New Jersey metal titans
GOD FORBID are currently on the road in the U.S. as a four-piece following guitarist
Dallas Coyle's decision to sit out the trek (amid unconfirmed reports that he has left the band). A fill-in axeman is expected to be recruited shortly.
GOD FORBID is playing several shows with
STRAGHT LINE STITCH leading up to the April 2 start of the
LAMB OF GOD-headlined
No Fear Energy Music Tour, also featuring
AS I LAY DYING,
CHILDREN OF BODOM and
MUNICIPAL WASTE.
Katie Parsons of
Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with
Dallas and his brother, fellow
GOD FORBID guitarist
Doc Coyle, prior to the band's March 20, 2009 concert at Islington Academy London, England with
ILL NINO. Watch the eight-minute chat below.
GOD FORBID's new album,
"Earthsblood", sold around 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to
Nielsen SoundScan, to land at position No. 110 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD debuted at No. 2 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
GOD FORBID's previous album,
"IV: Constitution of Treason", entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 119 in September 2005 after shifting 8,300 units.
"Earthsblood" was released on February 24 in the U.S. and February 16 in Europe via
Century Media Records. The CD was produced by
Eric Rachel (
ATREYU) with
Christian Olde Wolbers (
FEAR FACTORY,
THREAT SIGNAL) handling all vocal tracking. The mixing was handled by
Jens Bogren (
OPETH,
SOILWORK,
AMON AMARTH).
Regarding the album's title, guitarist
Doc Coyle previously stated, "The title
'Earthsblood' came to me after watching the film
'There Will Be Blood'. What is the price of ambition? Is the blood of our bodies and the blood of the earth one and the same? With the current energy crisis, and its relation to many of the military conflicts worldwide, there has been a global, collective consciousness that has emerged in regards to the interdependence between humankind and the planet in which we inhabit. Coincidentally, the lyrics that
Byron Davis and
Dallas Coyle had written meshed with these revelations perfectly. This isn't a preachy, trendy, 'hip-to-be-green' album, nor is it a concept album. It's just an abstract observation."
