Live Review: Forbidden – The Bread Shed, Manchester
13th August 2023
Support: Tortured Demon
Words: Matthew Williams
Photos: Tim Finch
If someone had told a 14-year-old me back in 1988 that I would have to wait nearly thirty six years until I got to hear “Chalice of Blood” and the epic thrash anthem that it “Through Eyes of Glass” I would have laughed in their faces and called them a fool. But due to a mixture of their hiatus and my own failures in life, that’s exactly what I had to do.
Walking into the sparsely populated (more on that later) Bread Shed in Manchester on one of the warmest nights of the year, I was beyond excited to watch thrash legends Forbidden for the first time and my senses were tingling. Their history is well known, and with singer Norman Skinner now firmly in place, they are back in Europe, playing most of the 1990 album “Twisted in Form”.
Before they take to the stage, it’s the job of Oldham’s finest thrashers Tortured Demon to get the crowd going. With singer and guitarist Jacob Parkinson leading from the front, he shouts “What the fuck is up Manchester?” and they plough straight into “Conflict of Interest”. He encourages the sparse crowd to “bang your fucking head” which a few do, but with five metal/rock gigs across the city tonight, numbers are lower than I expected inside the sweat box of a venue.
“We are Tortured Demon from Manchester, and it's a pleasure to be here” as they kick off “Virtual Death” which shows off their pace and musicianship. It ends and they get a big cheer. “Are you ready for a night of thrash metal?” Jacob asks. “I wanna see some action”, but how ever hard he tries, the demographic, which is predominantly aged 45+, just doesn’t get going.
“Nothing Left to Say” is played at a frantic pace and it goes down well. “It's an honour to play with Forbidden once again. Who was here last year?” lots were, and he apologises as he pushed his body to the limits at Bloodstock and is feeling it a bit tonight. They rip explosively through “The Invasion” and you can see that they are enjoying themselves up there despite the heat. As they grab a drink, the intro tape clicks on for “In Desperations Grip” which is a quality song, with slick solos combining beautifully with that extra crunch and the hammering that Joe Parkinson gives the double bass pedal.
“It's a change of pace for the next one, this is called Disfavour, hope you like it” and of course it goes down a treat. A quick guitar change, and they return for more “quaint little ditties” as “A Knee to the Face” gets played before they rip straight into the brilliant “Global Threat”. With Forbidden’s Craig Locicero nodding along from the mixing desk, it’s s ferocious slab of thrash metal, before Jacob announces that “this is your last chance to move” as they finish off with “Rise of the Lifeless”. The crowd were apathetic at best tonight for whatever reason, as the song and the band deserved better, but they leave to a decent applause. Job done.
As mentioned before, a mix of Snot, The Melvins, Pelican and King Buffalo supported by The Atomic Bitchwax, all playing across the city tonight, meant that the numbers were lower that I expected, but this was hardcore thrash fans eager to see their heroes, Forbidden, return after a triumphant show in Manchester last year. After a few technical issues, they arrive later that expected with “Parting of the Ways” ringing out, Locicero and drummer Chris Kontos are greeted by huge applause, as the rest of the band follow.
“This one is for Ozzy” announces frontman Norman Skinner, and the awesome “Infinite” kicks off seventy five minutes of pure thrash heaven. His voice is strong, the tempo is fast with Dan Mongrain complimenting Locicero perfectly, and heads are banging. Skinner is right in front of the barrier, singing and slapping hands with all and sundry, before they launch into “Out of Body (Out of Mind) which brings smiles to many old faces.
“Make a whole lotta noise for Tortured Demon man” says Skinner before Locicero quips, “they deserve to be heard all over the world” which must have really pleased Tortured Demon’s hearts to have that endorsement. Then for some inexplicable reason, drummer Kontos pipes up with “Glory Glory Man Utd” which is quite correctly booed by most inside the venue.
“We are going back to the first album now” and it’s the brutal “March Into Fire” which sounds unbelievable live. The 14-year me is bubbling and having one hell of a time watching this. “I want you up here with me but that can’t happen, so you’ll have to make a little mosh pit for me. Are you ready to get a little Twisted?” asks Skinner, as a few people start moving along to the brilliant “Twisted Into Form”. I love the way that bassist Matt Camacho just stays in the background, allowing the other three to dominate the front of the stage, as they move effortlessly into “Forbidden Evil”.
Skinner is on top form tonight, hitting all those high notes with ease, but there’s still a few technical issues for both guitarists as they persevere. “It’s been three years now, so we are trying to rebuild the fan base, and we’ve done some new stuff, with more on the way” announces Skinner, “this is Divided by Zero” which is song I really wanted to hear, and it was better than I hoped for, with huge riffs pleasing everyone here.
We then get the tour manager Marco brought onto the stage, and Skinner introduces their whole entourage and thanks them all, as “this can’t be done without them”. Before they play “Step by Step” he says, “I wanna see more than 5 people moving this time, wake the fuck up Manchester” but still to no avail. The song flowed beautifully and it’s another classic thrash song. Locicero mentions that “It’s been thirty five years since Twisted Into Form and here are 3 songs that we haven’t done in 15 years.”
Camacho performs a sumptuous bass lead into “R.I.P.” and for more nostalgia, they play “Tossed Away” which Locicero describes as “the hardest song to play on guitar from that record, which is one weird as fuck album” just before they elegantly execute “One Foot in Hell”. Skinner compliments the crowd on their “beautiful singing man” and then we get the two songs that are part of my thrash history. Songs that are seriously underrated in my opinion, so I put down my pad and pen, went to the front and sang my heart out, my inner teenager bursting with pride.
Of course, the two songs were “Through Eyes of Glass” and “Chalice of Blood” and finally a pit appears, with a solitary crowd surfer appearing. It had been worth the wait, the songs are off the scale brilliant, with solos of epic proportions and when it all ended, I walked away with a huge smile on my face and could finally tick Forbidden off my list of “must see” bands. What a treat that was.
Photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
