Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Laila Hanson After a set rich with incredible new songs highlighting on developed insturmentals and lyrics, Forgive the Fallen ended with a duet with guest singer and friend Steve.

The local music scene, in Baltimore at least, is for the most part slowly starting to blend into the mainstream bill. Bands tend to develop fan bases with constant playing, becoming regulars at certain music venues. They become recognizable and are soon part of the city itself. Every Grammy winning band starts off as a local act.

Some local bands choose to take a different route. Instead of repetitive shows at the Recher Theatre or local music showcases to build up their fan base, they hit the scene full force by opening for national headlining acts. Female-fronted metal act Forgive the Fallen is one of these bands. After opening up for Dutch Goth-rock sensations Within Temptation in October, they soon lined up a slot on the Balls, Volume and Strength tour featuring metal legends Hellyeah and Otep. With their recent self-titled EP release, the band has definitely climbed the local music ladder in record time, having just formed recently in 2005.

On Saturday night, in lieu of taking part in the fake St. Patrick's Day festivities, I managed to catch Forgive the Fallen's headlining performance at Sonar. The club is vast, with several rooms and stages boasting interesting light set ups and club-goer artwork on bathroom walls. The rickety doors and ambient atmosphere are reminiscent of the ultraviolet fake blood-inspired club flick, "Party Monster." Most of the club was locked up on this particular night, though, as the self-important bouncers guided people to the smallest room with a bar to the right.

Because of various delays, my friend and I missed one of the opening acts and came in to see classic-rock sounding "Coal" in the middle of their set. With a well-rounded sound and a passionate singer, I found myself swaying along to most of their songs. They managed to pack five muscular guys on the tiny stage while still jumping around in rock star fashion. Their instrumentals were obviously practiced and clean, with no amateurish stumbles. At the end of their set, I was eager to hear the mention of a possible album.

Continued...

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