Bay Area thrash heroes Forbidden host inaugural Omega Fest at UC Theatre
Reunited Bay Area thrash favorites Forbidden co-headline an epic all-day metal bill with Brooklyn crossover band Biohazard and an array of local and international acts Saturday at the UC Theatre in Berkeley.
Formed in the wake of the early '80s thrash explosion in 1985 by guitarists Craig Locicero and Robb Flynn (later of Vio-lence and Machine Head) and singer Russ Anderson under the name Forbidden Evil, the band quickly developed a reputation for brutal, complex riffs and intense live performances. Flynn and the band's original rhythm section would depart the following year, but not before recording several demos and contributing a song to The Eastern Front - Live At Ruthie's Inn compilation on Restless Records.
The addition of new drummer Paul Bostaph (who would later replace Dave Lombardo in Slayer), bassist Matt Camacho and guitarist Glen Alvelais preceded the band shortening its name to simply Forbidden as the rising group weighed offers from multiple record labels, eventually signing to Combat Records. Their debut album Forbidden Evil came out in 1988, a furious assault of speed and precision that is still hailed as a high point among recordings released by the Bay Area's second wave of thrash bands. The group toured extensively to promote the effort, sharing stages with local metal brethren Exodus, Testament and Death Angel as well as such international contemporaries as Sepultura, Voivod and Holy Moses, earning the band a global fan base.
The band's songwriting and execution moved in a more progressive direction for their sophomore album Twisted Into Form in 1990, featuring guitarist Tim Calvert replacing Alvelais, more acoustic interludes and a highly technical guitar attack that approached level of sophistication heard on Megadeth's Rust In Peace that came out the same year. While the band's reputation and following continued to grow after the album's release, Forbidden would face some challenges. The group split with Combat Records and lost Bostaph to Slayer, leading to the addition of new drummer Steve Jacobs.
Forbidden would find a new label, signing a deal with GUN Records for the release of the band's third album Distortion in 1994. That effort maintained the quintet's trademark thrash aggression, but by the time they released their next record Green three years later, Forbidden had moved towards a more alternative/groove metal sound. A short time after its release, the band broke up. Locicero would continue to work with Jacobs in Manmade God, a new project that hewed closer to classic hard rock and the alternative sounds of early '90s Seattle bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.
That band was signed to Rick Rubin's American Recordings and released a well-received self-titled album in 2003, but got bogged down in label delays that led to the group dissolving. Locicero would then team with Systematic singer Tim Narducci in Spiralarms, a band that would eventually include noted drummer Chris Kontos (Attitude Adjustment and Machine Head among many others).
Forbidden reconvened in 2007, touring extensively and returning to the summer European festival circuit the following year. The band released their fifth album Omega Wave in 2010, their first new recording in 13 years that was hailed by fans as a return to their earlier thrash-metal roots. The band continued performing for two more years, but when Anderson and Camacho wanted to take an extended break from music, Forbidden once again went on hiatus.
Locicero stayed busy in rising metal band Dress the Dead while also joining Kontos in a revived line-up of Bay Area crossover/skate-punk band the Boneless Ones, who released their first new album in 36 years in 2022. He also was a principal player behind Bay Area Interthrashional, an all-star collective of local players that took the stage at Dynamo Metalfest in Holland, playing classic thrash songs by Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Forbidden and more. The group would also play an epic show at the Great American Music Hall in the fall of 2022 that featured a marathon set of nearly 40 songs performed by a rotating cast of musicians.
That experience prodded Locicero to put together a new line-up of Forbidden with Camacho on bass, latter-era guitarist Steve Smyth, Kontos playing drums and new singer Norman Skinner (Imagika, Nivane) -- who had literally proven his metal onstage at the Bay Area Interthrashional shows. After a secret warm-up show at Baltic Kiss in Richmond last summer, the latest version of Forbidden played a volcanic set at the Alcatraz Festival in Belgium. The group also served as main support for the 8th annual "Another Death Angel Christmas" shows in December at the Great American Music Hall, delivering blistering sets that whetted fans' appetites for more local live appearances.
After a March date in Texas playing the Hell's Heroes VI in Houston and a couple of recent South American metal fests in Chile and Brazil, Forbidden returns to the Bay Area to co-headline Omega Fest 2024, the band's own curated festival at the UC Theatre in Berkeley this weekend. Sharing the top of the bill will be Brooklyn hardcore/metal band Biohazard. One of the East Coast's premiere metal acts during the late '80s and early '90s, the band also followed Anthrax's lead as far as mixing heavy sounds and hip-hop by collaborating with Onyx and contributing to the Judgement Night soundtrack.
While the group went on an extended hiatus after numerous line-up changes through the early 2000s, the classic version of the band featuring bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel, drummer Danny Schuler and guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei announced they were reuniting in 2022 and have been appearing at metal festivals since then.
The balance of the whopping nine-band bill presented by Omega Fest includes Los Angeles neo-thrashers Warbringer, '80s Canadian speed-metal outfit Exciter, local upstarts Hatriot -- the East Bay band started by Exodus singer Steve "Zetro" Souza with his sons Cody and Nick who have continued on their own due to Souza's commitments since rejoining Exodus -- and ferocious Portland, OR-based black metal trio Bewitcher. The line-up is filled out by Bay Area metal institution Greg Wilkinson (Autopsy, Brainoil, Graves at Sea and many others) and his latest project Deathgrave, rising East Bay thrash revivalists Frolic and Petaluma headbangers Hellbender, who recently released their new Scumlordz EP that the band recorded with Locicero producing last year.
Omega Fest 2024 with Forbidden and Biohazard
Saturday, May 4, 3 p.m. $59
UC Theatre