Craig Locicero checks in on Forbidden's writing progress.

UPDATE : For those of you who aren’t aware of our songwriting process, here’s how it goes :

Once we have a pile of quality riffs, the arrangement process has always been for myself and the drummer put the puzzle pieces together early on. Be it Bostaph, Jacobs, Hernandez, Horn and now Kontos. Sounds simple enough, but it’s never simple!

Each drummer added their own rhythmic identity to the process. Some more syncopated, some more tribal. All great in their own ways.

Writing songs with Chris Kontos has been all of it and more. We try anything and everything we can think of as an alternative interpretation to a riff. Always thinking about the song more than the part. This process leads us to to something greater than any one individual standing out. Sum of the parts.

And that’s just the early arrangement!

Matt comes in, hangs out & records everything. Learning as he goes. Thinks of alternative melodies & counter rhythms. Then Norm comes in and helps put a bow on the arrangements for his vocal ideas (which are always great).

All the while we send the songs to Dan Mongrain, who’s located in Quebec. Once he focuses on it he adds his ideas on arrangements and writes insanely cool counter parts & solos to the riffs. Taking a great idea and improving on it. Really something to behold his first idea demos.

Lastly Norm shows us his melodies and lyrics. So far I’ve been giving him song titles and concepts and then he puts it all together. Then Chris & myself help button it up.

This process is fantastic, because I can concentrate more on my job and less on Norm’s. He’s proven to be amazing at writing Forbidden lyrics.

Chris & I are presently pounding out the next batch of songs. We’re recording this album in phases. Because we can! This phase is SUPER heavy & technical. Some of the craziest riffs thus far. Writing with Chris is like scripting an epic movie. He helps me see everything in technicolor.

I think any Forbidden fan will appreciate what we’re doing here. It’s a real team effort.