Hot on the heels of the previous night’s Ministry gig, the second Tuesday of August saw old-school thrashers Forbidden make a stop Downstairs at the Dome as part of their 40th-anniversary tour, with London groove metallers Die Ego as support.
Die Ego, though not my favourite band, made for a solid opening act, doing a good job of getting the crowd riled up with, and between, songs such as ‘The Serpent Bearer’ and ‘The Executioner’ . Their set-up was also notable for having what looked like a living-room carpet laid out for the drumkit.
As for Forbidden, they gave the assembled audience a solid show, delivering on their promise to play Twisted into Form, their 1990 sophomore album, in its entirety, albeit in shuffled order. Sadly, original vocalist Russ Anderson didn’t survive as part of the presented line-up, having left the band (and the music business) back in 2012, but Norman Skinner did a respectable job of filling his shoes. Both vocally and instrumentally, the band made a great showing of tracks such as ‘Out of Body (Out of Mind)’, ‘Twisted into Form’, ‘Step by Step’, and ‘Tossed Away’. On top of all that, I was chuffed to finally hear playlist favourite ‘Chalice of Blood’—from their 1988 album, Forbidden Evil—performed as the night’s closer.
Other highlights of the evening included being once again mistaken for security by fellow punters in the queue; having headline guitarist Craig Locicero asking what I was listening to whilst passing by the queue (answer: it was Whiplash, hot on the heels of the Forbidden tour setlist); being unwittingly kicked in the bonce by crowdsurfing drummer Chris Kontos at the set’s end; and catching up with a few familiar faces, most notably, the ever amiable Chris Parker and the diminutive Thrashteroid, first seen jamming onstage at the Islington Academy with Exodus exactly a year prior, last seen at this evening’s venue the day after that for Havok.
In sum, a sound, if slightly scuffed, night.
~MRDA~
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