A second wave Bay Area thrash act, lead by vocalist Russ Anderson, that made a name in late 80s - early 90s, with albums "Forbidden Evil" (1989) and "Twisted Into Form" (1992). Unfortunately, that's when metal in the US took a tumble, and almost every thrash band seized to exist. Guitarist Glen Alvelais joined Testament, drummer Paul Bostaph -- Slayer, and guitarist Rob Flynn -- Machine Head. Nevertheless, Anderson found replacement and, in spite of very little support from the record companies, Forbidden released two more albums: "Distortion" (1994) and critically acclaimed "Green" (1998). After that the band broke up for good. Tim Calvert (guitar) joined Nevermore, three other members formed the band called "Manmade God," and Anderson himself departed the metal scene completely, forming an alternative rock band, Parking Lot Prophets. The band briefly reunited for one show in 2001.
FORBIDDEN EVIL (1989)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Feel No Pain," "March Into Fire," "Off The Edge"
A rather average thrash album, that failed to impress me, in spite of my many people's admiration. Vocals of Anderson are tolerable for a thrash vocalist, but he's still way too squeaky. Subpar production. Nothing to write home about. "Feel No Pain" is probably my favorite song on the album, and anti-war "March Into Fire" is also good. For some reason, this band reminds me of Life Of Agony, but I cannot pinpoint just why.
TWISTED INTO FORM (1992)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "Parting Of The Ways," title track, "One Foot In Hell"
The Century Media re-issue is much better than the American Relativity "Masters of Metal" re-issue. No idea how the original disc compares to the 2. CM re-issue also contains 2 excellent live tracks, "Chalice of Blood" and "As Good As Dead", both taken from the Ultimate Revenge 2 soundtrack (other CM bonus tracks were also taken from this compilation of thrash live tracks). The sound on the CM CD is much better than the dull sounding American version. As for the music itself: this is high quality old school thrash. Some tracks rip big time. I'm not into that sound anymore, but the quality of the album is undeniable.
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