tracklist:
01. Tales of Bitterness
02. The Forever Endeavor
03. A Break From Tradition
04. Vertigo Equilibrium
05. Dead Night, Dead Light
06. Cloaked In Need
07. The Acting Parts
08. Poison Me
09. Redemption
10. All For Nothing

label: Olympic/Century Media, 2004

line-up:
Steven Sagala- vocals
Eric Kava- bass
Joe DeGroot- guitar
Steve Stell- guitar
David Swanson- drums

Although their members' average age is only 25, Chicago's ENFORSAKEN have already been active in the metal underground for more than five years. Founded in 1998 by guitarist Steve Stell, the group first received national attention when their initial two-song demo earned a rave review in Metal Maniacs' "Firing Squad" column. Stell soon recruited guitarist Joe DeGroot - with whom he had played in various local bands when the two were teenagers - along with vocalist Steven Sagala and bassist Eric Kava. With a solidified lineup, ENFORSAKEN recorded a six-track EP titled Embraced By Misery in 2000. Although it was intended to serve only as a demo, the recording caught the ear of Shadows Fall guitarist Matt Bachand, who soon signed the band to his Lifeless Records imprint. Three months after Lifeless released Embraced By Misery in America, the album received a European release on Lifeforce Records.

The band began garnering international attention, along with excellent reviews in publications ranging from Canada's Unrestrained! to England's Terrorizer. Back on the home front, the group - bolstered by the addition of drummer Dave Swanson - solidified its local following by sharing the stage with a who's who of metal heavyweights (The Crown, The Haunted, Lamb of God, Kataklysm, Krisiun, Vader, Shadows Fall, etc.) and performing at such high profile events as the Milwaukee Metalfest. As soon as Century Media Records completed its purchase of the Chicago-based Olympic Recordings in 2003, the label wasted no time in signing ENFORSAKEN to a worldwide contract.

On their official debut, The Forever Endeavor, the group injects the Olympic roster with a sense of youthful vigor while reinforcing the label's midwestern roots. Featuring cover art by Niklas Sundin (In Flames, Arch Enemy), the album was co-produced by Chris Djuricic (Fleshgrind, Jungle Rot) and mastered by metal legend James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Testament), who also contributed a searing guitar solo on the album's epic closing track, "All For Nothing." Bringing the Gothenburg sound Stateside, ENFORSAKEN's brand of melodic death melds classic influences with modern metal to create a fresh, contemporary sound that's vital not only today, but forever.

01. Tales of Bitterness
This is the first song off of our album "The Forever Endeavor" and a song that sets the tone for the entire record. The song itself is about the short time that man has on earth and the dreams that most people never get to experience. Time passes all...

02.The Forever Endeavor
A lifetime of love, hate, hope and suffering...the journey never ends throughout our lives, and who knows what the future holds on the other side of life.

03.A Break From Tradition
To be your own person...to live life by your own free will and not to conform to what is around you. Start a personal revolution, you don't have to go out and change the world. The change starts from within.

04.Vertigo Equilibrium
The lyrics for this song were written by our guitarist Joe DeGroot. I never really found out from him what the lyrics were about, but my interpretation mirrors the song "Tales of Bitterness". Another way of looking at life, but this time through more spiritual means. Spiritual not in the sense of religion, but through the maze of time and space.

05.Dead Light, Dead Night
This song was originally on our EP "Embraced By Misery". The lyrics deal with the personal struggles of belief in religion and of one's self. The rift between morality and spirituality is apparent through times of self-doubt and reflection.

06.Cloaked In Need
Drowning in guilt, the weak-hearted are subjected to a lifetime of shame and pain. The only way to make a change for better days is to analyze their self perception with a renewed sense of inner strength.

07.The Acting Parts
Another track originally from the "Embraced..." EP. The song of the fake, or our roles in the story of life. Whatever the case may be, the lyrics reflect either side of the fence.

08.Poison Me
The lyrics of this song contrast the poisons of man and the man-made These poisons that can kill us mentally or physically, may ultimately make us stronger if we choose to overcome them. Don't let them seal your fate.

09.Redemption (The Death of Vanity)
This song is so old-school and by far one of our favorite songs to play live, fans of all types of metal seem to agree on this song iin our live set. The lyrics deal with the fight for self-rightousness. Stand for what you believe, die for what you believe.

10.All For Nothing
I like taking lyrics from any songwriter and wonder what they were thinking about when they wrote the lyrics to a song. Our other guitar slayer, Steve Stell, wrote the lyrics for this one and...well...for him they were about broken relationships. Even though I knew what Stell was writing about, I still wanted that adventure of deciphering the lyrics through my own interpretations. This song serves as a fitting conclusion to our album "The Forever Endeavor" and brings the album full circle. The blood, the sweat, the tears and still not being able to fulfill our dreams...it was all for nothing.