FORBIDDEN

FORBIDDEN have had a scattershot, sporadic existence over the last 40 years. Best known for "Forbidden Evil" and "Twisted Into Form" — two of the greatest and most distinctive thrash metal albums of all time, lest we forget — the Bay Area diehards have navigated a couple of extensive hiatuses, some carefully managed lineup changes, and the inevitable rise, fall and rise of thrash's reputation, returning in earnest in 2023 with a new lineup and a palpably revitalized sense of purpose. While many of their peers have been more prolific, FORBIDDEN have only emerged with new material when inspiration has truly struck, and "Forbidden" is definitive proof of the efficacy of that approach.

Enduring driving force and virtuoso badass Craig Locicero has been hinting at the quality of his latest ensemble's work, and herein lies the loud and proud realization of his low-key promises. There was nothing much wrong with '90s efforts "Distortion" and "Green", and 2010's "Omega Wave" was an unexpected treat too, but "Forbidden" blows all three completely out of the water. Fans of those first two esteemed masterpieces are going to shit themselves when they hear this.

16 years after their last full-length, FORBIDDEN are in an exceptional state of health. Alongside Locicero and long-time bassist Matt Camacho are new guitarist Jeremy Von Epp, new vocalist Norman Skinner and much-loved veteran drummer Chris Kontos (ex-MACHINE HEAD / ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT). The absence of original vocalist Russ Anderson could easily have undermined the whole enterprise, but Skinner is not just up to the task but an absolute fi(e)nd who gives this entire album a fiery and charismatic character all of its own. Similarly, both Von Epp and the irrepressible Kontos deliver performances that both honor those cherished early albums and take FORBIDDEN into the most adventurous and imaginative territory of their entire careers. Meanwhile, Locicero and Camacho continue to consolidate their shared status as thrash metal warriors par excellence.

But none of that would count for a hill of Bay Area beans were it not for the monstrous brilliance of these new songs. "Forbidden" sounds like a million heavy-as-fuck dollars — the reliably great producer Zack Ohren seems to be incapable of anything else — and contains absolutely everything that a FORBIDDEN fan could possibly want from a new record, with a few bonus flashes of inspired ingenuity thrown in for good measure.

Easily the band's most progressive and creatively brave album to date, "Forbidden" bursts at the seams with bravura songcraft. The previously released singles should have blown your heads off with no trouble at all: "Divided By Zero", "Psyclops" and "Burning The Lungs Of Earth" are all riveting exercises in 21st century thrash vitality, with recognizable elements of FORBIDDEN's original sound woven through a fresh core of turbocharged prog metal. "Mutually Assured Dysfunction" is the boldest and most ferocious of the lot; its six minutes of ornate savagery defying nostalgia to showcase the sheer invention at the heart of this band's late career comeback. Elsewhere, the thrills and spills are uniformly devastating. "Single Point Failure" is a fantastic opening gambit, with twists and turns that echo the complexity and verve of "Twisted Into Form", but with a newfound melodic incisiveness that is utterly audacious. Likewise, "DCLXVI" is a meticulously convoluted, seven-minute sprawl with a dexterous heart of darkness, subtle shades of NEVERMORE, and a particularly phenomenal vocal from Norman Skinner. the closing "Flower Of Life" is a lavish, prog-tinged epic that wrings more melody than ever from Locicero's compositional blueprint. Meanwhile, the succinct and vicious "Sycophantasy" features soaring guest vocals from MASTODON's Brann Dailor, "The Burden" slams an obnoxious surfeit of great riffs and smart melodies together with sublime skill, and "Sol Grave" is an all-encompassing amalgam of the last four decades of free-thinking thrash, with intoxicating levels of energy, a performance from Chris Kontos that should be used to teach the next generation of metal drummers how this shit is really done, and multiple guitar solos of overwhelming brilliance.

If all of the above seems like an unnecessary explosion of hyperbole, you simply haven't heard "Forbidden" yet. A comeback that really counts, this is simply one of the best thrash albums of the last 20 years or more. Nostalgia may preclude most fans from admitting it, but this is almost certainly the strongest FORBIDDEN album yet.