Forged In Flame

You need listen no further than the fittingly titled opening track, "Miss Mothership", for a number of reasons (but by all means, go ahead). For one, it's kinda unbelievable that this Cleveland quintet is still unsigned, I mean I know they're fresh faces, but that hasn't stopped the machine from consuming at conception these days with little regard for worthiness, and their brand of quasi-metal is slightly refreshing and professionally performed, so they're just asking for it. This track in particular fires on all cylinders, shows them throwing punches and taking them, and is probably the definitive Forged In Flame song as far as I can tell. For two, it's what works with them and against them when they call themselves a Clutch/Mastodon/Down hybrid with "70s progressive, 80s thrash, and current stoner rock" tendencies. Overall, as with "Miss Mothership", they're more Clutch than Mastodon, with hardly a Down, but still not excessively Clutchy. No Down booooozy blues. No bullet-riddled thrash attack. A hint of Mastodon's curves and angles, and they're surely frontin' like they can carry around the XL size cojones that Clutch have been ridin' with for a long time now (this is an admirable trait). Allow me to translate some other things for you: "70s progressive" equals guitars through a wah-wah pedal, and "70s progressive" also equals the occasional reverberating and phased out vocal effect. That tag does not equal musical voyeurism. There is not much experimenting to be found, aside from them experimenting with their own talents (the drummer did time in a solid tech-grind outfit from several years back called Forever Untouched). So....."80s thrash"? That must be what they call that stuff stuck in the cracks between the "current stoner rock" vibe vibing all over this, but really it ain't. They manage to give some of the bridges and segues on this EP shots of testosterone, but don't get it twisted. These four songs are electric and alive with a charged up soiled swing, dancing dirty in a leather pants atmosphere somewhere South of wherever you call North. Maybe that's what they meant. Now call that what you may, but I may call it "Mindfunk courting The Cult". I fucking love Mindfunk's self-titled album (laugh it up) and anything that remotely resembles the crunch and fun of that album is a friend of mine. The strong pipes in Gary Kane's vocal box bring to mind a phlegmy Ian Astbury (hence the Cult reference), and this right here sounds like he's fronting an inebriated click of real metal fans that feel the need to get in touch with their inner bourbon.

And so they did. And then they played it with conviction. And they recorded it like they had something to prove. But they had written it......in favor of an ending, unfortunately. All four tunes walk to the same beat. Albeit they walk hard, but considering that they only had twenty minutes to show the world, I wish that they could have showed more climbing higher, more falling harder. There's not enough variation on this lil' slab to warrant repeated listens too often. I said too often. Which means that I'll come back around. - MetalReview.com

Forged in Flame are another of those bands that aren't particularly original in what they do, but they play from the heart and that shines through on this debut release. Having only formed in late 2007, this EP is a taster for an album that the band will begin recording in early September. Opening number, Miss Mothership, is a groove laden, highly potent concoction of Southern flavoured Stoner Rock, for want of a better term and thoughts of Down and Corrosion of Conformity instantly spring to mind, as do those of Soundgarden and Alice In Chain, particularly on the downbeat 2nd track, Black Halo. Gary Kane's vocals add weight to this argument as he (kind of) reminds me of a more ragged version of Chris Cornell.

Have really enjoyed the first two numbers, I think the final two are much harder to get into. Ok, after repeated plays they are at last beginning to win me over, but A Ravens Cage doesn't move me like the previous numbers do, and I find Hexa just a little too messy and it struggles to hold my interest. But I have to admit that after another 2 or 3 plays, I will probably have changed my mind (again) about these tracks as they continue to gnaw away at my taste buds.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=55718403&blogId=417946290#ixzz0yPJi0kPQ - Live 4 Metal

Forged In Flame aren't re-inventing the wheel here, just maybe doing a few modifications. Granted, 4 songs only gives you a taste of a band, but from what I've sampled, here's a few things I've learned. They are a very solid and tight band, it's hard to believe they're just getting started, they sound like a band with years of chemistry. Next, the production was awesome, the Ante Up Studios and whoever else was involved deserve some credit. Now, as I mentioned eariler, this isn't ground-breaking, but as far as the heavy end of the Stoner Rock genre goes, they aren't afraid to implement some things like a more "Thrash" guitar sound and a cleaner guitar tone. If you want some comparisons, Black Label Society, Down and Corrosion Of Conformity come to mind. Overall, I think they have a strong future at least within the Metal Genre, with the ever-changing landscape of mainstream music it's hard to say if they'll achieve that type of success, but then again, I don't think thats what these guys are after.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=55718403&blogId=417946290#ixzz0yPJ0Bkjx - Rock and a Hard Place

For a demo, the CD certainly has some fancy pants design. I'm used to just seeing the band name written in sharpie on an economy-brand CDR. But I'm guessing the Cleveland, Ohio band wanted something to match the professional production job (another pleasant surprise for a demo). And the music, which is the sort of blustery riff metal that owes as much to the likes of Down and Black Label Society as they do In Flames or Lamb of God (minus the thrashy aspect). In terms of aggression and overall playing, the band has it down, but in terms of songwriting, I found their four songs a little lacking. Apart from "A Raven's Cage," there wasn't really all that much that stuck out. But it's still pretty clear the band's on their way to something, so let's check back with Forged in Flame after they've had a little more busting skulls onstage. - StonerRock.com

I've reviewed a good many Stoner Rock/Metal albums in the past few months and to be perfectly honest, most of them have been pretty dull. I was definitely getting bored with all of the mediocre albums, but I was extremely pleased to find that FORGED IN FLAME's self-titled four song demo was anything but dull.

The best part about this demo is the energy that these guys exude with their music. Each song is filled with monster grooves and lots of variety in the riffing. There's no doubt that the riffs here are absolutely killer. I found myself banging my head to almost every single riff these guys threw at me. Another thing that stands out is the harmony sections, which are used sparingly, but that just makes them even more effective because of the great placement within the songs.

One thing that really surprised me was the shred solo in "A Ravens Cage." You rarely ever find that style of lead guitar in this genre, but I have to say, it's a great solo and the playing is very impressive.

As far as complaints go, the biggest flaw with this album is that it's only 4 songs, even though each song is a solid 4-5 minutes in length. My only other minor gripe is that the fourth song, "Hexa," isn't on par with the first three songs, which are all outstanding. It's still a good song though, but it keeps "Forged In Flame" from being damn near perfect. Definitely go out and get yourself a copy of this demo, and be on the lookout for more material from these guys.
9 out of 10

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Yet another product from the increasingly active local studio Ante Up, this four-song EP is a surprisingly melodic effort from the local metal act. "Miss Mothership" features some fine vocal work courtesy of frontman Gary Kane, and the band really lets drummer Jon Vinson go at it, too. The band cites Clutch, Mastodon and Down as influences, and that's certainly apparent in songs such as "Black Halo" and "Hexa," tunes which feature the kind of complex chord progressions you'd expect from those acts. — Jeff Niesel

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This is the first installment of the bands to watch blog here.
I was more or less inspired to do it after seeing one of those performances that are so rare and such a sweet thing to see.
It was the band Forged in Flame from Cleveland. My band went out to do a weekend with them in Ohio. Day one was Cleveland. Technical issues and so on happened but overall they sounded good.
The next night was in Akron, Ohio. I was in a shitty mood due to shit on my end with my amp going crazy but FIF followed us up and holy fuck.

They are a killer band to begin with and amazing guys to boot but I wasn't really prepared for what I was about to see. It happens rare. I've maybe seen it a few times only. Neurosis, Goatwhore and Torche were probably the only 3 times I have seen it.

A perfect set in every way. The sound was stunning. Everything was at the right levels, the tones were low as fuck and just crushing beyond what you could believe without having seen it. It was tight as all fuck to the point where if they hadn't been standing there in front of me playing it, I might have thought someone had the CD on real loud. They had an energy and a passion pouring out of them that night. Every note of the guitar and bass, every pound of th drum and every word came across perfectly clear not only in sound but in overall mood and pushed across every ounce of musicianship they had as well as their love for what they were doing.

After I watched the set I was seriously mind blown. It goes down as one of the single greatest live performances I have ever seen.

Some people witnessed the moon landing and others saw DaVinci create his masterpieces. A few fans of baseball have seen a perfect game thrown. For me, it is a huge love and appreciation for music that I have and the passion that some bands feel for what they are doing. The connection between them and the fans that is impossible to pull off in arena's and outdoor settings.

Some people got to see somthing very awesome happen that they are passionate about. For me there are several outside the walls of music.

But I am happy as fuck and honored that I got to see this band, in that town, at the club and on that night. It was a live performance I won't soon forget.

You can check them out at www.forgedinflame.com
and make sure to catch them live sometime. These dudes are one of the most real fucking bands and real fucking dudes I have ever met.

Best of luck to them on the band and their personal endeavors. They deserve it all.

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Wow who would think that the mild-mannered state of Ohio would be the home of some heavy ass metal bands such as Chimaria, Fistula, Lo-Pan, Reg Giant and these metal monsters Forged in Flame.
Here’s how I found these guys: I was searching Newburycomics.com for Solace and one of the search results was for a concert poster. Among the list of bands was Backwoods Payback. After a search for Backwoods Payback I landed on their Facebook page. While on their FB page I saw that they played a show with Forged in Flame who also have a FB page.

Get it: Forged In Flame (29.53 MB) - FatRiffs

Amongst the homogenized landscape of metal bands, Forged in Flame have come forward to challenge the genre's typical formula. Mixing equal parts prog rock, metal and doom, they prove that heavy music can still be catchy.

After months of relentless writing, rehearsals and a couple line up changes they began recording at Ante Up Audio with engineers Matt Curry(Ozzy) and Cole Martinez at the helm.

Forged In Flame's demo garnered lots of local attention drawing comparisons to such heavyweights as Clutch, Mastodon and Down.(Facebook) - PlanetFuzz.net

We’re always excited when bands offer their music for free because we feel that it’s a great way to get their music out there and perhaps even create a fan or two. It’s even better when we are the ones that get to share this music with everybody. This post is us doing just that.

Gary Kane of Forged in Flame gave us full permission to offer their music up for free, and we were eager to do just that. I have uploaded the album as a torrent that can be downloaded at the following link: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5625878. If you don’t have a bittorrent client, we highly suggest you use µTorrent.

Or if you’re not into the whole torrenting scene and don’t care to find out, you can download it here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=07MUF9RW.

Here’s some information about this EP:

Release Date: September 12, 2008
Label: self released
Length: 20:25

Synopsis
Recorded at Ante Up Audio with Matt Curry and Cole Martinez
1,000 printed on a transparent disc.

Track listing:
1 Miss Mothership
2 Black Halo
3 A ravens Cage
4 Hexa

—————————————

If you like this album, please support the band and buy it from their online store at http://merch.forgedinflame.com and don’t be shy about buying any more of their great merchandise. It’s all well worth the money! - The Soda Shop.us

It’s $1 Steak Night at the Pearl Road Tavern in Old Brooklyn, and I’m sitting at a table with red bearded singer Gary Kane and shaven headed guitarist Metal Jay Bonnel; representatives from what I’ve been told is the stoner metal band to watch out for, Cleveland’s Forged in Flame. Absent are bassist Jay Clark and drummer Jon Vinson. Also in attendance- Trip from Studbulls Disco Biscuit. The beers are cheap, the steaks are bloody and the interview is laid back. We talk a little about the Jigsaw Saloon days, when self-proclaimed business guru Phil Lara sponsored their first self-titled four song EP and essentially helped give them their start. When Lara’s empire fell through, they remained, and have been aggressively playing shows with everybody from Chimaira to Pentagram. Their most recent release is a split 7-inch with friends Ohio Sky titled Forged in Ohio.

I was reading some of these reviews and it seems like people are all over the place trying to describe your sound. I read everything from Corrosion of Conformity to Clutch, Down, etc.

Metal Jay Bonnel- Everything in music is relative- what sounds like Soundgarden to you, I could say it sounds like Kyuss. We get a lot of southern metal band, stoner metal band comparisons, which is what we do, but we’re trying to stay away from the Down or Clutch kind of sound and forge our own thing.

Gary Kane- We’ve got a lot of different roots- everybody in our band has been in a hardcore band or something at one time, lot of variety of likes and dislikes. We’re never playing to fit a genre, like to what sounds like stoner metal or whatever. With the 7-inch we just put out with Ohio Sky, you can really hear where we’re going with our sound, really hear the evolution. The mindset we have is different.

Most of the metal bands I’ve been hearing lately are doing like ‘70s down tempo doom stuff.

G- Yeah, I see that.

J -I’ve always done death metal bands. I like that stuff but my favorite band is probably Iron Maiden.This is the first time that when I’ve written things I can write directly for a real singer. Now that I am, it’s like a dream come true. Whenever I write I have Gary in mind- I wanna make the best possible guitar riff I can, but at the same time I want him to have the space to write a fantastic vocal part over it. To me, he’s the most important person in the band.

G- See that’s scary to me ‘cause I have really no clue what I’m doing (laughs). I like heavy music, screaming, sh*t like that. Being brutal and heavy vocally is pretty simple and, kind, of very one dimensional. I’m just trying to do what comes natural to me as opposed to just doing that formula.

J-Scream the verse, scream the chorus, scream the verse or vice versa. From my experience doing death metal there’s a point where it’s like- how can you tell whats more brutal? There’s no dynamic. These new songs, Gary’s really stretching out here with his voice, trying new things.

G- They [the other members] bring this large, great sounding music, and I gotta ice the cake. You gotta step it up every time.

When can we see the album?

G- The goal is to have the full-length out by the end of the year. We definitely have the material, it’s just sorting through it; because there’s a lot of it.

J- If we could record reel to reel, that’s the way we would do it. That’s my big goal for the band, is to one day have the budget to record reel to reel like it’s supposed to be. We wanna make a Chinese Democracy. We wanna record and rerecord, forever. We wanna make sure it’s perfect so nobody buys it (everybody laughs).

So who’s Axl?

G- Well I’m the only ginger, maybe Jon’s (Vinson, the drummer) a little ginge (laughs).With the album though, there’s a lot of thought put into it. We’ve talked about putting it out ourselves, not shopping it around, not trying really to get a distribution deal, just putting it out on our own terms.

What do you think about the current metal scene here?

J-What makes me happy is the resurgence of metal and the old sound coming back. Thin Lizzy, you know, these guys are getting the props they never got in the ‘90s. As far as what bothers me, I’m kind of annoyed by all these clone bands. If you’re going to do something, be original.

G- Some bands that really impress me- the new Skeletonwitch album is awesome.

J- DeathCrawl is awesome. Anything that reminds me of old school metal.

G- Cleveland’s great. A lot of the great areas to play, Chicago, New York, Nashville, are within reach. This is a great city to be in, a lot of the musicians around here don’t really realize how awesome it is. For places to play, I really enjoy the Grog Shop- the sound is great, the stage is perfect.

J- We’ve got a lot of resources here that other cities don’t have. For example, you go to some place like LA, you gotta rent rehearsal space by the hour, here there are places available everywhere. You get a newfound appreciation for your city when you live somewhere else. How many Motley Crue or Guns’N’Roses knockoff bands can you have? LA is the only place where glam rock still matters- you play like Dokken here, you’re playing a rib cookoff. I couldn’t find a decent band in LA to save my life.

The Jigsaw was a good place for metal. Whats the deal with Phil Lara?

Trip- There is no deal (laughs all around).

What are some shows you’re looking forward to?

G- We got a cool party show we’re going to throw August 14th with Studbulls Disco Biscuit, it’s gonna be a kegger and a f***ing riot. It should be insane. The other bands are still in the works, 10 bucks all you can drink- so keep your eyes out for that. We’re playing a few stoner rock fests too.

What do you think about the Lake Erie UFO?

G- I’m kind of a nerd for alien life. When I was a kid, there was a burning green meteor that illuminated my house and lit up my whole backyard. Don’t put that in the interview though. I love the thought of intelligent life coming here. Do I believe it? Maybe.

J- I’m kind of the Stephen Hawking school of thought- just leave it alone. When Columbus came to America, it didn’t really work out for the Indians.

I wonder why would they even come here…

G- (without hesitation) They want the new Forged in Flame album. - Buzzbin Magazine

After numerous lineup changes, local stoner-rock act Forged in Flame members Gary Kane (vocals), Jay Bonnell (guitar), Jay Clark (bass) and Jon Vinson (drums) finally feel as though their time has come. While the act released a four-song EP a few years ago, a full-length effort is planned for later in 2010. So far the one thing in the band's favor is the fact its music isn't short on comparisons.
"The genre of the band is classified as stoner rock or stoner metal," said Kane, a 2001 Garfield Heights High School graduate. "We also get a lot of Kyuss or early Soundgarden comparisons. It's kind of interesting. Basically people have told us at our shows that we don't sound like we're from Cleveland, that we sound like a band from another area."
Next up for the quartet is a 7-inch vinyl split release with local act Ohio Sky. Kane said the band recorded the Black Sabbath-sounding "Death in Counting" and the uptempo "Sol Ruiner" for the project. Forged in Flame has booked a 7-inch release party for 9 p.m. Saturday at the House of Blues' Cambridge Room, East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Tickets are $10. Call 216-523-2583 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Jigsaw Saloon saga will soon be a song. It's already a T-shirt. Cleveland metal band Forged in Flame has printed shirts with Jigsaw CEO Phil Lara's face on the front, locked in a crosshairs.

"We figured this is a way to make back some of the money [Lara] never came through with," says Forged in Flame singer Gary Kane.

The band got the idea at practice, when they were enjoying a hard-won laugh about the ongoing Jigsaw situation, an 18-months-and-counting clusterfuck that killed Parma's beloved Jigsaw, crippled the legendary Agora and left bruises all over the Cleveland music community. The group decided the festering frustration would make for a good song.

"We talked about how the guy's probably got a bounty on his head," says drummer Jon Vinson. "And the idea came up for [a song called] 'Marked Man.'"

"Marked Man" will be on the band's upcoming record, which doesn't have a release date yet. But a similarly themed T-shirt is available now for $15 at the band's website, myspace.com/purerock13. Kane says they're moving briskly. The band is also planning a sticker that says "Phil Larceny." (The band does not advocate actual violence against Phil Lara. They're just saying they'd bet someone is considering it.)

Lara barreled onto the Cleveland club scene in late 2007. He presented himself as a business veteran who wanted to shake up the music business with some innovative new approaches. Lara's ideas and the biz went together like ammonia and bleach, and Cleveland nightlife is still choking. Plug his name into the search engine at clevescene.com for the full story.

But while most of the coverage has dealt with the impact on venues, Lara dabbled in band management as well, with similar results.

Forged in Flame was his first guinea pig. The group formed in 2007, and by the time Lara and his partner purchased the Jigsaw, the band had some momentum. The group played the club. Lara liked them and invited them back. Then he sent an e-mail, inviting them to the 'Saw for a meeting. That's when he made his pitch: He wanted to invest in the band, build up its value and sell it off at a profit.

"One part I thought was weird was that he said, 'I've never failed at anything,'" recalls Vinson. Still, the intrigued band members agreed to sign with Lara.

In spring 2008, Lara called another meeting. He wanted the band members to be full-time employees of his then-growing business, Jigsaw Entertainment, complete with salaries and health insurance. He asked them how much they needed to live, rent a rehearsal space, promote the band, make some T-shirts and put together a good demo. The band did the math and came up with a figure of $150,000, which included the members living close to the bone for about $8 an hour. And for a hot minute, the money began rolling in.

Forged in Flame began playing the Jigsaw between one and three times a month, for crowds of 30 or so people — light duty for a house band. Lara gave them health-insurance cards. That was followed by money to record and release CDs. Lara gave them the green light to shoot a video with Mushroomhead drummer Steve "Skinny" Felton directing. Felton says Lara paid him.

Soon, the band faced the same situation that Jigsaw and Agora managers, cooks and bartenders encountered: Paychecks arrived late, bounced or never appeared. After Lara assured him the health insurance was in effect, Vinson visited the emergency room, only to find that his care wasn't covered. (Vinson says he still has outstanding medical bills). Checks that Lara wrote to the rehearsal facility bounced. By autumn, the band owed the facility more than $1,000 in rent. Lara apologized, cut the hall a fresh check and told the band not to worry about it. When that check bounced, they cut the cord.

After his first music-biz test model crashed and burned, Lara launched the next one on a larger scale: Without fixing the bugs, he proceeded directly from management to concert promoting.

The members of Cleveland hard-rock band Venomin James were fixtures at the Jigsaw before Lara owned it. Lara liked the band and gave them opening slots on prime national shows. In fall 2008, they called to book a date for their CD-release party. Lara told them to come in; he had some things he wanted to talk to them about.

The band arrived at the Jigsaw on time. They waited an hour for Lara to show up. When he finally did, he laid out his grand vision: a network of clubs across the region where national acts — which he'd fly in — would play mini-tours, with handpicked local bands opening. At the time it seemed plausible — in addition to owning the Jigsaw, he had deals with Peabody's, the Hi-Fi and the Agora.

In the meantime, said Lara, he'd pay Venomin James a salary so the members could concentrate on music. This was exactly the opportunity they were looking for. He asked them about the new album. They told him they wanted to have it mastered by Alan Douches, a New Jersey engineer who's worked with big-name talent like Mastodon and Sufjan Stevens. Lara told them to send off the music and let him know when it was done; he'd pay for it.

In November, Lara gave the studio a credit-card number that was declined. He stopped returning the studio's calls. Then he stopped returning the band's calls. By December, they decided Lara would never make good on the debt. They told Lara they planned to move on — and did it politely, keeping in mind that he had a stake in four of the city's major clubs.

"[Lara] kind of dicked us over, but he was nice the whole time," says guitarist Joe Fortunato. "But the dude never followed through on anything. He seemed like Jekyll and Hyde. He was a cool guy. Behind the scenes, he was unraveling the scene."

In February, the band played an outside promoter's show at the Jigsaw. That's when Lara told them he had "four to six" shows with stoner-rock band Fu Manchu "locked in" for March, from Chicago to Rochester, with a St. Patrick's Day show at the Agora. Cleveland rock band Suede Brothers was booked as well, he claimed. Lara wrote some dates on a bar napkin and told them to leave them open.

"He promised us all this stuff," says Fortunato. "Everybody wants to daydream, to win the lottery. The fact that someone said they would step up and do anything — that meant a lot to us. So we followed that, with stars in our eyes."

Fortunato began making posters and flyers to promote the tour. He checked into having an EP pressed to sell at the shows. He also checked the clubs' websites to see how they were promoting the concerts and if the opening support was listed. To Fortunato's dismay, no shows were listed at all.

In mid-February, the Jigsaw closed, and Lara stopped returning their calls. Fortunato called the clubs the tour was supposedly playing. Chicago's Double Door told Fortunato Fu Manchu was not playing there. In Columbus, Ravari Room had already spent money advertising the show but pulled it from the schedule when Lara broke off contact. Small's in Detroit spat venom about "some asshole in Cleveland who's trying to be a promoter" who had tried to book a show.

They'd all had some contact with him, but when it was time for Lara to sign papers or cough up money for a deposit, he stopped returning calls.

"I think he thought that he could do [the tour] for a certain amount of money, and he could wheel and deal," says Suede Brothers manager Chris Francis. "And it didn't happen."

Venomin James and Forged in Flame are slowly climbing out of the financial holes they dug at Lara's behest. The studio and clubs were understanding, but Cleveland's reputation is blemished. Worst, they say, is the lost time. Venomin James knew that singer Jim Meador would be deploying for military service this summer. Fortunato says they could have spent those months working on getting their music out instead of trying to make good on Lara's bad promises.

"I never got the impression that [Lara] had malicious intent," says Francis. "He just ran his mouth too much. I never had the sense that he was out to screw people, but at the same time, he did it." - Scene Magazine