On any given night, you can turn on the evening news and you might hear about tensions between the United States and a certain country in Central America, be it El Salvador, Nicaragua or Honduras. So, you can imagine it comes as a pleasant and welcome surprise to hear about how metal has built a bridge between the United States and the nation of Guatemala. Metal is on the rise in this fledgling country, with the charge being led by bands like Viernes Verde. Hot on their heels is the hard hitting trio Dread The Forsaken. The band was formed by El Salvador-born guitarist/songwriter Mauricio Liborio and drummer Vinnie Perez. Their search for a vocalist, however, brought them to the cyber doorstep of a familiar face to anyone who has visited the RFUSA website…Images Of Eden vocalist Gordon Tittsworth.

With their vocalist chosen, the boys got to work on their debut recording in November 2008. When it was all said and done, Dread The Forsaken had pounded together a collection of hard-edged, emotional, and dark yet catchy tracks into their debut demo recording Unbound. After returning home to the USA, vocalist Tittsworth commented, “What began as a vocal for hire type job, turned into a life changing experience." Well, after listening to Unbound and letting it sink in for a while, I must say that all the hard work that the aforementioned life changing experience consisted of really paid off with a stellar debut! Let’s press play and see what I’m banging on about!

“Give Me Wounds” starts things off with a gentle build up to tight hardcore influenced riffing that will surely awaken the mosher and the animal within. Tittsworth belts out a tortured ode to “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger," using a much more aggressive delivery compared to his previous vocal work with Images Of Eden. The riffing of Liborio and the drumming of Perez are tight, focused and sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel. An ass kicking opener.

More focused aggression hits you in the face with “Darkest Days” with another simple, yet powerful guitar riff coupled with some thunderous skin-beating. Tittsworth continues to show off more diverse vocals with a low, yet forceful range that fits the song perfectly. Pure and simple brute force with no messing about. Another one for the pit!

I cannot emphasize enough about how tight the attack is from the axes and the drums on this album, and it continues on “Walk With Me," an ode to dealing with the guilt of the “morning after." Well, if you had a headache on the morning after, you would not want to play this song, because it will most definitely give you a boot to the head! As for the rest of us, we can just enjoy how killer this song is.

“Playground” is probably tied as my favorite track of the CD, as I love the gentle picking swirling around another chaotic riff and Tittsworth’s incredible delivery. The tribal pounding of the drums complete the aural landscape where one hell of a song comes out to play! The guitars, the drums, the tortured and emotional vocals…well, no more needs to be said!

More hardcore punk flavorings come to the fore on “Wasted Youth," which I consider to be the weakest track on the album. But, that does not mean it is a bad song…it’s quite good! I really like the breakdown in the middle of the track, and the solo is very cool. Maybe if it was placed earlier in the album it would earn a higher rating, but it’s a tough act to follow “Playground." Still, it’s a damn good song that is worth a listen.

Get ready to HEAAAAAAAAADBANNNNGGGG! The military drum cadence and the marching battalion of riffs sound the charge on “Dread The Forsaken," a well crafted anti-war statement that packs enough punch to stop an army! The middle section is savage, with more tight interlocking of Perez’s drums and Liborio’s string shredding chords. The devil’s here with a war to sell…and this song raises hell!

“Roses Are Burning” kicks the tempo up to top gear with some speed demon guitar crunching and earthshaking drums. A very good track which showcases a bit of Shadows Fall-esque hardcore meets West Coast Thrash. The spoken vocal near the end of the track is quite haunting.

I love this song…probably because it is so different! I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard “Dead Chances” for the first time! Maybe it’s the riff…which reminds me of an English soccer hooligan looking to beat the living tar out of a referee. Maybe it’s the drums…strong enough to put a hole in the center of the world. Maybe it’s the vocals…which show how much creative freedom Tittsworth was given working on this album as he showcases death growls and street thuggish rapping with equal ease. Not usually my cup of tea, but this track is fuckin’ awesome!

After all is said and done, let the serene beauty of “Reflections” bring you back down to Earth. A dark yet beautiful piece which sounds a funeral dirge for the album…because it ends the album!

Dread The Forsaken is made up of three incredibly talented individuals. First off, guitarist Liborio can crush skulls with brutal yet melodic concrete riffing. Drummer Vinnie Perez’s feet and sticks dance across the kit with skill, power and precision. Last but not least, Gordon Tittsworth adds some more weapons to his vocal arsenal, adding some truly evil-sounding death growls, aggressive rap metal stylings that will make Zack De La Rocha green with envy, and a harder edged wail to his already impressive repertoire. Given the chemistry the trio already seems to have, you’d think they’ve been playing together their whole lives.

All in all, Unbound is one hell of a debut. There are some weak moments, but they are few and far between. You will have a hard time finding them, to be honest. What really makes this album shine is the fact that there is nothing fake about this album. The music and lyrics have a personal feel that makes Unbound relatable to anyone struggling through the quagmire that life can be at times. Pain, anger, rage and the challenges in conquering those demons…it’s all here.

Oh…I almost forgot…it’s heavy…it kicks ass…and you should go get it! Now! So, be sure to contact the Dread The Forsaken MySpace (the website is at the top of this page) for information on how to get your own copy!

Review written by: Matt B.    
Date: October 11, 2009
Rating: 4 stars out of 5