Forsaken
Anima Mundi

Doom metal. Period. Or even better, Epic Doom Metal.

The Forsaken, a Maltese band formed in 1990, had previously released a demo, an EP, and two albums, "Iconoclast" and "Evermore," before this album.

They are a band that hasn't achieved the success they deserved given their great importance in the doom metal scene, and being somewhat outside the larger international market hasn't helped them. Like it or not, popularity, when you're born in a remote part of the world, is only obtained with some important record deals.

In this "Anima Mundi," which in my opinion is their best from a compositional standpoint, they somewhat trace the footsteps of Candlemass’s "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", delivering oppressive music with very violent and distorted riffs, but also great epicness in the lyrics, in the guitar solos, and especially in the vocals of Leo Stivala, who is in great form.

I won't bore you with a useless track by track, but songs like "All is Accomplished" or "Whispering Soul" alone make the CD worth it, especially the first one, which starts very violently and then speeds up midway, taking the listener into a sort of parallel world... ENORMOUS!

The others too, "Kindred Veil", "The Eyes of Prometheus", and the beautiful "Sephiroth" are very good songs... the only song below the album's standard is "Carpe Diem", which in my opinion, does not match the level of the rest of the album.

Ultimately, it's not their most famous album in the doom scene, because the subsequent "Dominaeon" with the splendid "Resurgam" probably makes them the best doom metal band today, but this album is a mix of doom, epic, and heavy metal and is recommended listening for all lovers of good music.