ForeverAtLast – Welcome to Lost Cause: Population Zero

By: Nick Habisch

There are, and always have been amazing vocalists in the world of music. Sometimes these vocalists are stuck in a band that is sub-par to what they are capable of and what a quality band could achieve with such a vocalist. Welcome to the case of Brittany Ritchey and ForeverAtLast. Hailing from the musical haven of Indianapolis, Indiana (Haste the Day, and others) ForeverAtLast is a metal band that is still on the boarder of making it big or dropping off the musical map.

I first heard of this band when I was going through the list of bands that were going to be playing at Cornerstone Fest 2009. After sifting through tons of bands that were playing on the small stages, some decent, some awful, I came across ForeverAtLast. As the File_Save As started playing on their myspace, I was slightly unimpressed as it started off with one of metal’s most cliche things, a breakdown. After the vox had kicked in, I was still not impressed, but I did became curious as they sounded a bit funny. I started checking out their page and realized the vocalist was a girl. While normally this wouldn’t be a huge deal, it was in this case. I had not heard growls and screams like that from a chick vocalist in my listening experience. Putting even the great Angela Gassow to shame, Brittany Ritchey is the force that drives this band. As I listened more and more I realized this band had a great deal of potential.

Fast forwarding to Cornerstone Festival, I watched ForeverAtLast put on a great show, even though they were missing their lead guitarist. I quickly purchased their 7-song cd and proceeded to take a listen. This band plays the typical metalcore style, but with emphasis on atmosphere and ambience. Songs like Back to the Fire Again and I Tried to Add You on Myspace… showcase the band’s knack for catchy riffs, and also puts Brittany’s vocals on full display. With adequate, but not great drumming, and catchy but not amazingly technical guitar, the band manages to put a nice collection of songs together. Keyboards are also present, but the production is not as tight as one would hope, so the keyboards tend to get buried deep in the mix. Clean vocals by both the lead vocalist and the guitarist, along with some Mastadon like yelling from the bassist add a sense of vocal variety, whether that be good or bad. Songs like These Heavenly Lights and Mooi Lied show the band can slow things down and write some melodic music if they choose. Although this may sound good and all, there are a few things that hamper Welcome to Lost Cause…from being rated higher.

For having a vocalist as good as Brittany Ritchey, the band does not utilize her to her full potential on this album. Too many instances of clean vocals by the guitarist, and the awful yells by the bassist take the power away from what is the band’s best asset and selling point. Brittany’s clean vocals also are a sort of weak point. It seems like she tries to sing too low from her natural pitch, which sounds fine but she sounds alot better when singing at her natural higher pitch, like on the beginning of These Heavenly Lights. Musically the band also needs to develop a more original sound, although getting better production could help this. Also, The vocals tend to overshadow the instrumental side of this album, which may be a concern to some.

With all that being said, the band has great potential. If they utilize their amazing lead vocalist and develop a bit more of their own style, they could be a force in the metal realm for years to come. I would highly recommend this to listeners who enjoy female vocalists, or those that just want to hear something that is different vocally from the normal metalcore scene.

Rating: 4/10

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