Review by Nathan on March 2, 2020.

Living up to their name, the primary adjective I would use to describe Die Choking would be “suffocating”. The notes seem to die as they exit the amp all choppy and tightly packed, screams are rarely elongated in favor of quick, sputtery yells, and the only non-aggressive melody is in the random electronic music break in the middle. There’s a lot of mathy clangs, some death metal riffs, and occasional hints at something a bit more technical, especially in how blisteringly fast the songs are most of the time (this would definitely be a stamina exercise for the drummer in a full live set). It’s definitely straight grind, but it’s the kind of grind that requires a great deal of precision to pull off in order to properly capture the mania. Fittingly enough, I found out about this because it made Decibel’s year-end list, which makes sense, because it’s exactly the kind of Pig Destroyer-esque deathgrind that Relapse Records loves. Perhaps being in close proximity to both allowed Die Choking a bit of a leg up?

At least the extra attention doesn’t feel too unwarranted. IV is not only well done from a technical standpoint, it does little things that help it stand out. I…can actually notice the bass, which is at least starting to be neglected a little less in extreme metal production nowadays, but it’s still pretty forgotten about in grind, so that was a pleasant surprise. The song 'Wires' has a really funky bass line, which is the only time I’ll ever say that about a grind song. The vocalist adds some urgency and chaos, and his speed is impressive. He’s not at Archspire levels, but he’s at least Corpsegrinder speed, and he does it with a mid-high too, which is different. Adding an extra level of impressiveness, the vocalist and the bassist are the same person! Those are super detailed vocal lines to be doing while playing an instrument, and there’s good variety in the tones he uses.

The attention to detail in the songs is evident, and the runtime of the album is appropriate; it gives you very little time to breathe, so anything more than 20 minutes would be overkill. 'Chronic Hyperventilation' is the curveball, being relatively laid-back in addition to having the aforementioned techno break, but most of the other songs whip through a bunch of energetic but breathless riffs with lots of Scott-esque sharp, low atonality in the guitars. I wasn’t familiar with the band for a while, but it looks like they’ve been building up to this for a while, and on IV it sounds like they really tried to leave everything on the table. It worked, because this type of spastic, un-catchy grind usually isn’t my thing, but Die Choking do everything they can to make a great album out of deathgrind’s components. This isn’t quite at the level where it’s a required listen for non-grindheads, but it’s about as quality of an example of the style as I can think of off the top of my head.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Jeger on July 23, 2024.

The NWOAHM - a movement that literally resurrected American metal from out of the loathsome nu-metal era. This was a time when metal in the states was a laughable Limp Bizkit and Godsmack-dominated embarrassment of a scene. Fortunately, bands like Chimaira, Unearth, the now larger-than-life LOG and perhaps the most talented of all; the brutal yet ever-soulful God Forbid were simply not having it. These bands who literally soundtracked my whiskey, weed and cocaine-fueled twenties were, through the incorporation of a little thrash, some Pantera-worshipping grooves, melo-death-inspired riffs/solos and hardcore breakdowns, laying local clubs in my area like the 9:30 Club and Rams Head Live to waste along with every other venue they played on American and foreign soils.

God Forbid formed in 1996 in the American northeast, which was, at that time, the breeding ground wherefrom other now bordering-on-legendary collectives such as Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage had emerged with this whole brand new and so much more genuine style of metal or metalcore that - along with Jasta’s live audience destroying energy and Adam D’s unbridled onstage sexual prowess - were resurrecting those beer-drenched circle pits and stage dives of olde, but of course bolstered by a rigid hardcore backbone. For God Forbid, during those days, it was all soul, groove, rhythm and straight brutality. After releasing a couple of solid records at the turn of the century, God forbid unleashed what I consider to be their magnum opus in 2004’s “Gone Forever” - a riff and groove-junkie’s wet dream and a perfect vision of our inevitable dystopian future.

The most savage cuts come in the form of “Forced-Fed” and the titular track as both concuss the cranium with hammer-like percussive bludgeonings and churn your innards with digging, torque-driven riffs. The triple vocal assault consisting of mainman Byron Davis and brothers/guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle provide some much needed depth to the recording. It would’ve still been a respectable album with only Byron on the mic, but some tracks, particularly “Soul Engraved” just wouldn’t be the same without Doc’s soul power and Dallas’s melodicism. And the rhythm section? The finest that the movement had to offer. Drummer Corey Pierce and bassist John Outcalt play to each other with instinctual cohesiveness in service to the guitars and vocals.

God Forbid officially reunited. They played a few select gigs with fellow metal/core-worshipping juggernauts, Bleeding Through back in January and have kept the momentum going since. And with the recent return of Shadows Fall as well, it appears the stage is set now for a full-on resurgence of the NWOAHM, and it couldn’t come at a better time now that nu-metal bands are foolhardily attempting to ignite their genre’s comeback. While most other sub-genres stand rooted in things like honor, sacrifice, tradition and the enrichment of metal as a whole, nu-metal, despite a few gems, is an embarrassment rooted in mainly drugs & alcohol. It appears these two schools of metal will be eternally clinched in a state of antithesis to one another. And it also appears that - just like back in the day - metalheads are still in favor of what was once known as pure American metal.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Adam on June 11, 2004.

Fans have been waiting impatiently for the follow-up to God Forbid’s breakthrough album Determination. Now with the release of Gone Forever, the band looks to become one of extreme music’s biggest stars. The most important question this album brings forth is will they succeed?

God Forbid has created an extremely varied metal album with Gone Forever. The production and overall sound of the group has improved greatly since Determination. Musically, however, the band has not changed too much. The main thing that separates this album from their previous works is the vocals. The band have followed in the footsteps of many of today’s metal acts and added the catchy clean sung chorus dynamic to their sound, and for the most part, they pull it off well.

Unfortunately, God Forbid is still missing that certain something that could truly set them apart from the other titans of the metalcore scene. Many of the songs start out well but tend to lose me before they are finished. For me, this is epitomized by the opening track “Force-fed” which begins with some lovely thrash and a harmony laden solo before completely turning to breakdowns for the remainder of the song. Thankfully, the band has wisely kept their soloing skills in tact and on this album there is no shortage of good solos to complain about.

Ultimately, what will decide whether or not you will enjoy this album is your tolerance for breakdowns in metal. Considering that there are a rather substantial amount of them on Gone Forever means that this tolerance level will have to be pretty high. If you are a fan of the metalcore style, then meet one of your new favorite bands. As far as becoming big in the metal scene overall, God Forbid still has a little way to go.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6
Overall: 6

Rating: 6.6 out of 10