Omega Wave

Forbidden shows that they are now and always have been one of the most technically gifted bands in metal with this album. As a huge fan of their first two releases, I was not entirely satisfied with the lack of speed on Distortion and Green, although to be fair, almost no bands were allowed to release thrash metal in the mid- to late-nineties. Well, this CD sees Forbidden happily returning to their roots, blistering your ears with searing solos, thundering double bass, and the return of Russ Anderson's legendary soaring high notes. I love the crisp, menacing sound of this album, which sounds closest to Twisted Into Form, but with some traces of Distortion and Green. Craig Locicero's choppy thrash riffs are back, as is his sometimes eerie tone. As mentioned, Russ's vocals are often reminiscent of Twisted Into Form, but more aggressive at times, like on Green. Some of the songs are thrashier than others, as a few are mid-paced, but most have at least one fast riff or section. I doubt many fans will say this is better than Forbidden Evil or Twisted Into Form, but I think 99.9% will love it, and I'm pretty sure all Forbidden fans will like it more than Distortion and Green. Forbidden is one of the best in the business, with a knack for writing catchy riffs, memorable songs,and great vocal melodies. The quality musicianship and high-speed melodic thrash on this CD will have you wondering if it's 1990 again.Update, 11-18: I just saw Forbidden open for Overkill last night, and to say it was amazing would be an understatement. Forbidden's new songs, Adapt or Die and Omega Wave, were GREAT live, and after the show, Craig, Matt, Steve, and Mark hung out with my friends and me for about a half hour behind the venue, signing stuff, taking pics, and just being some of the coolest freaking people in the world. Mark said Omega Wave is just the beginning for Forbidden. Blitz, Ron Lipnicki, and Dave Linsk from Overkill hung out, too. Night of a lifetime; all these guys rule!

It's been a long time since thrashers had new Forbidden material. For us in the hinterlands of the mid-south, they are barely even heard of, so much so local record stores don't even carry "Omega Wave". This reviewer had to order it from Amazon, and that's a pity because these guys deserve much more recognition than they're getting. For that matter, there's a lot of metal impossible to find in your bigger chain stores, with FYE being the only one to stock a halfway decent heavy metal section. Forbidden came just after the Big Four's initial explosion, being in the group that includes Exodus, Death Angel and Testament. There are some sound similarities to Testament on earlier discs, but "Omega Wave" shows us a band with a very heavy sound that like Exodus, shows these older thrash titans rocking harder than ever. Lots of slicing lead guitars, hammering rhythms and real sung vocals by Russ Anderson give us a welcome breather for those wanting their music heavy without the sticking-your-finger-down-your-throat grunting that is so damn irritating. The British magazine Metal Hammer gave this Cd a lukewarm review, and though this publication is usually pretty spot-on with their reviews, they are flat wrong calling "Omega Wave" a so-so affair. With a great production and bruising tunes like "Swine" and the opener "Alpha Century", giving these guys anything less than a five star review is ridiculous. It's a great comeback and one hopes Forbidden will enjoy a second life ala Exodus, who came back after supposedly dying with the brutal "Tempo Of The Damned" and are unstoppable now. What a great double bill this would make.

In my opinion this album is very good overall. Certainly beats the piss out of the Green album for sure.I find Russ's vocals way more tolerable on this album. I wasn't crazy about his high pitched stuff in the past. He always had a great voice and didn't need the nut pincher yells. That being said I'm not opposed to some high vocals ala King Diamond and Judas Priest etc....Now on to the music, very clever song writing. There are so many musical elements on this cd. The atmosphere of the songs is fantastic with some parts fast, haunting, melodic, and intense to name a few. I was never crazy about lower tuned thrashy stuff, but these guys to a great job of using it for an atmospheric sound. They have kind of a progressive thrash thing going.Great vocals, killer sweeping, buzzsaw guitar picking, cool acoustic arpeggios, and haunting melodies make this a very enjoyable album to listen to (at least to me).If you are an oldhead and have only heard their old stuff, give this one a try. I think they've captured a modern sound and feel without copping out and still retaining the good elements that have established them. They have lost their way for awhile, but came back with a vengeance. Mosh It Up.....

If you are a old skool thrasher this album is for you.

Se amate il gruppo più sottovalutato della Bay Area, fate vostro questo magnifico album: superbo!é arrivato prima del previsto....

L'artwork situe cet album dans la droite lignée du tout premier album de FORBIDDEN, "Forbidden Evil" (1988) qui demeure un chef d'oeuvre du thrash des années 80. De fait, on retrouve sur cet "Omega Wave" les gutiares galopantes, les soli débridés, les rythmiques saccadées, la voix si particulière de Russ Anderson (avec ses dérapages aigus). C'est du tout bon, d'autant plus que la production est largement meilleure que sur les anciens disques du groupe.Tout juste peut-on noter que le groupe a prudemment choisi de ne pas s'éloigner de ses fondamentaux et que l'effet de surprise ne joue pas pour des fans vétérans du thrash.Alain Lavanne

Die neue Forbidden hat alles, was eine tolle Thrash-Metal-Scheibe haben muss: Kräftiger Gesang, gute Riffs, Soli und (sehr wichtig) unterschiedliche Songstils - hier wird Abwechslungsreichtum groß geschrieben. Die Hooks sind zum Glück nicht orchestral und derart gestaltet, dass diese auch nach dem 20.ten Mal noch greifen und besser werden!Die Songs im Einzelnen:Alpha Century: zweiminütiges Intro - so muss Spannungsaufbau erfolgen!Forsaken at the gates: Speediger Thrash, der direkt nach vorne geht und keine zuuu vordergründigen Refrain hat. Ich finds super, lediglich die dritte Strophe hätte ich variiert. 8,5/10Overthrow: Groovigerer, langsamerer Song mit getragenerem Mittelteil. Nicht überragend, aber gut. 7/10Adapt or die: Beim Einsatz des Hauptriffs muss man einfach lauter drehen, denn das ist genial. Genauso der Gesang von Russ! 9,5/10Swine: Ein weiteres Highlight des Albums! Midtempo Nummer mit sehr geilen Gesangslinien und fantastischen Gitarren! 10/10Chatter: Zweiminütiges sphärisches Zwischenstück, mit Sprachsamples und cleanen Gitarren. Eigentlich eher unnötig, aber nicht störend.Dragging my cascet: Gleich das Intro zeigt, dass hier einiges passiert. DAS ist Abwechslungsreichtum. Mit der beste Song der Scheibe. 10/10Hopenosis: Für mich auch ein absolutes Highlight mit geilen Riffs. 10/10Immortal wounds: mit geilen Bay area Riffs gehts weiter, wie zu besten "Twisted into form" Zeiten. 10/10Behind the mask: Ohne Worte! 10/10Inhuman Race: Midtempo Song, der einen Tick abfällt! 9/10Omega wave: mit vollgas Tritt einen der Titelsong und zugleich letzte Track aus dem Album - bangen und Repeat Taste drücken! Der Gesang erinnert stellenweise an Annihilator. 10/10Fazit: So und nicht anders muss Bay Area Thrash klingen! In den 80ern wäre Fobidden mit Metallica gleichgestellt worden.

久々に表舞台に帰ってきた復活作ということで、かなりの期待だったが期待しすぎて少々肩すかしというのが正直な感想。初期の頃のアグレッシブさもちょいちょい挟んではいるのだが、全体的にはへヴィーでダークなサウンドにシフトしたDISTORTIONやGREENの雰囲気が全体を支配している感じ。そのせいか所々上がるテンションがそれによって削がれてしまい中途半端さが否めない。往年のスラッシュバンドの復活作といえば最近ではとりあえず初期原点回帰が定番となっているが、それを期待してしまう人には賛否がわかれてしまうところだろう。新作を出したことだけでも★５つ付けたいところだが・・・初期のころよりの独特の不可思議なメロディーは健在なんだけど個人的には“やっぱFORBIDDENはこれだよ！”と手放しに喜べるアルバムではなかった。アートワークは初期を彷彿としロゴはDISTORTION以降のものを使用しているジャケットが以外に的を得ている。再解散せず次作に期待したい。