Craig Locicero: Studio Update

To say we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last couple of months may be understating things a bit. The 3 guys (and a coupla ghosts with Jeremy & myself) in this photo were together in the studio almost every single day. Contributing ideas, giving positive feedback & cheering each other on.

That sounds pretty elementary, but it’s not all that common. Especially these days. Everybody’s got shit going on and things to do. We put it all aside for the betterment of this recording. Distances traveled every day didn’t hinder that process. We pulled together.

There are 3 of us that didn’t miss a session. Of course Zack Ohren because he’s the engineer & co-producer. It was also Chris Kontos & yours truly. Of course I’m going to be there, because I’ve always been involved in the production of every Forbidden offering. Most of the ideas have stem from my hands to start and then flourish with the other guys contributions.

I knew from all of my years of knowing and playing in bands with Chris that he has producer ears and ideas. He’s great at helping me arrange parts and writing the perfect complementary drum parts to move the masses ass’s. There’s no way I’d underutilize that skillset. He’s equally as competent in the studio with details and ear candy.

Chris is a great compliment to my ears. We check almost all the boxes together with Zack being the musical & engineering genius he is.

THEN you add Jeremy & Norm into the equation. This is where we truly pick up all of the nuances. Jeremy is a great guitarist, yes. He’s also a ripping engineer & producer in his own right. The demos we cut together starting in November set the templet for structure and detail like no other album I’ve ever done. He’s got some butthole for ears!

Then there’s Norman… What can I say. The guy has his own visions and has been singing professionally for a few decades. He has been preparing for this. What we knew he had in vocal skills was one thing. What he brought to the table lyrically was another.

Most folks know that I wrote most of the Forbidden lyrics from Twisted on. That changed here. Norm has great vision & confidence. He dove in headfirst to the process. I would give him titles & concepts alongside of Kontos, Norm would create stories and scapes. It was a pleasure to watch it unfold. Very proud of him.

I don’t wanna leave Matt Camacho out of this here. He’s never really been involved in the production end, but he’s always important. While we were dealing with this process, he was dealing with his father slowly dying among other important stuff. It was very hard watching him go through it. 

I love these guys more today than I did yesterday. It’s not always easy. In fact, it’s hard a lot of days. But the proof is in the accomplishment. We did this together. As a team.

Can’t wait for the world to hear it.