Search - Fear of God :: Fear of God

Anatomy of Self Destruction

John E. Chadwick | San Francisco, CA | 03/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most powerful CD's I have ever listened to. The music is deep, heavy and textured, one could easily slip thru a crack and get lost. And then there is Dawn's voice. From the opening spoken words to the frenzied exodus of Drift it is obvious who the star is here. Dawn's tortured soul is bared as she lashes out at a world that she is not long for.
The music is reminsicent of early Fates Warning/Mercyful Fate only with a heavier double bass and guitar crunch at times. The band is tight, and they weave a spike filled web that Dawn cloaks her vocals in. Raspy, haunting and at times screamed like a death knell, paradoxically, at other times they are spoken, whispered and almost breathed. The lyrics are deep, dark and wonderful. Simple lines have excess meaning when Dawn speaks them. This album is not simply a bunch of songs but more of an experience.
From personal knowledge I know that on the tour of this album she started having violent episodes and a couple of years later literally drank herself to death. This CD was powerful before, but seeing and feeling the underlying madness inherit within it makes it an almost surreal experience. This is NOT an act, this is raw emotion and mental anguish at it's finest.
I implore everyone out there who desires to really experience their music instead of just listening to it, to track this CD down and feel the power it contains. My personal favorites are tracks #3-Emily and #9-Drift."

Gothic metal at its best

Jesse Nelson | Tucson, AZ USA | 10/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an incredible album. Dawn Crosby died of alcoholism, I believe in 1996. Anyway, my first exposure to this was an intense video "Betrayed," one of the most intense tracks off this album. The overlay of voices throughout the album makes it sound as though a wall of hanting female banshees laid down the vocals. Far superior to the harsher, stripped down follow-up, this evokes early Danzig and early King Diamond, yet is a wonder all to its own. Very under-exposed and under the radar... get it if you can."

This is classic....Its a shame that many have not heard it

THE METAL HISTORIAN | 08/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The music scene is so cluttered nowadays. When a band gets big, the record companies flood the market with a zillion other bands that sound like them. The end result is that there are really good bands that get overlooked due to this flooded market.

FEAR OF GOD`s " Within the Veil" should have been a phenomenon. I say this because this is a truely unique and impassioned album. And it has a factor I just love in an album; nothing else sounds like it. However there are elements that would appeal to every style of metal. The late Dawn Crosby gave an unforgettable performance on this album. From the spoken intro of the first song " All That Remains" to the end of the final cut; "Drift".

The music is heavy. The band sounded ... well I call it gothic thrash. And well played at that. This album will appeal to fans of slayer, overkill, celtic frost, lamb of god, and rob zombie. This album is really exceptional and if you ever get the chance to hear it, you`ll agree. Its passioned and chaotic but never becomes just noise. Pick it up if you stumble across it. However, stay away from the followup, " toxic voodoo". The band had too many lineup changes and F.O.G.s sound suffered because of it."