Ours is the Kingdom review by Friedhof Magazine (8.5/10, Spanish language) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Hellspawn (90/100, Dutch language, July CD of the Month!) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Lords of Metal (90/100) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Walls of Fire (4.5/5) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by The Metal Observer (9.5/10) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Metal March (10/10) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by PowerMetal.de (no rating/german language) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Bleeding For Metal (8/10) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Vampire Magazine (100/100) <click here> Ours is the Kingdom review by Get Ready To Rock (4/5) <click here> Engla Tocyme review by Nicki of Walls of Fire (4.5/5) Wulfstan and Athelstan - two Englishmen devoted to extreme music, their homeland and its glorious past. In order to hail them, they founded their own label Angelisc Enterprises ("Angelisc" meaning "English" in the ancient language of England) a couple of years ago, formed a band called Forefather and started playing music... Forefather's 1999 debut "Deep Into Time" could be described as epic black metal without any hesitation; "The Fighting Man" (2000) sounded pretty softer and more heavy-oriented, while the third full-length album, "Engla Tocyme", which saw the light of day in the beginning of March 2002, offers us a mighty portion of aggresive epic heavy metal with guitar-dominated melodies and heroic lyrics inspired by Old English poetry, praizing the ancient forefathers of today's Englishmen. The title track "Engla Tocyme" (meaning "The Coming of the English") opens the album with catchy heavy melodies and the clean vocals of Wulfstan, which dominate 90% of the songs, except for "Iron Hand" - with its roars it turns out to be the only black metallish song on the release. Variety is the keyword here - you won't get bored at all listening carefully to all the songs on this third "English" outburst again and again! This is definitely an excellent symbiosis between heaviness and melody, plus some pleasant audio-surprises added: for example, the closing 8-minute-long instrumental opus "The Fate of Kings" and "Fifeldor" have traditional-alike melodies incorporated. The last track mentioned, together with the extremely variable "Into the Forever", and especially the raging "Forever in Chains", are maybe the best compositions on the CD. Doubtlessly a must-have! A review of Engla Tocyme by Stoyan Tzonev of Brutallica (10/10) A GREAT BAND!!! This is what I call epic! It is a shame that I haven't discovered such a quality band earlier but now I know that FOREFATHER stands beside fellow-countrymen BAL - SAGOTH in the Epic Metal field! "Engla Tocyme" is the third album from this band and this is easily one of the best releases in 2002. The seven opuses, glorifying the forefathers of the English nation, are incredible compositions of extreme, yet melodic Metal, with wonderful vocals which, along with the softer sound, are the main features that distinguish FOREFATHER from BAL - SAGOTH. The compositions are all very catchy, with memorable choruses and true medieval atmosphere. The music of this band is very hard to describe: it must be heard to be felt. I am positive that with each following release FOREFATHER will prove that truly talented musicians can find the way to success. Glory to you, brothers! Review of Engla Tocyme by Mairtin Mac Cormaic of Metalworks (9/10) After a single spin of this, Forefather's latest output, I was hooked. When that happens, I know that I've discovered something special. "Engla Tocyme" is something very special. Forefather have come on in leaps and bounds over their short existence, to stand out as a glistening gem in the rather dull English Metal scene of recent years. Taking the majestic atmospheres of their previous releases, Forefather have added a weighty slab of originality and progression, creating one of the albums of the year in the process. The Burzumic guitar-sound is still present but, on top of that, there's a much more subtle folkloric feel than before, going so far as to bring Thin Lizzy to mind at times, none more so than the album's closer, "The Fate of Kings". The clean vocals have become a lot more prominent since the debut and, what's more, they're sounding 100% more confident and powerful now, being at their strongest during the Anglo folk-inspired "Fifeldor". One thing that really strikes me about this album is the catchiness of the riffs… not in a simplistic way, but rather from the infectious energy and passion cast upon us throughout its 40-minute duration. Anyone addicted to the atmospheres conveyed by the likes or Primordial, Vintersorg, Einherjer and Bathory would be a fool to let "Engla Tocyme" slip by unnoticed. Simply speaking, Forefather is the best English band to come my way in a long time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Review of The Fighting Man by Crin of Godreah The second album from the much-overlooked Forefather finds this exceptional band eclipsing their impressive debut. Pagan inspired songs with more than a hint of early Norwegian Black Metal fired from the strings of Saxon bows towards the sacred skies of England. This band are passionate about the pre-Norman domains of Saxon England and much of this is set to the lyrics of this opus. Musically there is a massive amount of melody and the use of clean vocals along with the traditional harsh makes it even more listenable. You will discover plenty of early Skyclad influences amongst the ruthless arrangements, which in turn can be anthemic war hymns and majestic pagan metal statements. This is not just another pointless Black Metal release. For one, this band are not Black Metal band even though the music owes much to the genre. There are many fine moments of which are pure quality. I would make this one of the finest albums of this style ever to emerge form these frost bitten shores. Review of The Fighting Man by Federico of Pagan Dark Witchcraft (9/10) Look, if you ask me just now who is the best English band I coudn't have less doubt because this is for sure Forefather. Like maybe someone already knows the third cd (2nd studio CD) is always a very difficult proof to show if a band is maturing and improving or not. But this new album makes me think just that Forefather have improved their musical skill more and more in the last month. Epic choruses, brillant songwriting, war-like and belligerent atmosphere, really inspired lyrics and a great production could be enough to convince anyone about the high-quality of this last release I guess. But what you are going to find inside this album is probably more than that I can try to describe. Forefather through their music summons back glory of ancient times and of own heritage and tracks like "Together They Stood", "The Call To Arms" and "When Our England Died" (just to name some because in my opinion all tracks are brillant and great without any doubt) could be an excellent soundtrack for some hystorical movie. I guess this is all so, if you are in the epic Heathen Metal with greatest choruses and clean vocals this is for you for sure. Definitely, you can't effort to miss this… A review of The Fighting Man by Bryan Allen of Digital Metal.com Having heard of this seminal act in the past, but never investing the proper time I should have, Forefather's first two recordings fell by the wayside for me. Now I'm kicking myself in the ass for such a stupid mistake. Something really drew me to this release, be it the persistence of the band name popping in and out of my head all the time in the past half year, or maybe it was the superior artwork. Either way, whatever it was that drew me to The Fighting Man, did not let me down. The Fighting Man, Forefather's second proper release is easily one of the catchiest and heartwarming black metal albums I've heard in a long time. Imagine older Burzum, sped up slightly with amazing tremolo and acoustic guitar picking floating in and out of the soundscape. Next, add very minimalistic keyboards that seem to be used primarily, when ushering in a shift between sub-structures during the songs, as opposed to most of the overtly pompous synth-black metal of modern times. The band labels their sound as "English Heathen Metal," and although they are very much English by ethnicity, their sound surely isn't. The music these blokes conduct is as Nordic-influenced as anything I've heard before. This combined with the lyrical nature of the album and the overall presentation of packaging and material, allows The Fighting Man to bridge the gap of early Bathory and Burzum perfectly. I can't say enough pleasant things about this album, it's just unreal and is coming at the perfect time, in the age of market saturation from un-original black metal rehash. For anyone who enjoys hymns of the black arts, this disc is for you. Don't let Forefather pass you buy like I once did, they're just too damn good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A review of Deep Into Time by Federico of Pagan Dark Witchcraft (9/10) I was really looking for the re-issue of this great debut by the English band for many reasons. First of all Forefather is for sure the best heathen English band and secondly because this has been always among my favourite release of pagan metal. The first thing that I notice is the cover artwork that is changed from the previous edition, but has been really improved and for sure it's better than the previous one with a better choice of the cover (a wolf) and of the colours used. In comparison with the previous edition you can also find a bonus track ("These Lands", previously included in the "Legends Untold" album release by Millenium Metal Music in limited edition of 900 copies some time ago). I continue to think also after some years from the first time I have listened this album that this is one of the masterpiece of the heathen metal so I can't do anything else but advising it. Music is a great balance between black (in the more recent releases they don't use it anymore) and powerful clean vocals with a great atmosphere permeated by endless respect for own heritage, values and traditions of the past. Absolutely advised for everyone is looking for a quality release.