There are plenty of little things in life that I appreciate; like, having two kidneys for example, one simply wouldn’t be enough to handle my love of Jack Daniel’s in all honesty, but one thing I actually do appreciate; is a band putting in the hard work to make their dreams and aspirations come to fruition. As it happens, one such band would be FOREVER STILL.
Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, the four-piece (Consisting of Maja Shining, Mikkel Haastrup, Rune Frisch and Inuuteq Kleemann) are really anything BUT what their name suggests. From day one and their 2013 debut EP “Breaking Free” they’ve gone above and beyond to ensure they do things as they want and how they want. From booking and arranging all of their own tours with no agents, to doing all of their own photo shoots for promotion and record covers, and even filming their own music videos, they manage virtually every aspect of their career themselves, and it’s paying off. Over the years they’ve had opportunities to support the likes of CHILDREN OF BODOM and LACUNA COIL on tour, and have signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast. 2019 saw them release their newest album entitled “Breathe In Colours”, and you suggested I check it out on my last poll, so let’s do just that…
The album opens up with “Rewind” and initially we’re greeted with a slightly industrialised barrage of riffs and mild distortion…there’s a subtle crackle to the sound quality in places giving the track a rustic character, before we erupt into a chorus of powerful, soaring vocals. In ways Maja finds herself somewhere between Lacey Sturm of FLYLEAF and Sharon Den Adel of WITHIN TEMPTATION and her delivery is bold and assertive, drawing you in as a listener; it’s a solid start. “Fight!” keeps things going with a predominantly Nu-Metal inspired affair…the guitar tone coming straight out of the early LINKIN PARK repertoire, backed up by the harder vocals and climactic ending. This is full of piss and vinegar and it’s a very enjoyable listen.
The rest of the album in all fairness is pretty damn consistent and to be honest doesn’t really put a foot far wrong if at all. “Is It Gone?” utilises a more symphonic metal ballad style with a strong power-pop influence, allowing for a very melodious track with honey-sweet vocals, which can also be said for “Pieces”. Another soft, dramatic effort, it mixes a solemn yet powerful vocal display resulting in an incredibly deep, emotionally testing track. “Survive” has a more metallic approach with harder riffs and an increased level of intensity, with the screamed vocals providing a deeper, angst ridden delivery. There are some questionable high notes on “Do Your Worst” which is ironic as it seems Maja did just that, something seems off about these vocals in places, like it was hurried or something and they settled for it, but she doesn’t hit those notes as well as she may think.
The end of the album though is very much worth the wait however…beginning with a stripped back version of “Is It Gone?”… A straight up piano ballad, it totally differs from the previous version, providing a deeply emotive and mournful listening experience, channelling the likes of EVANESCENCE in ways; it’s a pained track and you can literally feel every note. The real album highlight however comes at its very end, courtesy of a cover of the LOU REED classic “Perfect Day”. It manages to sound tender and touching while retaining a strong guitar sound during the chorus, though it’s delightfully done, as though the track was tailor made for Maja. This cover works incredibly well for Forever Still and I can see this going down brilliantly live. There may not be any tracks that leap out at you here, but to be fair they blend into each other pretty well…and though while the quality in terms of consistency and production value is fine, don’t expect to single out any massive tunes. They’re on the right path however…and you can expect some anthems from this lot in the future. [7]
Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, the four-piece (Consisting of Maja Shining, Mikkel Haastrup, Rune Frisch and Inuuteq Kleemann) are really anything BUT what their name suggests. From day one and their 2013 debut EP “Breaking Free” they’ve gone above and beyond to ensure they do things as they want and how they want. From booking and arranging all of their own tours with no agents, to doing all of their own photo shoots for promotion and record covers, and even filming their own music videos, they manage virtually every aspect of their career themselves, and it’s paying off. Over the years they’ve had opportunities to support the likes of CHILDREN OF BODOM and LACUNA COIL on tour, and have signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast. 2019 saw them release their newest album entitled “Breathe In Colours”, and you suggested I check it out on my last poll, so let’s do just that…
The album opens up with “Rewind” and initially we’re greeted with a slightly industrialised barrage of riffs and mild distortion…there’s a subtle crackle to the sound quality in places giving the track a rustic character, before we erupt into a chorus of powerful, soaring vocals. In ways Maja finds herself somewhere between Lacey Sturm of FLYLEAF and Sharon Den Adel of WITHIN TEMPTATION and her delivery is bold and assertive, drawing you in as a listener; it’s a solid start. “Fight!” keeps things going with a predominantly Nu-Metal inspired affair…the guitar tone coming straight out of the early LINKIN PARK repertoire, backed up by the harder vocals and climactic ending. This is full of piss and vinegar and it’s a very enjoyable listen.
The rest of the album in all fairness is pretty damn consistent and to be honest doesn’t really put a foot far wrong if at all. “Is It Gone?” utilises a more symphonic metal ballad style with a strong power-pop influence, allowing for a very melodious track with honey-sweet vocals, which can also be said for “Pieces”. Another soft, dramatic effort, it mixes a solemn yet powerful vocal display resulting in an incredibly deep, emotionally testing track. “Survive” has a more metallic approach with harder riffs and an increased level of intensity, with the screamed vocals providing a deeper, angst ridden delivery. There are some questionable high notes on “Do Your Worst” which is ironic as it seems Maja did just that, something seems off about these vocals in places, like it was hurried or something and they settled for it, but she doesn’t hit those notes as well as she may think.
The end of the album though is very much worth the wait however…beginning with a stripped back version of “Is It Gone?”… A straight up piano ballad, it totally differs from the previous version, providing a deeply emotive and mournful listening experience, channelling the likes of EVANESCENCE in ways; it’s a pained track and you can literally feel every note. The real album highlight however comes at its very end, courtesy of a cover of the LOU REED classic “Perfect Day”. It manages to sound tender and touching while retaining a strong guitar sound during the chorus, though it’s delightfully done, as though the track was tailor made for Maja. This cover works incredibly well for Forever Still and I can see this going down brilliantly live. There may not be any tracks that leap out at you here, but to be fair they blend into each other pretty well…and though while the quality in terms of consistency and production value is fine, don’t expect to single out any massive tunes. They’re on the right path however…and you can expect some anthems from this lot in the future. [7]
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