** Determination by God Forbid: It’s hard to tell where they went wrong on this one

This album was released during my stay at Gordon College.  It’s a long story why I was there, so I’ll skip it.  I saw Determination in a mall in northern MA, near Gordon.  I couldn’t believe it!  A band whom I had known when they were nobodies had made their way into a shopping mall.  I can’t say it is a sellout album either.  It is just that it is a mediocre album that really adds nothing to the genre that has not been done before, and it seems that the song craftsmanship had fallen short of my expectations I had since listening to Reject the Sickness.

**** Reject the Sickness by God Forbid - Years Ago What Came to Mind Is: Loads of Promise

I count myself as blessed to have been with God Forbid since the beginning.  I remember going to a show in NJ when hardly anybody was there.  I showed because I thought their demo Matt played for me had promise.  Reject the Sickness is a follow up 1^st real album that slams as hard as any band out there, especially those that walk the metalcore genre.

I remember talking with Dallas at a party near Rutgers University in Jersey and he was like, “We want to play hardcore shows because people are more into the music.”  He described how playing metal shows was like going to assembly of people that stood still with a scowl on their face and were boring.  To a certain extent I agree with that.  For example, starting a pit or any movement at all at Dimmu Borgir’s first USA show was futile. 

One can’t neglect the heaviness of Reject the Sickness.  This album is far heavier than Slayer’s Reign in Blood.  Certainly, Dallas wasn’t meaning to disrespect metal bands like Slayer, that much is clear!  Around that time I had recently seen Slayer live in Jersey, and believe me the crowd had no shortage of movement, and that is not what he was speaking out against.  Thus, it is such, following in the way of their forefathers like Slayer, God Forbid instead of being a follower became heavier than their predecessor.  Slayer did the same thing with Venom, and Venom did the same thing with Black Sabbath and/or Deep Purple.  And, it is no doubt to me that every band has its influences.