Forbidden Studio Update – Mark Hernandez

The following are excerpts from the second studio report written by Craig Locicero, guitarist/songwriter of the reunited Bay Area thrashers Forbidden while the band was at Bombshelter Studios in downtown Los Angeles with owner Eric Kretz (drummer & founding member of Stone Temple Pilots):

March 4th – Three more songs in the bag!  Once we finished that night, Gerardo [Martínez, Label Manager] from Nuclear Blast came out to meet us. We just talked about metal for about 4 hours. Seriously felt like I’ve known him for eons. It was very cool and I felt like we made a great decision! We also watched the documentary part of the Exodus DVD. Fucking-A if Gary and Tom are not on fire! The whole band is, but those two are my role models for this genre!  Get ’em fuckers!!!  It’s funny, Gerardo was there all that time and we didn’t play him a thing. Dicks!

March 5th – This was the day we slayed the last two songs. The first one is the fastest Forbidden song I’ve ever played. Thought my arm was gonna go on strike!  And I had the easy part, [drummer] Mark [Hernandez] was over the top, really great stuff in this one… called “Forsaken At The Gates.” A burner for sure!  Brings back my “March Into Fire” [a track off the Forbidden Evil debut album] memories of how we used to do things, but much better. One last song in which [producer] Tim Narducci had Mark experiment with his snare turning it off and on all over the song. Sounded awesome!

[P]roducer/mix GOD Sean Beavan [Marilyn Manson/Nine Inch Nails]… invited us to come out to see him in Hollywood.  It was very mellow.  Just he and his beautiful wife, Juliette, and their good friend who turned out to be the producer of the [television documentary] Deadliest Catch. A great host and a sweetheart of a guy… he was making real margaritas for the drinkers of the crowd. Tim and Mike Gerloch, our engineer, were picking Sean’s brain a bit. Especially Tim. We all respect the hell out of Sean. I was lucky enough to get to know him when he mixed the Manmade God record for Rick Rubin back in 2003.

March 6th – This was the day to check all the tracks and make sure they were perfect.  All good!  I was walking around the studio with a Martin acoustic of Eric [Kretz]’s and putting together all of my ideas for this album’s intro. I’ve had this thing rolling around in my head for about 2 years. It pretty simple and grandiose. I needed some help orchestrating it, so I called in Kretz on this one. Big open drums are his forté!  I trusted his instincts when it comes to thinking big.

[W]e went into the tracking room where I explained my ideas. He immediately understood and we went on to track the acoustic and him at a piano live, laying a very simple foundation. Then I dropped my melody into it. The next thing that happened was a creative explosion, we went nuts!  [W]e all pulled together big time. Gerardo came in again, so he was a witness to the insanity. Mark, Eric, Tim and Jeff Hendrix  made a drum circle with an omni-directional mic between them. First bass drums and floor toms, then snares and last the cymbals… sounds amazing!  We finally let Gerardo hear a song.  “Forsaken At The Gates.” Let’s just say, I think he liked it.

I was so fucking proud to watch it all come together. To end the drum recording on such a high note with everyone that was working on it contributing, it was ultra gratifying to say the least. Everyone did really well. Hopefully, this intro will be the music FORBIDDEN walks out on stage to for a long, long time!  That’s how I really feel about it.

Now we begin tracking my guitars on March 12th. From there, we continue to build what we hope to be the record we never got to make before. And so much more than that!”

View more studio pictures and read the full studio report here

Working titles on the new Forbidden album are as follows:

1. Intro
2. Swine
3. Immortal Wounds
4. Omega Wave
5. Hopenosis
6. Adapt Or Die
7. Forsaken At The Gates
8. Inhuman Race
9. Beyond The Mask
10. Dragging My Casket
11. Overthrow

Forbidden are currently at Sonic Room Studios in Livermore, California tracking bass, guitar, and vocals.  The as-yet-untitled album is being produced by Craig Locicero and Tim Narducci (Forbidden/Systematic/Spiral Arms).

The 2010 line-up for Forbidden is Russ Anderson on vocals; Craig Locicero, guitar; Steve Smyth, guitar; Matt Camacho on bass; and Mark Hernandez, drums.

Hear two new Forbidden demo tracks, “Adapt Or Die” and “Hopenosis,” at www.myspace.com/forbiddenofficial