Forbidden

Forbidden is a US thrash metal band from Hayward, California, active from 1985 to the present. The group forms part of the Bay Area thrash metal scene and is associated with groove metal as well as thrash metal. It first appears under the name Forbidden Evil, formed in early 1985, before shortening its name to Forbidden in 1987.

Formation and early line-up

The band begins with drummer Jim Pittman and guitarist Robb Flynn, with Craig Locicero on guitar, Russ Anderson on vocals, and John Tegio on bass completing the original line-up. Early changes see Pittman, Flynn and Tegio leave, with Paul Bostaph, Matt Camacho and Glen Alvelais joining. Robb Flynn writes the band’s name from a War Cry song on the Metal Massacre 4 compilation.

Albums and musical style

Forbidden signs to Combat Records in 1988 and releases its debut album, Forbidden Evil, in 1988. The record gains positive critical attention and draws on material written by Flynn. The live release Raw Evil - Live at the Dynamo EP follows in 1989. The second studio album, Twisted into Form, arrives in 1990 and shows a more melodic, technical and progressive direction. The band later moves towards alternative and groove metal elements on Green (1997). Its fifth studio album, Omega Wave, appears in 2010 on Nuclear Blast Records.

Tours, line-up changes and interruptions

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Forbidden tours widely in the United States and Europe with acts including Testament, Exodus, Holy Moses, Sepultura, Death Angel, Sacred Reich, Voivod, Savatage, Vio-lence, Dark Angel and Pestilence. After Alvelais leaves, Tim Calvert joins on guitar. The band supports Twisted into Form with further tours alongside Death Angel, Exodus, Sepultura, Vicious Rumors, Sanctuary, Fates Warning, Sacred Reich, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Realm, Defiance and Forced Entry.

Forbidden leaves Combat Records in 1991 after internal and managerial difficulties. Bostaph departs for Slayer and is replaced by Steve Jacobs. In 1993, Craig Locicero temporarily plays guitar for Death on a European tour. The band signs to GUN Records in 1994 and releases Distortion that November, then tours Europe with Gorefest and the United States with Testament and Malevolent Creation.

After recording Green in 1996 and releasing it in 1997, the band breaks up, with limited label support and further line-up changes contributing to the split. Locicero, Camacho and Jacobs later form Manmade God. Forbidden returns for a one-off performance in 2001 under the name Forbidden Evil at the Thrash of the Titans benefit concert.

Reunions and later activity

The band reforms in 2007 with Craig Locicero back in the line-up, but without Paul Bostaph. Drummers Gene Hoglan and Mark Hernandez take part in reunion shows, including European and Japanese tours, while Steve Smyth replaces Glen Alvelais on guitar. In 2009, Forbidden performs Twisted into Form in full on tour. Hernandez leaves in 2011 and is followed by Gene Hoglan and then Sasha Horn on drums. The band goes on hiatus in 2012 after Matt Camacho and Russ Anderson depart.

Forbidden returns again in 2023, with Norman Skinner replacing Russ Anderson on vocals. It performs its first show in 11 years at Baltic Kiss in Richmond under the name Twisted into Evil, then plays Alcatraz festival and supports Death Angel in San Francisco. The band later begins writing material for a new album and releases the single “Divided by Zero”.

Members

Line-up changes across the band’s history include Craig Locicero, Matt Camacho, Russ Anderson, Glen Alvelais, Tim Calvert, Steve Jacobs, Gene Hoglan, Mark Hernandez, Steve Smyth, Sasha Horn, Paul Bostaph and Robert Flynn. The 2023 reunion includes Norman Skinner on vocals.