Forbidden Album Review (2026)
Metal Nerdery Podcast — Episode 375 | Published October 29, 2026 | metalnerdery.com | @metalnerderypodcast
“I feel like I’m in high school again and we’re putting Forbidden Evil on…”
“I think I found my favorite metal album for 2026…”
“That’s like a 28-layer casserole lasagna…”
“When somebody comes out with a new album, I think this is the first time we all need to listen to it, at this podcast…”
“At some point, I bet they open for Dream Theater.”
About This Episode
A lot can change in sixteen years. The last new FORBIDDEN album, Omega Wave, was released on October 22, 2010 — which, for perspective, was a mere sixteen days after Instagram launched. Fast forward to October 23, 2026, when FORBIDDEN unleashes their eponymous 6th album, the first to feature new frontman Norman Skinner assuming vocal duties for original vocalist Russ Anderson.
FORBIDDEN has all of the elements that fans of the Bay Area progressive thrash masters have come to expect, including some mind-boggling surprises. Produced by Zack Ohren and tuned to E standard, this album is a multilayered beast featuring guest vocals from Brann Dailor of Mastodon and a 9-minute closing epic that had the crew giving it a standing ovation.
Slip into your “yoga pants” and join us as we immerse ourselves into the multilayered complexity of the top contender for “thrash metal comeback album of the year” from San Francisco’s technical thrash titans, FORBIDDEN.
Album: Forbidden — Forbidden’s 6th studio album (self-titled)
Released: October 23, 2026
Label: BLKIIBLK (Frontiers Label Group)
Produced by: Zack Ohren
Lineup: Norman Skinner (vocals) · Craig Locicero & Jeremy Von Epp (guitars) · Matt Camacho (bass) · Chris Kontos (drums)
Of note: First album in 16 years; first with Norman Skinner on vocals; Brann Dailor (Mastodon) guests on “Sycophantasy”
Previous album: Omega Wave — October 22, 2010
Forbidden — Track by Track
01
Single Point Failure
“That’s a strong opener…sounds like old school thrash…sounds like Russ (Anderson)…” The elements of the Russ-era sound are here — the weedly woos, the projection — but filtered through a fresh voice.
“They were weedling and woodling…”
02
Burning The Lungs Of Earth
“He’s got the notes of the Russ voice…the projection…” An 80’s movie cadence lurks in here somewhere (Top Gun?). Norman Skinner sounds like “Russ Plus” — more aggressive, but the voice fits Forbidden.
“I hear moments that tell me, when you go see them live, they’ll be able to do classic Forbidden and kill it…and there’s also a new element…”
03
Divided By Zero
The first single, released over a year ago. “I feel like I’m in high school again and we’re putting Forbidden Evil on…” A killer sing-along chorus and a middle section you need to hear.
“That’s Forbidden…all day!”
04
DCLXVI
“Kinda creepy…darker…kinda reminds me of Suicide Note Pt. 1 by Pantera…” Slow, grindy Forbidden. “Is that Latin back there?” They’re SPELLING it.
05
Psyclops
“Listen to that bass, dude…that’s meaty!” Guitars — not keyboards — and pick scratches. A Coroner (Dissonance Theory) vibe in the production and guitar sound. “Eventually there’s gonna be no more riffs…NOPE!”
“When somebody comes out with a new album, I think this is the first time we all need to listen to it, at this podcast…it’s so much better right here…”
06
Jisei
“This sounds creepy…” “This is weird and I like it…it’s very dark…” The meaning and context of the Japanese word Jisei (a death poem).
07
Mutually Assured Dysfunction
Single number 2, released last year. “That’s classic riffs right there…” Sounds like the first two albums (Forbidden Evil & Twisted Into Form). So many layers — it’s gonna take several listens.
“An album is supposed to be a presentation of work that fits together like a book…I like albums…”
08
Sycophantasy
“I love me some double bass…” Features guest vocals from Brann Dailor of Mastodon.
09
The Burden
“Ooooh, that’s ugly…that was like Psycroptic…” “Wow! That’s nuts!” “So, they’re ‘kinda’ good…sounds like they’ve played instruments before…”
“That’s like video game metal…”
10
Sol Grave
“Sol means ‘sun’…or ‘peace’…” Pinch harmonics everywhere — squeakies, squealies, harmonized squealies. Progressive thrash that makes you uncomfortable in the best way. “Let’s make the most difficult song in history the next to the last song on the album…”
“There’s so much uncomfortable shit going on…those pinch squeakies are great!”
11
Flower of Life (Chaos by Design)
The 9-minute closer. “I don’t think Forbidden has ever had a 9-minute song…” Piano, strings, rimshots — a different kind of Forbidden. “It’s gonna build back like a motherfucker…” #standingovation “That’s like a 28-layer casserole lasagna…”
“I think I found my favorite metal album for 2026…”
⚔ The Verdict
“I think I found my favorite metal album for 2026…”
“That’s like a 28-layer casserole lasagna…”
“At some point, I bet they open for Dream Theater.”
All 11 tracks reviewed — hear the full breakdown only in the episode.
Episode Timestamps
00:01“In the middle of the night…” / “There is…a house…in New Orleans…” / #GhostManor / “Skynet strikes again…” / “Wait wait…you can tell they’re girl skeletons?” / #SkeletonTits / #RussellsReflectionsHalloweenEdition / #CrystalLake / “I always liked Velma…you know Velma’s doing the freaky shit…” / “That’s some ASMR right there, dude…”
12:12VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!! / #guitarslide / #TripSix / #MetalNerdist / “I think I know the part he’s talking about, specifically, that he’s talking about in The Four Horsemen…” / #Metallica THE FOUR HORSEMEN (Kill ’Em All – 1983) / “That’s a pick slide (pick scratch)…” / “I never noticed…the bass is doing it too…” / #divebomb / #Slayer WAR ENSEMBLE (Seasons In The Abyss – 1990) / “The slide gives it that live feel…” / #futureepisodeidea #pickscratch #pickscrape #neckslide #fretslide
21:00#TheDocket — METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: FORBIDDEN’S BRAND SPANK, SELF-TITLED NEW ALBUM!!! / Released 10/23/2026, the first new album from Forbidden since 2010’s Omega Wave (the last album to feature original vocalist Russ Anderson) / Produced by Zack Ohren / “10/23 is a great day for album releases…” / “Let’s check out the gear…” / “Brann from Mastodon is on this…” / #BlackDog / “They’re tuned to E standard…when Metallica did Death Magnetic, (Rick) Rubin had them tune up to E standard…” / “I like the label, too…BLKIIBLK…is there a ‘B’ Roman Numeral?”
26:26Single Point Failure — “That’s a strong opener…sounds like old school thrash…sounds like Russ (Anderson)…” / “It’s got the elements of the Russ (era) sound…” / “The weedly woos…they were weedling and woodling…”
30:30Burning The Lungs Of Earth — “He’s got the notes of the Russ voice…the projection…” / “I swear this has an 80’s movie cadence…like on Top Gun…” / “It’s like a more angry sounding Russ…it’s like Russ Plus…” / “The voice (of Norman Skinner) fits Forbidden…” / “I hear moments that tell me, when you go see them live, they’ll be able to do classic (Forbidden) and kill it…and there’s also a new element…(Skinner) has got his own sound…”
34:20Divided By Zero — The first single, released over a year ago!!! / “I feel like I’m in high school again and we’re putting (Forbidden Evil) on…” / “That’s Forbidden…all day!” / “That chorus will be a killer sing-along at the show…” / “Sharpening knives to cut through the smoke…” / “Wait a minute…we’ve gotta hit that middle part…”
37:43DCLXVI — “Kinda creepy…darker…kinda reminds me of Suicide Note Pt. 1 by Pantera…” / “That’s slow, grindy Forbidden…” / “Is that Latin back there?” / “Ooooooh…they’re SPELLING it!”
43:18Psyclops — “Listen to that bass, dude…that’s meaty!” / “That is guitars, not keyboards…pick scratch!” / “This kinda has the Coroner (Dissonance Theory) sound to it…the production…the sound of the guitar…” / “I like the bends they do…” / “Eventually there’s gonna be no more riffs…NOPE!” / “When somebody comes out with a new album, I think this is the first time we all need to listen to it, at this podcast…it’s so much better right here…” / “I almost wish they wouldn’t (release the singles ahead of the album release)…just to have that Christmas Day…where you unwrap all the presents at one time…” / “Forbidden have come back after a 16-year absence…you’ve got to build a buzz…or a bus.”
49:30Jisei — “This sounds creepy…” / “This is weird and I like it…it’s very dark…” / The meaning & context of the Japanese word Jisei / “I’d like to hear the very end of that before it goes into the next song…”
53:27Mutually Assured Dysfunction — Single number 2, released last year / “That’s classic (Forbidden) riffs right there…” / “There’s so many layers to this thing…” / “That sounds like the first two (albums: Forbidden Evil & Twisted Into Form)…that’s the classic Forbidden sound…” / “This thing’s got layers…it’s probably gonna take several listens…” / “An album is supposed to be a presentation of work that fits together like a book…I like albums…”
57:10Sycophantasy — “I love me some double bass…” / “That’s Brann (Dailor, from Mastodon) I think (on guest vocals)…ah ha! Yep, Brann IS on there!”
59:16The Burden — “Ooooh, that’s ugly…that was like Psycroptic…” / “Come on! How!? I wanna hear one more…” / “Wow! That’s nuts!” / “So, they’re ‘kinda’ good…sounds like they’ve played instruments before…” / “That’s like video game metal…”
1:02:38Sol Grave — “Sol means ‘sun’…or ‘peace’…” / “Hear those squeakies back there!? Squeak pinch harmonics…” / “There’s so much uncomfortable shit going on…those pinch squeakies are great!” / “That’s like progressive thrash is what that is…it’s distressed, it makes you uncomfortable.” / “It’s like pinch squealies…perfect…they’re harmonizing the squealies!” / “Let’s make the most difficult song in history the next to the last song on the album…”
1:08:10Flower of Life (Chaos by Design) — “I don’t think Forbidden has ever had a 9-minute song…” / “Me likey…” / “Those pinches (pinch harmonics) are crazy!” / “Piano!? They’re opening for Dream Theater, dude…” / “Rimshot!? Holy shit! I like it though…it’s a different kind of Forbidden.” / “I think it’s gonna come back hard…is that strings!? Wow!” / “I almost don’t know what to say…” / #usethoseheadphones / #standingovation / “That’s like a 28-layer casserole lasagna…” / “I think I found my favorite metal album for 2026…” / “At some point, I bet they open for Dream Theater.” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel
- Episode: Metal Nerdery #375 — Forbidden: Self-Titled Album Review
- Album: Forbidden — 6th studio album — October 23, 2026
- Label: BLKIIBLK (Frontiers Label Group)
- Produced by: Zack Ohren
- First new album in: 16 years (since Omega Wave, 2010)
- New vocalist: Norman Skinner (replacing Russ Anderson)
- Guest appearance: Brann Dailor (Mastodon) on “Sycophantasy”
- Tracks covered: 11
- Tuning: E standard
- Intro topics: Ghost Manor, Russell’s Reflections Halloween Edition, guitar slides & pick scrapes, Metallica “The Four Horsemen”, Slayer “War Ensemble”
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