Bay Area thrash metal veterans FORBIDDEN have signed with BLKIIBLK, the heavy metal imprint of Frontiers Label Group, and are currently recording their first album in 16 years. The follow-up to 2010's "Omega Wave" is being tracked at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer Zack Ohren, who has become one of the go-to producers for West Coast thrash and death metal bands.
The current lineup features founding guitarist Craig Locicero, bassist Matt Camacho, drummer Chris Kontos (formerly of MACHINE HEAD, where he played on the landmark debut "Burn My Eyes"), guitarist Jeremy Von Epp, and vocalist Norman Skinner. The band has reportedly recorded eight original songs plus "one super-secret cover" for a tentative mid-2026 release. Early reports from the studio suggest the material recaptures the technical ferocity and progressive ambition that made FORBIDDEN one of the Bay Area's most respected thrash acts.
FORBIDDEN emerged in the late 1980s as part of the second wave of Bay Area thrash, alongside peers like TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, EXODUS, and VIO-LENCE. Their 1988 debut "Forbidden Evil" and 1990's "Twisted Into Form" — the latter widely considered one of the finest technical thrash albums ever recorded — established them as musicians of extraordinary caliber. "Twisted Into Form" in particular showcased a level of progressive complexity and jazz-influenced guitar work that was remarkable for the genre, with Locicero and then-guitarist Tim Calvert crafting intricate, harmonically rich arrangements.
The band's career was marked by critical acclaim but commercial frustration, and lineup instability eventually led to a hiatus. The signing with BLKIIBLK and the return to the studio signals a genuine creative resurgence. Locicero has stated that the new material honors FORBIDDEN's legacy while pushing forward, promising an album that fans of technical, progressive thrash metal have been waiting sixteen years to hear.