Kingcrimsonprog Forbidden’s third full length studio album Distortion was a departure of sorts for the Bay Area Thrash Metal band, as it saw the band simultaneously move to a harsh mid-tempo groove metal style and also further experiment with progressive attitudes, sudden and bizarre changes and unconventional song structuring. Don’t buy this if you want a Thrash album however, don’t even buy it if you like Forbidden’s previous two thrash albums and think there might be enough Thrash on it to sustain you, there really isn’t.

If you like albums like Machine Head’s Burn My Eyes, Sepultura’s Chaos AD and Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven, there is a better chance that Forbidden’s 1994 album Distortion may be suited to your tastes. It shares a common musical ideal with those sorts of albums, a reaction of sorts to the Thrash Metal speed race that resulted in long and dark songs with slower, deeper and what could be described as “more bludgeoning” riff styles.

With virtuosity saved primarily for the solos, the individual sections are based more on long hanging chords, pinch harmonics and down-tuned riffs; with occasional atmospheric sections, spoken word moments and even the odd acoustic guitar here and there.

The absolute highlight on the album is ‘Hypnotized By The Rhythm,’ which is a quite frankly brilliant track that covers so much ground in its under-five-minute duration and works up both a little speed as well as the groove elements and even an eastern tinged section.

If all the tracks on the album were this good, Distortion would not only be the band’s best album, but one of the finest metal albums of the 1990s. Unfortunately however; while it is a good album, the record isn’t able to live up to that incredibly high standard. The biggest problem is that tracks can go on for too long with too few ideas per track, too much repetition, and no speed to break up and therefore make you appreciate the crushing groove. The tracks are good but they aren’t succinct.

Individually, any of the big monolithic tracks on Distortion, especially ‘Rape,’ ‘Feed The Hand’ or ‘Undertaker’ work well on their own when listened to separately and would make brilliant album closers on a thrash album, seeming grand and impressive next to speedy technical numbers. When sat side by side with other big monolithic tracks.

This problem aside, and of course if you ignore or are unconcerned about the fact that it isn’t pure 1980s Thrash Metal, then Distortion is a good metal album that can be very entertaining should you come at it with an open mind, an album on which there are a lot of good riffs, cool ideas and good individual songs. The band deliver both musically and vocally and the album is well produced. Repeat listens are rewarding and although you may be disappointed if you came in expecting a thrash album, if you just want a good metal album in general, then Distortion provides.

Kingcrimsonprog While Forbidden have never exactly been the biggest band around, any serious fan of Thrash Metal will at least be aware of them and most people reading this review will likely be very aware of their classic debut album ‘Forbidden Evil,’ which stands tall today as one of the absolute best albums to come out of the Bay Area, the second wave and the genre as a whole. If you enjoy Bay Area Thrash Metal at all, if you have any interest in the Second Wave Thrash bands like Heathen, Vio-lence and Death Angel then it might be time to check out Forbidden.

For those who are unaware; Forbidden are known for their technical capabilities and musical prowess, especially in the guitar solo department as well as for vocalist Russ Anderson’s instantly recognisable voice which differentiates Forbidden from the crowd. These key elements are all present and correct on ‘Omega Wave,’ which helps the album retain that trademark Forbidden sound after all these years.

It has been thirteen years since the release of Forbidden’s most recent studio album, 1997’s ‘Green,’ and while people may be expecting a cynical cash in on their debut’s legacy, (the band went as far as to hire Kent Mathieu, the same artist who painted their first two album covers and got him to paint a cover which evokes their debut album) Forbidden actually find a good balance between the various styles present of all the band’s previous four albums as well as introducing a fair amount of modern ideas and approaches to songwriting. There are minor line up changes, however the core of the band on every record has always been Russ, Matt and Craig who are all stalwartly present on this outing and while the listener can notice the loss Glen Alvelais on Guitar, Steve Smyth former Guitarist from Nevermore was an inspired choice for the band, given the band's Nevermore inspired leanings on their previous two albums.

Stand out moments on the album include the speedy ‘Forsaken At The Gates,’ and ‘Overthrow,’ which features guest vocals from Exodus and Testament singers Chuck Billy and Steve ‘Zetro,’ Souza as well as the long, mid paced ‘Dragging My Casket,’ which evokes the best moments from the band’s third album Distortion.

As a comeback album Forbidden have done themselves proud with Omega Wave; however don’t expect the world, it is Technically competent in every way and musically impressive, however the album as a whole is just missing that extra spark that elevates perfectly executed and expertly crafted music into genius. Omega Wave is a strong effort and the band’s enthusiasm is very promising for their future. If they can manage to build on this albums excellent groundwork they could potentially release something really great.

Kingcrimsonprog American Bay Area Thrash Metal band Forbidden are one of the great underrated Thrash bands that everyone who gets into the genre a little further than normal will love but who unfortunately never seem to have broke out of that limited audience and gotten the recognition that their fantastic music deserved, even with the odd couple of fans giving them a curiosity based on association with Machine Head’s Rob Flynn.

Their 1988 debut album Forbidden Evil is rightly regarded as a classic album by most Thrash fans and is honestly one of the best albums that the genre ever spawned, even among the very tight competition. In fact it is still arguably the band’s finest achievement to date. If you are a big fan of the genre then chances are that you’ll likely enjoy this album a hell of a lot.

The album is significant for its excellent dual guitar lead breaks and many wonderful guitar solos, this really is a musician’s kind of album, with startling displays of talent and virtuosos musicianship on display, of course there are just a lot of good old fashion great riffs, so as not to alienate the core listener and disappear up their own pretensions. Forbidden Evil is indeed still at its heart a hard, fast and heavy thrash album.

The drums are handled by Paul Bostaph, who would later go on to play in many of the best ever Thrash bands including Testament, Exodus and Slayer. He puts down a really strong performance on this record and there are a lot of fierce and creative drum fills and rock solid beats throughout.

Russ Anderson has an interesting voice and can add harsh vocals into the mix to suit the heavier riff based sections as well as soaring melodic vocals in a more traditional style, which suits the more melodic guitar, lead centric sections.

Highlights include the wonderful album opener ‘Chalice Of Blood,’ as well as ‘Through Eyes Of Glass,’ and the incredibly catchy ‘March Into Fire,’ all of which will stick in your head after listening to.

Overall; Forbidden Evil is a great album and deserves all the positive attention that it receives, if you are serious about your Thrash Metal then you should definitely consider getting yourself a copy; everything the genre represents in terms of style, delivery and musicianship are represented incredibly well on this strong and memorable album.

Kingcrimsonprog The second full length studio album from Forbidden, Twisted Into Form, sees the band in a progressive mood; Taking their trademark Melodic Thrash metal style and applying a high dose of what fans thrash bands towards the end of the eighties decide to call ‘epic experimentation,’ which essentially involved making songs longer, using varied tempos, occasional quieter moments and sometimes time signature shifts.

The direction that the band took with their songwriting ended up making this have that classic feel of albums such as Overkill’s fourth album ‘The Years Of Decay,’ or Metallica’s fourth album ‘…And Justice For All.’

As with their debut album Forbidden Evil, the musicianship is still top quality with flailing tom fills, incredible guitar solos and lead breaks, often with dual guitar harmonies as well as soaring melodic vocals over pure and simple thrash metal riffing. Adding to this are some interesting progressive overtones to help the album stand out from the crowd.

Overall this album is damn close in quality to their amazing debut album Forbidden Evil and has its own flavour by placing more of an emphasis on musicianship than on speed. Don’t be fooled however, they loose none of their metal power or aggression in the process, resulting in an overall very strong record indeed.

In summary; If you like your Thrash Metal melodic, catchy and musically impressive then Forbidden are a band that you should investigate and Twisted Into Form is an album that you should pick up, being as it is an absolute must have for fans of Forbidden and a great eye opener for new comers.

UMUR "Omega Wave" is the 5th full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Forbidden. The album was released in October 2010 by Nuclear Blast Records. "Omega Wave" qualifies for the comeback album tag as it´s the first album by Forbidden since "Green (1997)".

Bearing that in mind it´s amazing how unmistakably the music on "Omega Wave" sound like Forbidden. 13 years between albums is a long time and add to that a couple of lineup changes (guitarist Tim Calvert is replaced by Steve Smyth and drummer Steve Jacobs is replaced by Mark Hernandez) but Forbidden still sound like they did before they disbanded. Technically well played thrash metal with a sense for melody. Forbidden have always had the luck that they have a lead vocalist in Russ Anderson who can actually sing and not just deliver raw staccato style thrash metal singing (he does that pretty well too). On "Omega Wave" he demonstrates his class and superior skills more than ever. The tracks are all well written and the album comes off consistent instrumentally speaking but it´s the vocals by Russ Anderson that lifts "Omega Wave" to a higher level. Some of the darker melodic parts in the songs have a kind alternative metal twist to them (think Alice in Chains) but mostly the songs are through and through classic US Bay Area thrash metal albeit with a few groovy twists.

It´s hard not to be extremely impressed by an album like "Omega Wave". The production is professional, clear and powerful, the musicianship is excellent and the songwriting is of good quality too. Tracks like "Forsaken at The Gates", "Draggin My Casket" and "Swine" fully demonstrate why Forbidden have been missed so badly by their fans. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.