GOD FORBID, Sickness and Misery (Koch, 2007)

The skull:
“Peekaboo, I see you!” says this cute doe-eyed dome of bone. And it literally is a dome depicted on the cover, as we can’t even see its lower portion. Seems the skull is just escaping the trap of barbed wire laid out behind him. Look out, buddy!

The music:
This thing collects 1998’s Out of Misery and 2000’s Reject the Sickness. God Forbid’s early material seems to lean on the metal side of metalcore, and though they’re hardly lacking in musical talent, I always thought God Forbid were pretty damn generic, even if they’re now credited is being forefathers of “deathcore” or whatever. Since this is a collection of early material and not a proper album, it’s no wonder whoever in charge over at Koch thought “let’s slap a skull on the cover. The kids love that shit.” Uh…next!!!
— Friar Wagner