Forever True is a retrospect on
Earth Crisis' ten-year reign as one of hardcore's most prominent and righteous groups. Material spanning the band's career has been included, from
Earth Crisis' 1991 debut, All Out War, through their unexpected final studio album, 2000's Slither. The album progresses backwards in
Earth Crisis' time line, opening with five songs taken from Slither and highlighting the group's most promising work from 1996's Gomorrah's Season Ends, 1995's
Destroy the Machines, 1993's Firestorm, and 1991's All out War. Also included are two live tracks which first appeared on the 1997 album The Oath That Keeps Me Free, most memorably
Earth Crisis' unique cover of "Sunshine of My Love." As a hidden addition, the group's cover of
the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" finishes the album, leaving the listener reminiscing about the glory
Earth Crisis achieved. It is quite relieving to see that
Earth Crisis has avoided including any work from their horrendous 1998 release, Breed the Killers, and focused rather on their earlier triumphs. Forever True helps capture the timeless essence of
Earth Crisis' crusade to spread the word concerning cruelty toward livestock as a human commodity and the destruction of the natural world. In a world full of bubblegum pop and self-pitying alt-rockers,
Earth Crisis has managed to shine as a group who actually stood for something, and a band who felt the burning desire to in some way change the atrocities they saw around them. Though they chose to relay this message through reckless hardcore growls and a hybrid form of heavy metal and punk music, they enlightened a massive amount of young minds along the way. Forever True displays a group filled with integrity and passion for their music and ideas, who were not about to let any person get in between them and their goals. While not every song is exquisitely crafted or extremely special, each song does give hope that another band will learn a little from
Earth Crisis and strive to alter the world's mindset the way
Earth Crisis has done. ~ Jason D. Taylor