect. Servin is the demonic equivalent of the beast that was Alex Kohler when he was in Chelsea Grin and when you add Shaun Cox of Daybreak into the mix, you need to send for the paramedics. “Child of Jisatsu” is a Japanese reference meaning “Child of Suicide” although it is also a word also linked with sadness and depression. The track itself is a bone snapper of driven Deathcore groove riffs with Servin’s demonic tones perfectly auditable as they float above in the well constructed mix. Some Downtempo elements add to the weight and by the end of you’re not converted, it’s time to go and listen to some Taylor Swift. Mvple doesn’t just handle production but also adds programming to “Still Rotten” which is your quintessential Deathcore remix that Misstiq would be proud to call her own. It’s a 85 second break of riffs and beats that perhaps could see a remix album of its own in the future.

Back to the program and the main event, “Muted Sleep” will give you all the night terrors you need to keep you awake during a full moon. Deathcore roars from Servin that touch the void to Slam but don’t quite reach it are joined by the weight and gravity of some black hole orientated guitar work that wants to sick you into the black depths before crushing you as you enter the void. Hammering away at your skull from the very start, it’s the heaviest thing out there. Calling forth the legions, “Words Of God” sees Servin screaming “I repent!” as he exposes his inner thoughts amid the thunderous bowl clenching breakdowns. He has suffered and seen the light and when the bass drops slide slowly and painfully to a close there is a moment of clarity. Title track “My Spot In The Void” opens with some DJent leanings and the presence of both Alex Taylor of Malevolence and Rheese Peters of Babirusa on the track tells you that Forsaker have thrown the kitchen sink at this one. Each of the three vocalists gets their own moment in the limelight and the opportunity is taken to give them plenty of space to spit. An atmospheric solo and some Tech-Metal infused lead work are choice moments and Forsaker have laid down the guantlet for the next wave of 2020 Deathcore releases with some seriously brutal darkness [8/10]

Track listing

1. From the Dirt
2. Cold (ft. Shaun Cox of Daybreak)
3. Child of Jisatsu
4. Still Rotten (Produced by Mvple)
5. Muted Sleep
6. Words to God
7. My Spot in the Void (ft. Alex Taylor of Malevolence and Rheese Peters of Babirusa)

“My Spot In The Void” by Forsaker is out now and available over at bandcamp