Live-Metal.Net - Interviews: God Forbid

May 25, 2006

There may be no harder working band in metal today than God Forbid. Over the years, they have toured relentlessly with the likes of Slipknot, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God and on Ozzfest 2004. In 2006, they already have shared the stage with the reunited Anthrax, Children of Bodom, Trivium, Arch Enemy and Chimaira, with a tour supporting Ill Nino on the horizon. The countless shows honing their craft have paid off with their latest release, 2005’s IV: Constitution of Treason, a concept album detailing a political nightmare in the not-too-distant future.

Greg Maki and Jeff Maki of Live-Metal.net caught up with vocalist Byron Davis prior to a show with Arch Enemy and Chimaira at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss the album, the band’s nonstop touring and more.

Live-Metal: God Forbid is right in the middle of metal’s resurgence here in the United States. What do you think of the state of metal today?

Byron Davis: I think the state of metal right now is we’re at war. There’s a battle between the heavy, in-your-face bands and the in-your-face bands that dress up for you. I think it’s basically come to a point now where you have your Poison bands and then you have your Metallicas and stuff like that. I think that’s where we are right now. We’re kind of in the middle. We’re a really good band live and on record. We’re not down with painting ourselves up or what have you. We basically write from our hearts and our souls. I guess that keeps our music pure. We don’t really need gimmicks. We have personality.

The new album is ambitious musically and thematically. What was the inspiration for it?

We were on tour with Machine Head in Europe and we got the call about Dimebag. At that point, our record [Gone Forever] was kinda coming to an end. We were going home and we were just kinda fed up with the way things were rolling out. We decided we were gonna write a new record and [guitarist] Dallas [Coyle] came up with the title Constitution of Treason. One of the first songs we wrote was “To the Fallen Hero.” From there, we just started writing music and we were going in to record. We stayed home for two months, wrote the music, went out, did a headlining tour and we came back from there and went directly into the studio. We were writing lyrics the whole time, but I wasn’t really too happy with what I was writing. So once we got into the studio I started redefining everything and it just started coming together. We just kept seeing these reoccurring themes and it ended up basically becoming a theme-oriented album. It didn’t start out that way, but it just evolved into it naturally, organically. That’s basically how the album came out the way it did.

Are you a fan of concept albums?

Not really. Most concept albums involve, like, Dungeons & Dragons and folklore and things like that. We’re not that type of band that wants to be, like, talking about mythical creatures and things like that because those things really don’t pertain to anything. We wanted to keep it more people-oriented, subject matter that people no matter what country you’re in, what race you are, the same type of problems that we all deal with and make it more of a user-friendly-type album. Sometimes when people hear that – concept record – they kinda get lost in the idea of what it’s supposed to be about. But if you take the time and listen to it and read the lyrics with it, after a few listens, you either get the idea of what’s being said or you don’t get it at all. We’re very happy with it. We wrote it from our heart, so that’s all that really matters. If people grasp onto it, that’s cool. If they don’t, that’s cool, too. But we’re still gonna write music that we want to write.

Do you think it’s important for music to make you do more than just bang your head?

I think it’s important that anything artistic-wise, if you’re gonna listen to it, you should listen to it with an open mind and take from it whatever moves you and what you understand from it. It’s cool if people come out to the shows and bang their heads, but it’s cooler if people come out to the shows, bang their heads to the music and sing the words and follow what’s really going on. Music is all about self-_expression, so as long as you can get into it and understand what’s going on any level, then it’s all good.

Is there an overall message you’re trying to get across with your music?

Basically, we just want people to be free-thinking, not only complain about their problems. Yeah, everyone has problems and there’s always any kind of issue running around, but the fact that a lot of people just sit back and complain and not really do anything about it, I think that’s the thing we’re trying to wake people up to. Just not being a part of the problem, but trying to help with the solution. At the end of the day, we all have to live on this planet together. So why not make it a little bit better for everyone instead of just certain groups of people? We’re human and that’s the one thing that we all kind of share. We’re human beings. No matter who you are, if you get hit, you’re gonna bleed. And we all bleed red. We have these common things and even though the culture is so diverse and split up between all different types of beliefs and what have you, we still should share the same common theme that we all live on this planet together. I think that’s really important. People really need to stop and think about that before there is nothing left except cockroaches.

How did it feel to have the album make it into the Billboard Top 200?

For us, it showed the fact that our fight hasn’t been in vain. We’ve been doing this nine years now and to get that kind of recognition and be able to say, yeah, our record made it into Billboard, was amazing for us because a lot of people have heard the name God Forbid, but they still haven’t heard the band yet or just aren’t aware that we existed. So it’s definitely cool to have someone in the industry acknowledge that there is this band out here named God Forbid and they are doing what they’re doing.

How’s this tour going?

This tour has gone really good. We’ve toured with Arch Enemy before. We’ve toured with Chimaira several times. Hate Eternal, this is our first time on tour with them, but we share a common bond. [Hate Eternal guitarist/vocalist] Erik Rutan is from Jersey. That Jersey love is automatically there. It’s cool. We’re having a good time. It’s almost over. We’re kinda excited it’s almost over because we need a little break. We’ve been on tour since January nonstop. We need to have a couple days off. It’s cool, but we’re gonna go right back out after this.

How does it feel to tour with bands like Arch Enemy and Chimaira now that you’ve all had some success?

It’s cool. It’s pretty much a family vibe for us. You get to see your friends again. A lot of times, you’re on tour with bands and you don’t get to see them for a good while because everyone’s out doing their thing. It’s cool that when you get back to see them things haven’t really changed even with all the success that they might have. But touring with them guys sucks! No, it’s great. We’re having fun.

Back in January, you went out with Anthrax. How did that go?

That was awesome, the original lineup, the classic album Among the Living. That was my album growing up. I was always listening to that album and to have everybody in the band be there and playing it live every night, for me, it was like self-gratification because a lot of bands, after a while they just call it quits or things break up to the point where they can’t get back together. To see them actually resolve their differences and actually get together in a room and play songs that I grew up with and I have fond memories of was just great. And for them to be in the industry as long as they have been and for them to still be down-to-earth, cool people made it even better. I was kinda skeptical when we first came on the tour because I thought they’ve been around for so long that they might be jaded and shit, but it was none of that at all. They were totally cool people. That’s all you can really hope for, to have a lasting memory of a tour that you’ve been on, especially with people that you’ve always kind of admired and looked up to and helped guide you in your direction.

Right before this tour, you did some shows with Children of Bodom. Are those guys as wild as they seem?

Yeah, dude, they party hard. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to drink anymore due to medical issues. I went to the doctor and he’s like, “You’ve got high liver enzymes.” So my partying days are up right now. But they definitely party hard, giving us, like two or three bottles of liquor every night. Like, “Here, take whatever you want. Just have it, have it.” The definitely party, they’re great musicians and they’re great people. You can’t really ask for much more than that.

The next tour—

Yeah, we’re going out with Ill Nino.

Are you looking forward to that?

Yeah, totally.

Have you toured with them before?

No. They’re another band from Jersey, so it’s definitely great to see Jersey bands out there doing it and it’s gonna be really cool to go out with them. We’ve talked for years, trying to get out with them, but things never really lined up like they should have. But the fact that we’re about to go out with them now, it’s gonna be really amazing. They definitely have a certain type of crowd that they draw, which will be perfect for us. I’ve always said that we can play with any band and be totally fine. So they’re definitely opening a door for us into that other subset of people who haven’t ever experienced God Forbid. So we’re definitely looking forward to it. It’s gonna be an amazing tour for us. So we’re just gonna keep it rolling like we always do [Matt DeVries of Chimaira walks by], try to stay away from this dude named Matt from Chimaira. He’s dangerous.

Matt: That’s right.

Byron: Dangerous.

When you’re out on tour with all these bands, do you get ideas and inspiration for your own music from them?

Sometimes we do. We try and steal Chimaira’s moves and shit. [Matt laughs.] Anytime you’re out with musicians that are really good and technical and feel what they’re doing, you can always learn off of that and experience something and definitely help bring something into your program.

Who have been some of your favorite bands to tour with?

I’d have to say, besides Ozzfest – that’s an amazing tour. The year we played, in ’04, all the bands on the second stage knew each other. We had toured previously. That was amazing. Lamb of God, we came up with them through the basements. We used to play shows with them in people’s houses back when they were Burn the Priest. They’re fun to tour with. Touring with Slipknot, Slayer and Hatebreed on the off-dates for Ozzfest was amazing. To be out there with Slipknot, the biggest band in the metal genre right now. To be as huge as they are and to be as cool as the next band is just – anytime you have experiences like that it’s hard to put it in words. Touring with Slayer, playing shows with them, original lineup once again, you know what I’m saying? It’s unbelievable, especially with the off-date shows. We played this show in Lubbock, Texas, with Slayer where it was raining and right before they came on it stopped and clouds came in and it started thundering. It was like the ultimate Slayer show. It was like lightning with a Slayer soundtrack. It was great. We’ve had a lot of good experiences. Touring with Gwar got us into some interesting places. It taught us definitely about longevity and just trying to stay focused ‘cause we were out with them for like eight weeks. We had Machine Head, who took us to Europe. We were in Europe for like 10 weeks with Machine Head, so that’s like the longest tour we’ve ever done in Europe and pretty much around the world. Usually, you’re going to Europe for 10 weeks and you tell people that and people cringe when they hear 10 weeks in Europe. Ten weeks in Europe is like a year in the States. You go to so many different countries and everything’s so diverse and it’s all thrown at you. You’re so far away from home and it’s like you’re never getting home. But it definitely opened up many experiences for us. It gave us the opportunity to be able to go back there. And touring with In Flames and Chimaira in Japan – every tour we’ve been on has been very memorable. I would love to do them all again, but it’s not physically possible. But who knows. We might go back to this place or that place with one of the bands that we’ve already toured with. We look forward to it. We’re not really intending on closing shop right now. We’ve got a lot more touring in mind. There’s a lot of things that we want to accomplish with this record and we’re gonna keep pushing and pushing until we get those done. And then after that, we’ll set up some new goals for us to hit. We’re just gonna keep it rolling, write good music, perform amazing every night and just take it to the streets and let people see what God Forbid is all about. If you haven’t heard of us, we’re gonna make sure that you know the name and the face and the music by the time it’s all over.

You mentioned Anthrax and Slayer already. Who are some of your other influences?

Megadeth, Metallica – old Metallica – Iron Maiden. Our bass player loves Motorhead. Then there’s other music that we like. We’re five different individuals who grew up on a CD player that’s got a million CDs and you had a shuffle button. We’re that type of band where we like all types of music. Jazz. We like hip hop. We like R&B. We like classical music. We like music where people aren’t afraid to express themselves and do something out of the ordinary. That’s the type of band that we are. We never want to pigeonhole ourselves and put us in one set genre. We’ll write any kind of song whatsoever. As long as it sounds pure and it’s from the heart of God Forbid, then we’ll use it. If it doesn’t, then we won’t use it. It takes a lot to make a God Forbid song. We just don’t put shit on a record. It has to mean something. It has to have staying power. That’s the best thing I can really say about it because with our band, we’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of bands in our genre and outside of our genre respect us as musicians. So that goes a long way. Even if the record sales aren’t there, we know that we have the respect of our peers and we know that’s the most important thing we can have.

I’m sure you get this one a lot, but what’s it like having brothers in the band [guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle]?

It’s aggravating, especially in really close, confined quarters. When we’re rolling in the van, one sits way in the front and one sits way in the back ‘cause it’s just the only way it can work. But it’s cool. It’s all about love. We all are basically family in the band. But they’re real family and when you get around your family for a long period of time, certain things just start to tick you off.