Reviewed by Ian Webber

The opening synthesiser swirls and string sections on the album's first track in no way prepares the listener for what is probably Northern Ireland's first Christian extreme metal band. It does not take too long, however, for a marker to be placed as track two is full of choppy, maniacal drumming and intense high speed guitar soloing. On this, their debut album, ForChristSake have crammed 16 tracks and over 75 minutes of music, showcasing some impressive musicianship. Above the incessant, pacy solos and metronomic beats, the band's two lead vocalists make a sound job of growling their way through some forthright Christian themes such as "Deliver Us From Evil" and the title track. Although technically very good, production does at times let the overall package down. The rhythm sections occasionally lack clarity and with the many changes in tempo and high speed solos the instrumentation can merge into a mess. In this area, "Serpent Rising" falls victim and ends up sounding a little clumsy. Despite some shortcomings, this first outing displays enough promise to make ForChristSake a band worth watching out for.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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