Forbidden (band)

Forbidden (band)
source
Name	Forbidden
Origin	San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
Genres	Thrash metal, speed metal, heavy metal
Years active	1985–2001, 2007–2012
Labels	MCA Records, Century Media Records, E1 Music
Associated acts	Vio-lence, Warbringer, Legacy (band), Metallica, Testament (band), Heathen (band)

Forbidden (band) is an American thrash metal band formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985. Emerging alongside contemporaries like Metallica, Exodus, Death Angel, and Testament (band), they contributed to the Bay Area thrash movement with technically precise riffs, frenetic tempos, and socially conscious lyrics. Over multiple studio albums, lineup changes, and hiatuses, the band maintained a devoted international following and influenced subsequent generations of metal bands.

History

Forbidden formed in the mid-1980s when members of local acts in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene coalesced, drawing on the aggressive sounds of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Exodus. Early demos circulated in underground tape-trading networks alongside releases from Possessed, Death Angel, Heathen (band), and Vio-lence, earning Forbidden a deal with Combat Records before later signing with MCA Records for wider distribution. Their debut studio album showcased the technical facility prominent in contemporaries such as Testament (band) and the progressive leanings of bands like Queensrÿche.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Forbidden toured with major acts including Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Pantera, sharing bills on bills promoted by international concert promoters and festivals. Lineup shifts affected creative direction: members left for or joined groups like Vio-lence and Heathen (band), and production collaborations brought in figures associated with Rick Rubin-era projects and engineers who worked with Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. The band disbanded in 2001 amid changes in the music industry and the rise of alternative rock, briefly reconvened for reunion shows and festival appearances in the 2000s, and officially reunited for touring and new recordings in the late 2000s, releasing material through Century Media Records and E1 Music before another hiatus.

Musical style and influences

Forbidden's sound is rooted in the aggressive riffing of thrash metal exemplified by Slayer and Exodus, tempered by melodic sensibilities heard in Iron Maiden and technical complexity akin to Megadeth and Testament (band). Their arrangements often feature syncopated guitar work, rapid tempo changes, and extended soloing resonant with Yngwie Malmsteen-influenced neoclassical approaches and the precision of Steve Vai-style technique. Vocally, the band drew from the harsh delivery of Tom Araya and the clearer melodic range of singers associated with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, resulting in a hybrid that balances aggression with articulation.

Lyrically, Forbidden addressed social and political themes comparable to those tackled by Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down, while also engaging with personal and introspective topics similar to Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. Production choices over their career reflected shifts in metal production aesthetics: rawer tones in early releases paralleled recordings by Possessed and Death, while later albums incorporated clearer mixes and triggered drum sounds used by bands like Pantera and Machine Head.

Band members

Core and notable members included guitarists and vocalists who also played in other prominent Bay Area acts. Key figures were associated with bands such as Vio-lence, Heathen (band), Legacy (band), and individual musicians who later collaborated with artists from Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Lineup rotations featured musicians who recorded and toured with European and North American metal acts, participated in festival circuits including Wacken Open Air and Ozzfest, and engaged in side projects spanning death metal, progressive metal, and groove metal scenes.

Discography

Forbidden's studio output includes releases issued on labels that also represented major thrash and metal artists. Their albums were released in formats prevalent at the time—vinyl, cassette, CD—and later reissued by specialty reissue labels. Key releases aligned them with catalogs of bands such as Testament (band), Exodus, and Death Angel, and they contributed to compilation albums and live recordings circulated within the international metal community. Reissues and remasters appeared on labels including Century Media Records and E1 Music, placing their work alongside expanded editions of albums by Metallica and archival releases from Megadeth.

Tours and live performances

Forbidden toured extensively across North America, Europe, and parts of Asia, performing at major festivals including Wacken Open Air, Download Festival, and regional metal gatherings promoted by organizations connected to Nuclear Blast and Roadrunner Records. They shared stages with genre-defining acts such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Pantera, Testament (band), and Exodus, and appeared on package tours with crossover and extreme metal bands from labels like Earache Records and Relapse Records. Live performances emphasized technical proficiency and high-energy stagecraft, attracting audiences from dedicated scenes in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Tokyo.

Legacy and reception

Critical and fan reception situates Forbidden among influential second-wave Bay Area thrash acts, cited by emerging bands in the thrash metal revival and referenced in interviews with artists from Warbringer, Municipal Waste, and Havok. Music journalists have compared their technical ambition to Megadeth and their regional contribution to Exodus and Testament (band), while historians of heavy music note their role in the tape-trading era and underground networks that connected scenes across the United States and Europe. Retrospectives in metal periodicals and documentary projects on the Bay Area scene often include Forbidden among the essential practitioners who shaped late-1980s and early-1990s extreme metal movements.

Category:American thrash metal musical groups Category:Musical groups from San Francisco