FORBIDDEN Guitarist STEVE SMYTH Says Response To New Song Has Been 'Amazing'

Guitarist Steve Smyth (FORBIDDEN, ex-NEVERMORE, TESTAMENT) has issued the following update:

"Well, just made it in the door a little bit ago from our four-show run with FORBIDDEN this past week. Exhausted, but really glad we were able to go up the Northwest and do this run! Great to see so many old friends, fans, and meet and make new ones as well! And WOW! Amazing response to 'Adapt Or Die', [the] new [FORBIDDEN] song [which was released on August 24 via MySpace]! 16,500 plays in one day?! You guys must really like this music we're at work on! THANK YOU for all of your kind words in messages!!! Glad you like it!

"San Francisco on Saturday the 22nd was a blast. We had KEHOE NATION and DEATH PILOT join us on the show, and both were amazing bands, really strong and great music. KEHOE NATION has the AMAZING Gene Hoglan playing drums. Always awesome to see him play, and Brian Kehoe (MIRV) shredding it up! Dude, you STILL scare me with those chops, man!

"We had a great time playing the show! For myself, a little too good a time; I ended up in excruciating back and neck pain the next day, that didn't go away, from our day off on Sunday, until our next show.... OUCH! Ha ha! But hey, it's great to get back into 'show shape' after a few months out again. Great live response to 'Adapt Or Die', the new FORBIDDEN track we debuted live there that night!

"Portland was up next, on Monday the 24th: good show, at the legendary Satyricon nightclub there. Unfortunately, they don't really have adequate ventilation in there, so the place turned into a real sweatbox of a show, but we pulled through. I went through six bottles of water in that set, two of which went on my head. Great crowd! You guys were awesome, Portland!

"Seattle on Tuesday: great to return to Seattle after not being there for three years! Had dinner with some great old friends on the waterfront, tripped around the city for a bit, and then it was show time! Great crowd again! Thanks to all of you who made it out, and again, great to hear the response to 'Adapt Or Die' as well!

"The next morning before we left for Vancouver, me, Mark [Hernandez; HEATHEN, DEFIANCE, RE:IGNITION], and our crew Jeff and Brett, got to make it over to the EMP [Experience Music Project] and check it out. Really great thing they have done, to shed light on the history of the Northwest music scene in the 20th century, to now. It made me a little mad too, thinking about it. WHY ISN'T THERE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE BAY AREA?! I mean, you have to admit, some really, truly, legendary music has come out of the Bay for aeons, and yet, I can recall one time where an attempt was made to establish a museum like this, only to have it quashed by the 'powers that be' in local government there, who don't seem to want that part of history acknowledged properly... a real travesty, if you ask me.

"Anyway, food for thought there, Steve Jobs.

"Vancouver on Wednesday: we had a good little drive to get up through the border, and got through just fine, except our equipment van accidentally made a wrong turn, and had to go back through the line to get in! This delayed us for about an hour, making us late on arrival for load-in and soundcheck. But all in all, a great show, and great turnout in these hard economic times up in B.C. right now. Thanks to all who made it out, lots of familiar faces in the crowd that I've seen over the years, and lots of new and young fans to meet and make as well! You guys had the best pit I've seen in a long time Vancouver! KEEP IT HEAVY!!!

"Today, we drove 300-plus miles to make it back to Portland, Oregon, where we dropped off our van, and flew back the other 700 to Oakland. A long day, and I still had another 90 to do to get back to where I'm staying. Exhausted!

"I want to say a personal thanks to the crew, who worked hard to make this happen, and keep it all moving forward! You guys and gals rule!

"We're back to work writing tomorrow through next week, and will continue with what we've already been at work on; making some great metal music in the form of a new FORBIDDEN album, to enjoy and share with all of you!

"I'm very happy to be a part of this band, and am looking forward to working with Craig [Locicero, guitar], Russ [Anderson, vocals], Matt [Camacho, bass] and Mark on this new album, and seeing what else we will come up with! But I'll let Craig talk about that."

"Adapt or Die", which can be streamed below, is expected to appear on FORBIDDEN next studio album, tentatively due in 2010.

"Adapt or Die" and another new song, "Hopenosis" were recorded and mixed by Tim Narducci (SPIRALARMS, SYSTEMATIC) and assisted by Brad Barth at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage studios in Livermore, California. According to FORBIDDEN guitarist Craig Locicero, "Tim did an amazing job and fully dedicated himself to the project. It's a fantastic situation, because Tim and Brad play with me in SPIRALARMS! The working/creative relationship has really flourished over the last year. It's truly ideal!"

Regarding FORBIDDEN's new material, Locicero said, "Everybody in the band is very excited about the two songs. All of the guys did a terrific job.

"The 'new' dudes, [drummer] Mark and Steve raised the bar of expectation and really stretched out and challenged themselves. But our real hero is Russ. My god, did he ever sing his ass off! Nobody can deny the results of all of his hard work.

"Oh yeah, Matt and I did alright too.

"All in all, we feel that every minute we put in was worth the wait. It gave us the perspective we needed to attain what we heard in our heads. We felt the need to dig deep and deliver the very best material we could for everyone to get a feel for our sound in 2009. Especially under the circumstances of being out of the metal genre for so long.

"Rest assured, it sounds like FORBIDDEN!"

The band's last studio LP, "Green", was released in 1997 on the G.U.N. label.