by Mark Kadzielawa

After nearly 15 years since recording the last album, Forbidden returns with a new record 'Omega Wave." The band is blossoming with renewed energy, and once again ready to take on the world. Needless to say the Bay Area sound is alive and well.
Forbidden originally formed as Forbidden Evil. At the time the band included guitar player, Rob Flynn, who went on to play with Vio-Lence, and eventually fronting his own formation Machine Head. Forbidden Evil shortened their name to Forbidden, and released their debut album ironically titled "Forbidden Evil" in 1988. At the time the lineup included Craig Locicero on guitar, Glen Alvelais on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass, Russ Anderson on vocals, and Paul Bostaph on drums. After releasing a live mini album, "Raw Evil: Live at The Dynamo," Glen Alvelais left the band, and Tim Calvert joined. This perhaps was the definite Forbidden line up. Also, around this time legendary, Debbie Abono, began to manage the band. "Twisted Into Form" expanded band's sound and their following. Forbidden completed several great tours, and their energetic performances are certainly historic. As the musical climate changed in the early 90s things became much more complicated for metal bands. Drummer, Paul Bostaph, left the band, and later joined Slayer, Exodus, and currently plays with Testament. Steve Jacobs was brought in as a replacement. Forbidden released "Distortion" in 1994, and toured extensively. In 1997, "Green" was released, and shortly after the band called it quits. The band members went onto various musical projects. Forbidden reformed in 2001 to play the Billy Schuldiner (Thrash of the Titans) benefit concert. The lineup included Alvelais, Anderson, Camacho, Steve Smyth on guitar, and Jeremy Colson on drums.
After a few more years, the band actually reformed for good with Locicero, Alvelais, Camacho, and Mark Hernandez on drums. Glen Alvelais departed once again, and Steve Smyth joined the band. This line up completed by the latest opus titled "Omega Wave."
Guitar player, Craig Locicero, explains the whole story, and goes into great detail regarding the initial break up, down time, and the reformation.

Let’s go back to your last record, “Green.” Once that album was released the band sort of just vanished, and there was no tour to go along with that album. What happened?
Craig Locicero: With our previous album, “Distortion,” we were lucky to get out of that what we got. We’ve picked up a good ride out of that. We did a month long tour of Europe with Gorefest. It was an odd pairing, but it worked really well, and it was very successful for us out there. And that was good. The label was treating us really well. And then we jumped on the Testament tour of the United States, in the summer of 1995. Immediately after that we jumped on the Malevolent Creation tour. We were on a bit of a high, and even started writing new things. Songs like “Faced Down Heroes” were written on the road, and some really cool stuff. I know this blows a lot of people’s minds, but to us the material we did later on “Green” was a natural progression. We were angry that we weren’t doing as well as we were, and maybe that leaped into the whole thought process. The album’s idea was basically to come out and completely stomp on people’s faces with the boot. And make our most brutal record without any kind of afterthought or forethought. Just do it! I know a lot of people misinterpreted it as we were trying to do something, or trying to be that. All we were doing was taking all of our anger and putting it in more of a caveman delivery. For us it wasn’t as many guitar solos, or much singing, but it was some awesome riffing and drumming. That record had some great moments, but it was more of an onslaught. To really make the long story short, once the album was turned to the label, they had no idea as to what to do with it. When we finished getting it mastered, we were trying to get tours. We’ve had Grip Inc. tour ready to go, we were just about to reserve our ticket, and the label steps in and says we’d rather have you tour with Manowar. And at that time to me personally, that was it. It’s nothing personal against Manowar, but it just didn’t fit where we thought we fit. I talked to Russ, and everybody, and everyone agreed to call it a day. We’re done. We’re not gonna go uphill anymore, we’re not gonna get jammed in the places we don’t belong. We’re not gonna continue this fight that was going nowhere. It was really difficult time for us. We also weren’t mad enough to keep fighting. At that point, our anger was exercised by “Green.” We were done, and we just called it a day.
In 1997, the times were not the most friendliest for metal bands in general.
No, they weren’t in general. And we were just one of many bands. We probably held on a little longer than some. Maybe longer than we should have. We did it as long as we could, and we did it as long as we could mean it. It just became too difficult to swim upstream without any results. And I think it was the right time to end it all together.
Even though Forbidden ended at that point, many of its members kept on going musically.
Well, myself, Matt (Camacho,) and Steve Jacobs (Forbidden’s drummer back in 1995) all started a band that was really experimental. We pulled in a very strange singer, who was from a great band Level. He was little bit odd, he was a drug addict, and an amazing artist. We weren’t drug addicts, but in Forbidden I hadn’t learned how to be an artist yet. I was more rigid, and my thinking was nowhere near that. I thought I needed a real line, and find a better way to write music and to be more expressive. I thought it was better to be more expressive, and I was trying to find my way through that. That was the whole idea. Ahrue Luster joined the band too, he later joined Machine Head. That band was Manmade God at its earliest stages. It was very experimental, with no real direction. We didn’t know what we were going for, we were just going for it. That was what we’ve done, and then Matt eventually decided that he wanted to have a family, so he dropped out, but Steve and I kept going. Then we found another bass player, and found an amazing singer, and got signed by American Recordings, and did a record with Rick Rubin. It was little ill faded later because our singer didn’t like people, so that was another big issue. Tim Calvert joined Nevermore, and we told him to do that right after the band ended. He was a little disgruntled about that. He didn’t want to be told what he should do, but then he joined Nevermore. As he should have because that’s the band for him. They loved him, Sanctuary was after him since the first time we’ve played with them back in 1990. They wanted Tim so badly. So he did that. Russ (Anderson) decided he was only gonna play music for fun, and wasn’t gonna take it too seriously. He had a really great job, so that’s what all members did.
Forbidden resurfaced at Chuck Billy’s and Chuck Schuldiner benefit in San Francisco back in 2001, and you were not even performing with them at the time. How did things go from there?
No, I couldn’t do it. I was making the Manmade God record. I couldn’t bail at all. When Chuck Billy was sick he wanted to organize a benefit for himself, and Chuck Schuldiner from Death. A lot of people forget about that. It was for both guys. It was a great idea, and they had asked me maybe a month before it happened, and I just started recording the record. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do it because my tracking might come up at that time. So, I said “either way, go for it.” Glenn Alvelais of all people called me, and kind of took it upon himself to try to run it from his angle. I’m glad they did it. Steve Smith sat in for me actually, and ironically. It went over really well. I think it was all good for the band, but I don’t think anybody wanted to reform at that point. Nobody who had their head in the game wanted to do metal. Tim was already getting out of Nevermore, and getting ready to become a pilot. Paul (Bostaph) was in Slayer at that time. And Paul was not even allowed to play at the benefit because Glenn said he was never in Forbidden Evil, so that was a little bit weird. I don’t think anybody has the right to tell Paul not to play. That's just maybe how me and all Forbidden fans feel.

So, when did you decide there may be some life left in Forbidden?
In 2007, I saw a movie “Get Thrashed” at a screening in the Bay Area, and Paul has been saying for years we should do some sort of reunion gigs. And that movie inspired me to give everyone a call. Matt said he would do it for fun, so did Russ, Paul was obviously there, and we were hoping Tim would do it for fun. We really wanted Tim Calvert to be the guy. I ended up calling everybody, and we ended up having a meeting at a restaurant, have a lunch. It was just the four of us, and it was really good. We were figuring it all out. Is Tim Calvert going to play? Will we have to talk to Glenn? And at the end of that meeting, Paul said that Testament had asked him to do an album with them, and I realized back then that Paul was not gonna be available. So, we got Gene Hoglan involved at that point. Steve Jacobs had a shoulder surgery, so he couldn’t do it. He is still in recovery, he still hasn’t made his way back. We needed to find a guy who would stay in the band for good. We did the shows with Gene, but it was still for fun. Then we talked about doing shows in Europe, and we needed to find a drummer for that tour. Mark was suggested by more than few people. When we tried him out, he played the material well, but even then it was just for fun. It wasn’t until half way through that tour that I even considered writing a riff. Then it was a glimpse of an idea. Everybody else was like “Let’s do it!” And I didn’t feel ready, and wasn’t feeling it all the way. Then I started feeling it more and more, and then I started to read the papers, and getting really disgruntled about the news, the elections and all. Those are the kind of moments that I start thinking it’s real. When I have something I can start writing about myself, that’s how I think. It’s not just riffs, it’s about expression and anger. Forbidden turned into that approach since “Twisted Into Form.” Those were the moments I started thinking that I could do it again. And once we got home, and I started working with Mark, and I said “if we could click, we could actually be a band.” We did click, and we wrote “Hypnosis,” and I knew we had something here. We had the line up, but Glenn was a bit of a loose cannon, so we had that thing going on too. It wasn’t quite as harsh as the first time we parted company, but he is just different than the rest of us.
Coincidentally enough you got Steve Smyth in the band who was your temporary replacement during the Thrash of the Titans show.
Very ironic. We were dealing with Glenn, and it was obvious to me, and I was getting things from him like “we should write more like Opeth, and be more like Meshuggah.” And my whole answer to that was “we should be Forbidden. I’m pretty well aware of how that sounds. I don’t really need you to tell me what we should sound like, and I unless you have a riff I don’t really need to hear it.” And he didn’t have any. At that point I said “we need a new guitar player.” Mark Suggested Steve, and once I called him, he was interested. He lives in London, but he was coming up to visit his family for holidays at the end of 2008. Matt and I had lunch with the guy, and we hit it off. In the rehearsal room, it all clicked. I showed him the songs, and it started snowballing, and that relationship was forged right there.
How soon did you begin to write the new material?
It was almost immediately. Things came pretty quickly, but nobody knew what it was gonna sound like, except for me because I was the bouncing point for all of it. I would work with Mark, and we would arrange things, and have riffs and stuff. Then Steve would send some stuff, I would send him stuff, and we both be working on it. Russ would come in and say what would work for him, and what wouldn’t. I would constantly work with Steve on Skype or these guys at home. Then Steve would come out, and we would finally play together, but maybe not everybody was there. It was really weird, but it worked really well. And I’ll tell you why it worked better. You didn’t have five guys budding heads in one room, and it was awesome. In the old days, it would’ve been egos getting blown out, people getting all hurt because they didn’t get their ideas out. This way, everyone kind of did get their ideas out, and I got a run through them, and refined them with Mark. I think it became a better record because of it. It will never work out like this again, but it was great this time. It was weird, but it worked out really well. Nobody knew what the vocals gonna sound like besides myself and Russ, and he wasn’t even sure himself how it was gonna work with music. At the end, it worked out perfectly, but it will never happen again. This was way too good.
What is the significance of the title “Omega Wave?”
It’s symbolism conveying a feeling. To me more than anything it’s a feeling. Omega meaning end, from beginning to end. It’s a feeling that people are just washed over with this negative energy. They feel very helpless. People with families, people with businesses, kids wanting to become their own adults with goals and dreams. It’s very overwhelming now. This whole world is a very difficult ride. That was my way of conveying how overwhelmed people feel. And I don’t think there is an answer to any of this. I think the collective consciousness, but if everyone just sort of snaps out of this, and everyone starts thinking more positive, and gets rid of corporations and corruption, oil-based industry, and so on. But these things are never gonna happen. Probably not, you need to some massive changes. You either need and natural or unnatural disaster to completely take over and change people’s lives. So, this is all just symbolism. It’s our way of describing that feeling. It’s not a physical wave, although it very well could be. It’s ambiguous too.

The album isn’t nostalgic in any way. Many bands reform, and they try to rewrite their first album, but the only connection between “Omega Wave” and the first record are some similar themes on the album cover.
That and a lot more solos. “Forbidden Evil” had a lot of solos, and I think this one has the most besides that. It’s also the fastest album since the first one, without a doubt. It might be actually faster than “Forbidden Evil.” We didn’t want to rehash anything. The whole idea was go into it with all new material. Just completely kick a hole through everything we’ve ever done, and follow the stream of consciousness. Also, the phrase Mark and I would use a lot when we worked on the material was “embrace the metal.” Be way more metal than we ever been before, and love it. Fall into that metal thing, and if we ever got off the track, we would say that, and then we fall right back on. And that’s something maybe we fought on “Distortion,” and “Green.”
And how is the public reacting to the new material, and the fact Forbidden is back?
Pretty good. I would say nine out of ten people approve. It’s been really great. You’re always gonna have haters and I enjoy the haters as much as I enjoy the sympathizers. And there haven’t been too many, so it’s little less enjoyment for me. I get a kick out of the haters. I’m little weird like that. They don’t hurt my feelings. It’s been extremely good. The reviews had been really great. The average placing of the record is between 87 and 95 out of a 100 possible. There is an occasional 70, but generally the reviews are positive.

Even prior to you releasing “Distortion,” there were some really cool songs on the demos you’ve released. While the directions of the songs was slightly different, the strong emotional content was too good to ignore. Will this material ever see the light of day apart from the above mentioned demos?
I’m gonna resist that temptation for now (laughter.) I don’t think any of us wants to re-live our darkest days. Those were our darkest times. And that’s why those songs are so melancholy, and we were also taking on a lot of Tim’s influences. His Queensryche stuff that he loved. Which is not a bad thing, but it was not really Forbidden. I get into this argument once in a while, and it amazes me how a kid or an adult that loved “Forbidden Evil” can like “So Dark on This Side,” and “Trapped” which have nothing to do with our first two albums, like nothing!
It was just good material.
It was good material, but it could’ve been Fates Warning. It wasn’t aggressive, and I think that’s what we have now. In retrospect, when I look back, and think what was the best about us? I look at the first two records, and I look at “Distortion,” and “Green.” And you’ll find parts of these records on the new album, because it was us. It’s all Forbidden albums, it’s all encompassing, it’s everything, but it’s not nostalgia. It’s new.
“Omega Wave” is very forward thinking, but I feel the best is yet to come.
I love writing music with these guys. They may piss me off from time to time, and vice versa, but we love each other. This band really cares about one another.
A little known, and probably forgotten fact about you is that you’ve played a European tour with Death. It will soon be 10 years since Chuck Schuldiner’s passing, what memories do you have from that tour?
Only fun memories. I know Chuck had his issues with other musicians, but on that tour, and you can ask each guy from that band, it was the best anyone had ever gotten along on any Death tour. We got along great, and Chuck even asked me at the end of the tour to join the band. I said, “that’s awesome brother,” but I was with Ross, and I felt I had the best singer in metal, and I was not about to bail. Chuck was great, they treated me well, they paid me well. Everything about that tour was next level for me. I was like, this is how it should be, but at the same time my belief in Forbidden didn’t wane. Since then I became extremely close friends with Gene (Hoglan.) We’ve been great friends ever since. He stays at my house, he knows my wife, my son, we’re all really close.
Also, your former manager, Debbie Abono, recently passed away. And Debbie was a very dedicated person to the scene, she helped so many great bands. What memories do you have of Debbie?
I have to say I miss her very much, and I’m glad I got to see her before her death. Her family treated me wonderfully. When we had our album release party, Debbie’s family showed up. Two of her daughters came and represented her. We’ learned a lot from her. She was an incredibly wise person, and she was hard on us too, which was good. We needed that, we really needed that. I loved her.
Any challenges in getting the band going again?
Just getting everybody motivated sometimes. We’re all wanting the same thing, but everyone has different schedules, families, mortgages, and jobs, and you just have to accept it. It will all come together eventually, and that’s what happened. This album, we didn’t rush the writing process. I’ve made two records in that time. In 2009, I did the tracks for the Demonica record, and the Spiralarms record, and was writing with Mark 2/3 days a week the whole year. Some days were difficult, but we’re all human. Whatever is difficult is not completely above us. It’s just dealing with personalities. I look back at this, and I know there were hard days, but I don’t think anything was that tough. We’re very fortunate to be doing what we are doing. This is an honor to be doing what we are doing, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. People come and like you after all these years, and are actually passionate about the music? That’s nothing to laugh at, that’s an honor. It’s a really deep honor for us to do this again.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/forbidden__evil