Grave Forsaken is a four-piece Thrash Metal band from Perth, Australia that formed back in 2004 by former 'Katara' members Vaughan Gregory & Matt Skipworth. It wasn't long before guitarist-Elias Salmela and drummer-Tim Steadman were both added to complete the band's line-up. After forming their band, Grave Forsaken wasted no time and in 2005, just one year after their conception, released their independent debut self-titled 5-track EP. After the release of their debut, the band showed no signs of stopping and went on to record a number of studio albums including 2006-'Beside The River Of Blood', 2007-'Horror And Sadness'(EP), 2008-'Destined For Ascension', 2009-'This Day Forth', 2009-'Light The Hall!', 2010-'Fight To The Death', 2011-'Light The Hall II', 2012-'Reap What You Sow', 2013-'Plugged Into The System', 2014-'Ten Years', 2015-'The Fight Goes On', and 2017-'It Has Begun'.
Vaughan: "It was Tim Steadman who came up with the band's name. The four of us were proposing all kinds of names for the new band. I favored “Eternal Destiny”, which ended up being a song title on the second album. When Tim suggested 'Grave Forsaken' on a list with many others, it just seemed to work. At the time, we were playing this battle of the bands type event, and we still didn’t have a name. The announcer asked us what we were called, and we just looked at each other and said 'Grave Forsaken'. It just stuck. It refers to Jesus dying on the cross to save us. Through Jesus, our grave is forsaken."
In 2007, Grave Forsaken received critical acclaim by their appearance in Heaven’s Metal magazine. The band also established a fan club known as the “Grave Forsaken Mosher Crew”.
"Christianity has always been the major focus of the band,
with all members having a strong commitment to their faith"
with all members having a strong commitment to their faith"
2020
In 2020 Grave Forsaken released their 13th studio recording titled 'The Footsteps of God' on Soundmass. This recording finds the band looking back to previous albums for inspiration. 'The Footsteps of God' infuses the band's earlier classic Metal sound with a more modern day Thrash attitude allowing them to appeal to fans of both styles. Throughout the album, Grave Forsaken has included a little something for everyone with a mixture of Thrash, Doom, Classic, and Melodic Metal radiating from the band's arrangements. The album's artwork and layout was done by Scott Waters(Ultimatum) from NoLifeTilMetal.
The album's production was a collaborative effort between Daniel Holmes, Luke Gallagher and Vaughan Gregory. The three all have home recording setups, so it was recorded across those three locations. The album was finalized at Dan's studio called Fattdog Studio where he did the mixing and mastering. During the recording of 'The Footsteps of God' album, Elias Salmela decided to leave the band opening the door for former member-Luke Gallagher to return to the line-up as rhythm & lead guitarist. The official line-up for this 2020 release is comprised of vocalist/guitarist-Vaughan Gregory, lead guitarist-Luke Gallagher, bassist-Matt Skipworth, and Tim Steadman on drums.
The album's production was a collaborative effort between Daniel Holmes, Luke Gallagher and Vaughan Gregory. The three all have home recording setups, so it was recorded across those three locations. The album was finalized at Dan's studio called Fattdog Studio where he did the mixing and mastering. During the recording of 'The Footsteps of God' album, Elias Salmela decided to leave the band opening the door for former member-Luke Gallagher to return to the line-up as rhythm & lead guitarist. The official line-up for this 2020 release is comprised of vocalist/guitarist-Vaughan Gregory, lead guitarist-Luke Gallagher, bassist-Matt Skipworth, and Tim Steadman on drums.
On their latest recording, there is one area that needs to be improved on and this area lies within the sound production of the album. The problem at hand is that the guitars and musical arrangements sound polished and well done while the vocals sound noticeably unpolished resulting in a lack of cohesion between music and vocals. Now it's possible that the casual listener won't take notice of this issue however, it is definitely something that needs to be addressed on future releases.
Former Grave Forsaken guitarist-Luke Gallagher reunites with the band handling both lead & rhythm
guitars. Luke is joined by frontman-Vaughan Gregory forming a mosh worthy duo guitar section for the band. Both Luke & Vaughan deliver up everything from heavy Thrash riffs to Doom Metal helping to keep things varied from track to track.
guitars. Luke is joined by frontman-Vaughan Gregory forming a mosh worthy duo guitar section for the band. Both Luke & Vaughan deliver up everything from heavy Thrash riffs to Doom Metal helping to keep things varied from track to track.
Lyrics are Christ centered as one can see in the following excerpts:
"One True Way"
On this day choose to be
All you can for the Lord
Give all you can on this day
living for the One true way
Give all you can on this day
living for the One true way
Go out friends, make your way
The right heart in each step
Take the chance, live to shine
A bright light, now's the time
"Temple of Crucifixion"
Temple of crucifixion, temple of crucifixion
Come inside
Crucify your evil life
Born from above in holy light
Crucify your sinful past
Thank God you are free at last
Crucify the sinful way
New direction for today
Crucify the devil too
He's got no more hold on you
"Celebrity Judge And The Sinners Part IV"
He smiled when He thought of them
He knew them all by name
For one by one they'd come to Him
And all their lives had changed
He turned around and there they were
The children He had called
This place, the New Jerusalem
Was filled from wall to wall
"I Think It's Time"
I think it's time to make a change
I think it's time to rearrange
Reset our priority
Start again, find a new way
There is hope if we try
To find love and survive
God is there for us all
Just open up the door
"God-Given Strength"
If you hold on you find out sometimes good things come
Have faith and you will get through all the times of trouble
Go forth and pursue a righteous path in your life
Leave your troubles at the cross and boldly move on
We are servants of the one who sacrificed all
Live your life by putting Him first and you will thrive
On this day choose to be
All you can for the Lord
Give all you can on this day
living for the One true way
Give all you can on this day
living for the One true way
Go out friends, make your way
The right heart in each step
Take the chance, live to shine
A bright light, now's the time
"Temple of Crucifixion"
Temple of crucifixion, temple of crucifixion
Come inside
Crucify your evil life
Born from above in holy light
Crucify your sinful past
Thank God you are free at last
Crucify the sinful way
New direction for today
Crucify the devil too
He's got no more hold on you
"Celebrity Judge And The Sinners Part IV"
He smiled when He thought of them
He knew them all by name
For one by one they'd come to Him
And all their lives had changed
He turned around and there they were
The children He had called
This place, the New Jerusalem
Was filled from wall to wall
"I Think It's Time"
I think it's time to make a change
I think it's time to rearrange
Reset our priority
Start again, find a new way
There is hope if we try
To find love and survive
God is there for us all
Just open up the door
"God-Given Strength"
If you hold on you find out sometimes good things come
Have faith and you will get through all the times of trouble
Go forth and pursue a righteous path in your life
Leave your troubles at the cross and boldly move on
We are servants of the one who sacrificed all
Live your life by putting Him first and you will thrive
(See Site Info for Sword Scale meaning)
Vaughan: "In a scene where so many bands come and go, we are determined to stick around through thick and thin and release quality Christian metal. I hope you’ll join us for the ride!"
Let's get behind Grave Forsaken and help make sure that they are around for another 20 or 30 years! If you are into bands like Mortification, Mad Dragzter, or even Step Cousin then you are going to love what Grave Forsaken brings to the table. Help support Christian Metal by picking up your copy of the band's latest offering today!
Let's get behind Grave Forsaken and help make sure that they are around for another 20 or 30 years! If you are into bands like Mortification, Mad Dragzter, or even Step Cousin then you are going to love what Grave Forsaken brings to the table. Help support Christian Metal by picking up your copy of the band's latest offering today!
Musicians:
Vaughan Gregory - Vocals & Guitars
Luke Gallagher - Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Matt Skipworth - Bass
Tim Steadman - Drums
Vaughan Gregory - Vocals & Guitars
Luke Gallagher - Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Matt Skipworth - Bass
Tim Steadman - Drums
