After hearing Forbidden Evil I was most excited to check out this sophomore effort. By all accounts, Twisted Into Form features better songwriting, production, and was even more complex than its predecessor. And given this was from 1990, right in the epicenter of the prog thrash movement, I figured this would go into my all-time favorites stack for the genre. Everything proved to be true from my above statement, except the conclusion. I preferred Forbidden Evil. It starts off - as one person humorously stated about another metal album - with the Federally mandated clean acoustic guitar instrumental. And of course this leads to the inevitable bludgeoning of 'Infinite'. At this point my hopes were super high, as this track just kills with riff after riff, and multiple thematic changes. After this comes 'Out of Body', and the album begins to lose its luster. I'm waiting for the quirks of the genre to show up, the make-it-up-as-we-go-along aesthetic. But it's all too... too... professional. In this way, I'm most reminded of Testament and their transition from the rough and ready Legacy to the polished New Order. From a pure ratings perspective I find Twisted Into Form about the same as Forbidden Evil, but the latter has more potential for growth in this area. Other great tracks include the lengthy 'R.I.P.' and the closer 'One Foot in Hell'. It's a great album, yes everyone is correct on that front, but it's not unique enough to stand out as a pillar. Bummer.
The CD also includes a reissue of their EP entitled Raw Evil 1989 - Live at the Dynamo. On paper this looks great, as it features three tracks from their debut plus Judas Priest's masterpiece 'Victim of Changes'. Had I bought this real time after Forbidden Evil, I would have been completely disappointed. It starts with the Priest track. Quick history of 'Victim of Changes': This was a blues rock piece, going back to the early 70s, written by Judas Priest founder and original vocalist Al Atkins. It made its debut on Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) and proved to be a superb hard rock meets progressive rock number while still maintaining its blues foundation. But it was on 1979's Unleashed in the East, that the track became one of the greatest metal songs of all time. Priest amped it up from hard rock to metal, and added an incredible amount of emotional intensity. Gives one goose bumps just thinking about it. So what will a talented thrash band do with such a masterpiece? Ruin it, that's what. 'Victim of Changes' calls for subtlety and proper pacing. Forbidden rushes through it as if they have to go to the bathroom. It's a horrible rendition and they would have been far better served to cover something like 'Exciter' or 'Killing Machine'. I think only a progressive rock band could tackle 'Victim of Changes' and make it unique and exciting. The other three tracks are typical metal concert fare. With a husky voice: "This song is [about][comes from]" (unintelligible) blaaahhhhhrraa (cue high hat) - then huge racket ensues. It's not that they can't play live - they most certainly can - it's just so much gets lost in translation. The studio brings out the best of most bands like this.
Ownership: 2008 Nuclear Blast Germany (CD)
1/23/21 (review)
By 1988 my interest in metal had waned significantly. I was interested in new and different kinds of metal, but primarily my focus had shifted almost entirely to international progressive rock, in particular Italy had become my new drug of choice. So when Forbidden showed up on the stage, they were touted as yet another Bay Area thrash metal band. That ship had already taken off as far as I was concerned. Having been a diehard for the previous five years starting with Metallica's Kill 'em All, I had absorbed quite a bit of the style up to that point. My personal bookends to this scene were two new bands at the time: Testament and Death Angel. The last semester in college, they were to be my swansong of managing my anger while trying to get my engineering degree. After that, a new day was born.
I provide this introduction for context. For if Forbidden Evil had been released just one year prior, it would have been my favorite from the current new crop of bands. In reality, Forbidden were tapping into the progressive thrash market, something that bands like Metallica had dabbled in, but never focused on. Over the years, I continue to add metal albums from the late 80s and early 90s that were performing music similar to what Forbidden are here. It's complex, yes, but also heavy (in a rough sort of way) and the tunes are very interesting, constantly weaving in different directions. 'Through Eyes of Glass' in particular sees Forbidden at their most creative. Of course the solos tend to be a million miles an hour, which was de rigueur for the day, so those tend to lack impact over time. And there's also this strange pig squeal guitar noise that pops up here and there, which begins to sound like a gimmick after awhile. Small gripes on an otherwise excellent effort.
Ownership: 2008 Nuclear Blast Germany (CD). Contains a short history, lyrics, photos, and memorabilia. There's also four live bonus tracks. Like most metal bands, they tend to be raw run-throughs of the studio material. Improvisation is not one of the major tenets of the thrash genre.1/21/21 (review)
1/21/21 (new entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment