God Forbid is an American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band formed in

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York metropolitan area and is located on the southern sho ...

in 1996. Initially breaking up in 2013, they have been semi-active since reuniting in 2022.

History

Early career (1996–2004)

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. Since ...

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

and

Candiria Candiria is an American band from Brooklyn, New York, mixing progressive metal, metalcore, jazz fusion and hip hop. They are part of the precursors of the mathcore genre with bands like Deadguy or Lethargy.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in N ...

, God Forbid's first full album '' Reject the Sickness'' was released by 9volt Industries in 1999. This album received heavy rotation from WSOU-FM in the

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

area and the band was subsequently signed to

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a German heavy metal record label with offices in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by R ...

, releasing the album ''

Determination Determination is a positive emotional feeling that promotes persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles. Determination occurs prior to goal attainment and serves to motivate behavior that will help achieve one's goal. Empirical ...

'' 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, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consists 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 obsc ...

'' 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 guitarists Jon Donais and ...

and

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

Breakthrough (2004–2013)

In 2004, they released '' Gone Forever'', which, along with a slot on

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

'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 ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...

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 the ...

. 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 wit ...

'', 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

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 (born August 31, 1978) is an American musician. He is a former guitarist for Heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Scar the Martyr, Darkest Hour (band), Darkest Hour and Threat Signal. He is also known for his stints as touring guita ...

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

Mayhem Festival The Mayhem Festival is a metal festival that takes 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 single date in either Montreal or ...

along with Trivium,

Bullet for My Valentine Bullet for My Valentine, often abbreviated as BFMV, are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is currently composed of Matthew Tuck (vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar), Jason Bowld (drums) and J ...

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

, All That Remains,

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

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 Equilibrium may refer to: Film and television * ''Equilibrium'' (film), a 2002 science fiction film * '' The Story of Three Loves'', also known as ''Equilibrium'', a 1953 romantic anthology film * "Equilibrium" (''seaQuest 2032'') * ''Equilibr ...

'' 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 published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'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 music, heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

with additional support from

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

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 Co ...

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 has several songs that to ...

and

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...

. 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 metalcore band formed in 2005 from Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2024, the ensemble has released three studio albums and one EP. The albums ''Was and Is to Come'' (2007) and ''In Ancient of Days'' (2009) were r ...

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 music, heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie (The Cranberries song)#Bad Wolves cover, Zombie ...

Reunion (2022–present)

In March 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 the 20th century.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Lit ...

guitarist

Nick Hipa Samuel Nicholas Hipa (born November 30, 1982) is an American musician. He is the current lead guitarist of Mire, lead guitarist of Wovenwar, and was the longtime former lead guitarist of As I Lay Dying (band), As I Lay Dying. He has also been to ...

would be performing with the band for their reunion show. Doc clarified in an interview after the Blue Ridge show that God Forbid was not returning to being a "full-time thing", but they would go on to play two dates in January 2023 at the Starland Ballroom in

Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 Uni ...

and the Worcester Palladium in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

Musical style

God Forbid has been primarily described as

and

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

. They are part of 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 th ...

Band members

Current members

* Doc Coyle — lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2013, 2022–present) * Corey Pierce — drums (1996–2013, 2022–present) * Byron Davis — lead vocals (1997–2013, 2022–present) * John "Beeker" Outcalt — bass (1997–2013, 2022–present)

Current touring members

— rhythm 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)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Reject the Sickness'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *'' Gone Forever'' (2004) *'' IV: Constitution of Treason'' (2005) *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (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'' (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 Metalcore musical groups from New Jersey American thrash metal musical groups Musical groups from Middlesex County, New Jersey 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 American musical quintets Sibling musical groups Victory Records artists Musical groups reestablished in 2022