God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...

in 1996.

History

Early career (1999-2004)

Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as

GWAR Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, Cradle of Filth and

Candiria Candiria are an American progressive metal band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1992, the band was part of the second wave of New York hardcore, but subsequently expanded its performance to also play jazz, hip hop and progressive rock. The ...

, God Forbid's first full album ''

Reject the Sickness ''Reject the Sickness'' is the first full-length studio album by the New Jersey heavy metal quintet God Forbid. It was recorded at Trax East Studios in South River, New Jersey, and produced, mixed and engineered by Steve Evetts. Cover art was pa ...

'' was released by 9volt Industries in 1999. This album received heavy rotation from

WSOU-FM WSOU (89.5 FM) is a non-commercial, college radio station. The station broadcasts from the campus of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. It is a student-run station with university administrator Mark Maben serving as its curren ...

in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

area and the band was subsequently signed to Century Media Records, releasing the album ''

Determination Determination is a positive emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles.Kirby, L.D., Morrow, J., & Yih, J. (2014). The challenge of challenge: Pursuing determination as an emotion. In M. M. Tugade, ...

'' in 2001. They played on the

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

'' tour with

Shadows Fall Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Jon Donais (lead guitar, ...

and Lamb of God.

Breakthrough (2004-2013)

In 2004, they released ''

Gone Forever ''Gone Forever'' is the third full-length studio album by American heavy metal band God Forbid. Jeff Loomis of Nevermore contributes the solo on track 7, "Soul Engraved". Track 2, "Antihero", was used in a sampler track hidden in Shadows Fall' ...

'', which, along with a slot on

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

's second-stage, increased their profile considerably. The next year, they released '' IV: Constitution of Treason'', a concept album about the end of the world. It was their first album to enter the ''Billboard'' 200, debuting at number 118. In 2005 and 2006, they supported

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but t ...

on their UK tour along with

Mendeed Mendeed was a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Dumbarton, in 2000 and disbanded in 2007. History The band's members met at school in Dumbarton. In 2002 they self-released their first EP '' Killing Something Beautiful''. In 2003 the band r ...

and

Bloodsimple Bloodsimple was an American heavy metal band from New York City that formed in 2002. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band's name comes from a term coined by detective novelist Dashiell Hammett. The term apparently describes t ...

. In late 2006 and early 2007, they headlined the Chains of Humanity tour. In 2007, God Forbid's "To the Fallen Hero" won the Independent Music Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Song. They released a DVD on June 10, 2008, and their fifth studio album, ''

Earthsblood ''Earthsblood'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band God Forbid. It was released in 2009, on February 16 in Europe and February 24 in North America, through Century Media Records. The album was produced by Eric Rachel wi ...

'', was released on February 24, 2009, and landed at number 110 on the ''Billboard'' 200. God Forbid toured across the United States and Canada in the No Fear Energy Music Tour featuring Lamb of God and others in April. In March 2009, Dallas Coyle left the band. His replacement for the upcoming tour was named as former Darkest Hour guitarist

Kris Norris Kris Norris is the former lead guitarist for the heavy metal bands Scar the Martyr, Darkest Hour and the Canadian metalcore band Threat Signal. He is also known for his stints as touring guitarist for God Forbid and Straight Line Stitch. K ...

. He was later replaced by Matt Wicklund. In July 2009, God Forbid participated in the Rockstar

Mayhem Festival The Mayhem Festival was a touring Heavy metal music, heavy metal festival that took place during the summer. The inaugural season took place in 2008; the festival later became an annual event across the United States. Most years also included a ...

along with Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine,

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...

, All That Remains, Slayer,

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

and many others. In April 2010, the band issued an update that they started work on a new album. The new album is titled '' Equilibrium'' and was released on March 26, 2012. From July 13 to August 28, 2012, God Forbid took part in

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

's " Trespass America Festival" headlined by

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

with additional support from

Battlecross Battlecross was an American heavy metal band from Canton, Michigan. The band has described their sound as "Blue Collar Thrash Metal". To date, they have released three albums through their label, Metal Blade Records. History The band was f ...

Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled '' The Comp ...

Pop Evil Pop Evil is an American rock band that was formed in North Muskegon, Michigan, in 2001 by Leigh Kakaty. The band's roots reside in TenFive, a group formed in the late-1990s by Kakaty and guitarist Jason Reed. Pop Evil won the Radio Contraba ...

and

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast (band), Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joe ...

. In late 2012, the band co-headlined the ''Party To The Apocalypse 2012'' tour with

starring

Thy Will Be Done Thy Will Be Done is an American heavy metal band formed in 2005 from Providence, Rhode Island. The ensemble has released the studio albums ''Was and Is to Come'' and ''In Ancient of Days'' via Stillborn Records, as well as the EP ''Temple'' v ...

and Trumpet The Harlot.

Breakup (2013-2022)

On August 16, 2013, Doc Coyle posted on his personal website that he has chosen to leave God Forbid. Following this, Corey Pierce had said that the band is no more by a post on hi
Facebook page
"''No more suspense, God Forbid is over. Sorry". ''Right after this, Byron Davis had posted on hi
Facebook page
"''It's Friday and my boy is home doing well and yes it's true GF is down. We are a family for the most part some move on while others keep it real like before the band began. I should feel sad but I don't right now because a new chapter has begun. I'll be seeing you all around somewhere. Believe that. Uncle Corey J needs some drums I have a guitar too for him. Blabbering".'' During the hiatus, Doc Coyle joined

Bad Wolves Bad Wolves is an American heavy metal band formed in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie", the band proceeded to find further success with a number of songs topping the ''Billboard' ...

Reunion (2022-)

On March 14, 2022, the band announced they would be reuniting for the 2022 Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September, making it the first time in nine years the band will perform. Four months later, it was announced former

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

guitarist

Nick Hipa Samuel Nicholas Hipa (born November 30, 1982) is an American heavy metal guitarist. He has performed with several notable acts. He is the current lead guitarist of Mire, and was the longtime former lead guitarist of As I Lay Dying. Backgroun ...

would be performing with the band for their reunion show.

Musical Style

God Forbid have been described as

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

, metalcore,

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

, and as key-players in the

new wave of American heavy metal The new wave of American heavy metal (also known as NWOAHM and new wave of American metal) was a heavy metal music movement that originated in the United States during the early–mid 1990s and expanded most in the early to mid-2000s. Some of the b ...

Band members

Current members

* Doc Coyle —

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(1996–2013, 2022–present) * Corey Pierce —

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(1996–2013, 2022–present) * Byron Davis —

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(1997–2013, 2022–present) * John "Beeker" Outcalt — bass (1997–2013, 2022–present)

Current touring members

—

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

(2022–present)

Former members

* Dallas Coyle — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1996–2009) * Matt Wicklund — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2009–2013)

Touring

— rhythm guitar (2009)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2004) *'' IV: Constitution of Treason'' (2005) *''

'' (2009) *'' Equilibrium'' (2012)

EPs

*''Out of Misery'' (1998) *'' Better Days'' (2003)

Singles

*"To the Fallen Hero" (2006, strictly limited tour single)

Compilation albums

*''Bring You to Your Knees...Guns N' Roses'' (2004) *''

Sickness and Misery ''Sickness and Misery'' is an album by God Forbid. It is a combination of their first album, ''Reject the Sickness'', and their first Extended Play, EP, ''Out of Misery''. Track listing Personnel

* Byron Davis – lead vocals * Doc Coyle � ...

'' (2007)

Videos

*''Beneath the Scars of Glory and Progression'' (2008, DVD)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1996 establishments in New Jersey African-American heavy metal musical groups American melodic death metal musical groups Metalcore musical groups from New Jersey American thrash metal musical groups Century Media Records artists Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey Independent Music Awards winners Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Musical quintets Sibling musical groups Victory Records artists Musical groups reestablished in 2022