This review was originally posted to Sputnikmusic on 18 June 2014.
Forever In Grey aren't a band I'm particularly familiar with, having found them whilst boredly scouring Bandcamp recently. However, with this being their first ever release, I guess I can be forgiven for not knowing too much about them. They claim to mix elements of thrash metal, metalcore and nu metal to create some sort of hybrid genre but the most obvious style one will notice in their debut Mephobia EP is a very strong metalcore essence, but the sheer mention of nu metal as an influence piqued my interest so I decided to take a punt on the PWYW deal and found a pretty decent first effort from the Minnesota crew.
As previously stated, the predominant musical style here is metalcore, which can most clearly be seen in tracks such as "Decembers Falling Embers" and "The Air That We Breathe", with a mix of screamed verses, clean choruses and beatdowns being the most obvious hallmarks of the genre. The band doesn't stray too far from the general sound at all but there is definitely some influence from the lighter side of nu metal, such as Linkin Park, in some tracks such as "The Mask", while the thrash influences are much harder to spot and the thrashier moments point more to the metalcore of Bullet For My Valentine than anything. However, regardless of the musical style, there are some good riffs on show here in tracks such as "The Air That We Breathe" and opening track "Apart From the Flock", and the vocalist shows some great harsh vocal work in the verses. "Apart From the Flock" is the definite highlight of Mephobia in this respect.
Of the potential pitfalls of this release, one has to point to some mistakes which you really can't blame the band for, being that it's so common in underground debuts that it's almost to be expected, but they can sometimes affect your enjoyment of the music. At times the clean vocals just feel wrong, as an example. It's not that they're badly performed, rather, they just don't feel right in the song in a case I often pin down to the production and mixing when I encounter this issue. Another problem is that some of the tracks feel a little uninspired and generic. However, this is also a common complaint which bands will often work their way out of as they develop and discover their own unique sound and for a first step, I've heard a lot worse and this is very well executed musically.
Overall if you're looking for some fresh bands to check out, you can't go much wrong with Forever In Grey. The only real problems here are stuff you're likely to find in most bands putting out their first EPs so don't let them put you off, because underneath all the small niggling problems you'll find a lot of promise and good songwriting here. There's nothing to lose from giving them a shot anyway, and you never know, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. EP highlight: "Apart From the Flock".