God Forbid

There's a great deal of change in the God Forbid camp: their sixth album is the first not featuring original rhythm guitarist Dallas Coyle (brother of lead guitarist Doc Coyle) and is also their first on Victory after a long run over at Century Media. There's not a great deal of change in the band's sound though, which is a type of metalcore that originated before metalcore really existed ― over time, bands like this, who trail-blazed the genre and once upon a time were vitally exciting, fell victim to the genre's oversaturation and became almost unbearable to listen to (hello, Shadows Fall). God Forbid's penchant for drama still shines through, however, as on album highlights "Conquer" and the great title track, and the band, as always, have no shortage of great riff ideas throughout the album. However, the clean vocals feel weak, which is odd considering how powerful their vocals usually are. It's a small complaint though, considering this is another solid disc from one of the subgenre's best.