Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area metallers FORBIDDEN have parted ways with VOIVOD guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain and have replaced him with Jeremy Von Epp.
On Tuesday (November 18),FORBIDDEN shared the following message via social media: “Hey everybody, please help us welcome Jeremy Von Epp aboard as the new blood!
“When we first approached Dan about playing guitar with us, Steve [Smyth] amicably left the band while we still had a full table of obligations ahead of us. Mongrain was our very first choice and he agreed almost without hesitation.
“We all have deep respect for Dan and consider him one of the greatest guitarists in our Universe. To have him on stage with us was a dream come true. Chewy was a perfect fit. This being said, it was also on borrowed time due to his upcoming commitments with VOIVOD. Still, we managed it and intended on Dan being a part of FORBIDDEN‘s new album as he’s already recorded and contributed to 3 songs.
“The touring part was always going to be touch and go depending on our overlapping schedules. This issue first appeared at Aftershock in Sacramento and Grita [Fest] in Colombia. We recruited Jeremy Von Epp and he stepped in like a champ! Jeremy was a seamless transition that caught us by a very pleasant surprise, so much so that it made us rethink our short term and long term plans. It took Von Epp almost no time at all to learn our language and solos of three unbelievably great guitarists in Glen Alvelais, Tim Calvert, Smyth and Dan Mongrain. No small shoes to fill.
“We got back from Colombia and reevaluated our situation. Jeremy needed to be in FORBIDDEN full time and we all agreed. It made too much sense with the chemistry we have together.
“Dan has been amazing, a great friend, player and now is like family to us. His contributions raised the bar of quality sky high. We are forever grateful for his genius and brilliant humor he shared over the last 1 1/2 years.
“Thank you, Dan! Also a sincere thanks to the rest of VOIVOD for letting us borrow him from you, albeit temporary. FORBIDDEN loves you all.
“As we move into this era of FORBIDDEN with Von Epp, we’re presently writing, recording and pre producing new material that will take us to another level.
“There is much more exciting news that is just around the corner to share very soon!”
Mongrain added in a separate statement: “When Craig Locicero called me to play in FORBIDDEN, I accepted right away as I was already a fan and that we we’re friends since 2008 when we first met in Tokyo where we played on the same bill (VOIVOD, FORBIDDEN). I never thought I would later play in the band live, touring and contributing on new songs. Life has great surprises.
“From the start we all knew it would be quite a challenge for the schedule to fit with VOIVOD activities and my other bands. But we went for it, it worked for a while and it’s been great. I got to know Chris Kontos, Norman Skinner and Matt Camacho better, and along with Craig, we became brothers and troopers on the road.
“I am honored and forever grateful to have been part of FORBIDDEN, and tour the world together. Unfortunately, teleportation and cloning is not a thing yet, schedules, distances and other factors are making it impossible to make it work on the long term. So I have to step down and pass the torch to the great Jeremy Van Epp who’s been killing it since the last couple shows as it was impossible for me to be there.
“Love to all the FORBIDDEN family and crew, friends, fans, all the people I met during this amazing journey, it was a great ride to say the least. I embrace the memories and wish all the best to the mighty FORBIDDEN in the years to come with a kick ass line-up!! They will blow your mind!!
“Peace and health to everyone!! See you on tour!”
Von Epp said: “When Craig called me a few months back with the prospect of helping them out as a stand in for Chewy, I was immediately interested. We have all been friends for years, and I’d been keeping up with them since their reformation, but after hearing the new song, ‘Divided By Zero’, I was all in!
“Learning the material was a challenge, but one that I quickly grew to enjoy. It’d been a long time since I played in a twin lead guitar thrash metal band, but I was excited about doing that again with FORBIDDEN. The two shows I played with them in October, Aftershock festival and Grita festival in Colombia, both went really well and everything just clicked.
“I look forward to being a part of the next chapter of FORBIDDEN and I am beyond honored to carry the torch(s) for all the great guitarists who have carried it here before me. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to playing some badass Bay Area thrash metal again, now with these guys. LFG!”
In October, FORBIDDEN released the official Mike Sloat-directed music video for the band’s second new song in over 15 years, “Mutually Assured Dysfunction”. “Mutually Assured Dysfunction” and “Divided By Zero”, which was made available in late June, marked FORBIDDEN‘s first recordings with Mongrain, who was joined in FORBIDDEN‘s most recent lineup by founding guitarist Craig Locicero, longtime bassist Matt Camacho and the group’s recent additions, singer Norman Skinner and drummer Chris Kontos.
FORBIDDEN‘s new songs were recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/co-producer Zack Ohren.
FORBIDDEN‘s summer 2025 “40 Years Of Twisted Evil” European tour celebrated the 40th anniversary of the band’s formation and the 35th anniversary of the release of FORBIDDEN‘s second album, “Twisted Into Form”, which originally came out in March 1990 via Combat Records.
Smyth exited FORBIDDEN in July 2024, saying in a statement that he “decided it’s time to part ways with FORBIDDEN, and return to my band ONE MACHINE as priority, along with other projects on the horizon, and of course session work, and teaching music as always.”
The resurrected FORBIDDEN lineup made its live debut at a “secret” show in July 2023 at Baltic Kiss in Richmond, California under the TWISTED INTO EVIL banner.
Hey everybody, please help us welcome Jeremy Von Epp aboard as the new blood!
When we first approached Dan about…
Posted by Forbidden on Tuesday, November 18, 2025
