Metal Underground.com

With an abundance of symphonic sounds and songs that pass the 10-minute mark, it's obvious that Forevers' Fallen Grace is aiming to create an epic sound on "Herald Of Twilight." Unfortunately, what is meant to sound grandiose often turns into a mid-tempo plod that feels longer than it actually is.

In terms of playing ability, there's plenty to be had here, with keyboardist Kevin Blakey definitely earning his keep with the pianos and other exotic synthesized sounds on "Quelling Of The Dawn" and "Graves Are The Footsteps Of Angels," among other tracks. Guitarist Ken McKee stretches out with some pretty cool solos that help to liven up tracks like "Crestfallen." Singer Michael Ferro is mostly adequate to the task at hand, though his limitations are laid pretty bare in the quieter moments of "Goliath's Path" and "And I Languish."

The problem, quite frankly, is a lack of editing on the part of the band. Certainly, there are plenty of what start out to be good moments on the 11-minute "And I Languish." The problem is that each and every one of them is allowed to overstay its welcome, resulting in a song that feels much longer than it actually is. The same is true for Ken McKee's overly long slow solo on the six-minute "Sodden With The Blood Of Tragedies."

The overly tinny production also doesn't do the band or the material any favors. McKee's guitar tone never has much heft to it, and when the band does experiment with some much speedier material — particularly in the opening of "Graves Are The Footsteps Of Angels" — the guitars are swallowed up in a sea of snare drums and piano.

That said, the band does actually manage to get more right than wrong on the album's other 10-minute-plus track, "Crestfallen," which has a great acoustic jazz section that is quite reminiscent of early-'70s Sabbath.

Unfortunately, Forevers' Fallen Grace's epic ambitions mostly fall short of the mark on "Herald Of Twilight." A mix of over-long songs and poor production makes this one for only the most dedicated fans of the band's epic doom metal style.