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Forbidden: Omega wave
31/12/10 || revenant
What an interesting place the thrash scene is right now. On one hand, you have the big four of thrash, basking in their past glories, lapping up the adulation of hundreds of thousands of fans all at once with their group love in and yet not one of them has released a great album since the early nineties. Then on the other hand you have their contemporaries, less lauded, less idolized and generally considered second, third or even fourth tier thrash bands behind the big four now taking a massive collective dumps on the latest works of the big four with their own new albums. While Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth struggle to find what made them tick in the good old days (and Anthrax fails to release anything), bands like Testament, Exodus, Overkill and Heathen have all released albums in the last two years that are light years ahead of the crap the big four is capable of. And, with the release of “Omega Wave”, you can now add Forbidden to that list.
Forbidden, for the youngster amongst us who missed the 80s, were a thrash band that emerged late in the 80s to release two of the finest records from that era in “Forbidden Evil” and “Twisted into Form”. With the death of thrash in the nineties, Forbidden shifted their sound (like so many other bands of the time), made weaker music and two albums later disappeared from the scene. But thankfully, the story does not end there. The thrash revival of the 00s saw Forbidden reform (turning many a thrash fan’s wet dream into reality) , initially just for touring, but now in full swing with their return fifth album in “Omega Wave”.
I must say it was with great excitement that this disc was placed into my CD player for the first time. The intro, two minutes of majestic-ish guitar work, was a bit unnecessary, but as soon as “Forsaken at the Gates” kicked in I realized I was about to get my arse kicked. One thing immediately apparent is Forbidden, circa 2010, is a far meaner machine that that of the 80s. “Forsaken at the Gates” is a vicious, aggressive bastard of a song that attacks without remorse. Russ Anderson, though retaining his great singing voice (as apparent when he hits the higher notes) adopts a far more aggressive approach to his vocals, which screeches and growls enhancing the flat out attack that is the new Forbidden. The playing, too, is fast and tight, with a great production that brings it all together.
I should point out, though, that it’s not all flat out, play as fast as you can type stuff. Forbidden certainly aren’t afraid to slow things down, as they do through the middle of the album. Indeed the aggressive, almost sinister approach works wonderfully on slower tracks like “Swine” and “Dragging my Casket”, which are two of the better tracks on the album (the latter of which you’ll find singing at random times such is it’s hook).
It has to be said, at just over an hour, this is a pretty long album. I have no qualms with this because 90% of the material is excellent, though personally I’d be happier without the intro (“Alpha Century”) and the mood piece in the middle (“Chatter”), but everything else is pretty damn good. For a band to come back from a long layoff, produce 56 minutes of consistent quality that tears the arse off anything the big four or any of the newcomer copycat bands are producing is a great achievement.
Forbidden’s return to the music scene is now complete. Not just reforming, but putting together an excellent album in “Omega Wave” should put Forbidden up near the top of a scene that desperately needs some leaders to show everyone how thrash should be done rather than live off the past. OK, it’s not as good as “Forbidden Evil” or “Twisted into Form”, but the sleeker, meaner Forbidden of 2010 is a force to be reckoned with, and “Omega Wave” is a must get for any thrash fan.
- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.forbiddenmetal.com
- Band
- Russ Anderson: vocals
- Steve Smyth: guitars
- Craig Locicero: guitars
- Matt Camacho: bass
- Mark Hernandez: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Alpha Century
- 02. Forsaken at The Gates
- 03. Overthrow
- 04. Adapt Or Die
- 05. Swine
- 06. Chatter
- 07. Dragging My Casket
- 08. Hopenosis
- 09. Immortal Wounds
- 10. Behind The Mask
- 11. Inhuman Race
- 12. Omega Wave
