Review by Daniel for Forbidden - Twisted Into Form (1990)

I was first introduced to Bay Area thrashers Forbidden through their very solid 1988 debut album "Forbidden Evil", a record that I really enjoyed due to its combination of raw intensity of general professionalism. The experience would see me quickly investigating their follow-up album "Twisted Into Form" (which was their brand newie at the time) & I recall my feelings being just impressed. This revisit has only further accentuated those memories & has forced me to realise that I perhaps haven't given Forbidden as much attention as they deserve over the years.

"Twisted Into Form" saw Forbidden dropping a little of that raw intensity I mentioned in exchange for a touch more melody, clarity & creativity. It's a beautifully executed & produced record from a band that was clearly very talented at their chosen craft & time has been very kind to it as it doesn't sound dated in the slightest. What we have here is a very pure brand of Bay Area thrash metal with a touch of technicality that never loses sight of the ultimate goal i.e. mosh pit shenanigans. There are no weak tracks included with the most commercially accessible track & video clip "Step By Step" being the only song that hints at filler. As with any great album, there are also a couple of real belters here too in the driving thrasher "Out of Body" & the classic tech thrash masterpiece "Tossed Away" which I regard as being possibly Forbidden's career highlight. The thing that sees "Twisted Into Form" slightly surpassing its elder sibling "Forbidden Evil" though is its general consistency as I think Forbidden have raised the bar a touch from their debut &, in doing so, have created their best work.

Forbidden are often compared to fellow Bay Area thrashers Testament & that's a fair comparison but, unlike most thrashers, I'd suggest that they're fairly close in terms of their general standard. Forbidden have the upper hand in the vocal department as Russ Anderson has a wonderfully masculine & powerful set of pipes on him & also manages to cope with the more melodic stuff better than Chuck Billy ever could. Forbidden also have a big advantage in the drumming department with future Slayer/Exodus/Testament skinsman Paul Bostaph smashing Louie Clemente out of the park. Testament of course have an ace up their sleeve in lead guitarist Alex Skolnick but Craig Locicero & Tim Calvert (who would join Nevermore in the future) are no slouches & pull off some very flashy lead solos with relative ease here. You know what? I'd actually suggest that "Twisted Into Form" is a better record than anything Testament have come up with over the years which I know is a big call. It should be compulsary listening for any thrasher worth their salt in my opinion & has emphatically cemented Forbidden's credentials as a high quality second tier thrash player.