Although it’s been half a decade since we last heard new music from Testament, my opinion on the band’s 21st century output hasn’t changed. Their post-reunion output from 2008’s The Formation of Damnation onwards has been neither here nor there for me, each album boasting a handful of standout tunes, but falling drastically short of Testament’s late ’80s and ’90s heyday as far as full lengths go. I must admit that I went into their latest album, Para Bellum, expecting much of the same. After all, at this stage in their career, why on earth would Testament switch things up now? This is a band you’d expect to be on autopilot, right…right? Wrong.
I can’t believe I’m typing this, but after nearly 20 years of perfectly acceptable, run of the mill thrash albums, Testament have rekindled the ancient fire, unleashing upon an unsuspecting public their finest album since 1999’s masterpiece, The Gathering. In many ways, Para Bellum feels like the spiritual successor to that album we’ve been waiting over a quarter century for, pushing the brutality and technicality dials to overdrive. At least half of the album’s songs fall into the death/thrash wheelhouse, or perhaps even blackened death metal (yes, you read that right), and even the traditional thrashers on here boast a bite not heard since the Practice What You Preach days.
The biggest factor in this musical rehaul is new drummer, Chris Dovas. At 27 years old, Dovas comes from a black/death metal background, and it shows in his playing. I’m not sure if he had anything to do in terms of songwriting, but as far as execution goes, his performance on here goes toe to toe with Dave Lombardo’s on The Gathering. As the album opened with “For the Love of Pain”, I had to do a double take. “Could this possibly be the same band who gave us “Over the Wall” and “Trial by Fire”? This isn’t even thrash! It’s full on blackened death!” Indeed, it is and indeed, it is. With its hellish vocals, frantic tremolo-laced guitarwork, and hyper-blast drumming, “For the Love of Pain” sets the stage for a truly punishing release that seldom lets up.
Breakneck death-thrashers like “Infanticide A.I.”, “Witch Hunt”, and the closing title track sound straight off The Gathering, boasting the same darkness and deadliness, while melodic mosh-thrashers like “Shadow People”, “Room 117”, and “Havana Syndrome” are guaranteed to get the purist thrasher crop moshing in approval. Strip away the modern production sensibilities, and you’ve got a handful of lost jewels circa Practice or Souls of Black. The ornery “High Noon” taps into the band’s groove metal side, sounding less like the Lamb of God lite fare of recent outings and more like a forgotten Low era banger, and even “Meant to Be”, a 7 and a half minute ballad, doesn’t disappoint! Being the heaviest Testament album in a lifetime, part of me initially questioned the presence of “Meant to Be”, yet come the 2 minute mark, I found myself hypnotized by the nostalgic Headbanger’s Ball vibes of it all.
Considering I was all of 6 months when The Gathering dropped, Para Bellum is the first Testament album of my lucid existence that I can safely brand a no-skip affair. Whether it be exploring the deadly side or traditional side of thrash, Testament do so with equal conviction, and most importantly, memorable songwriting. My biggest issue with post-reunion Testament has been the glut of faceless, generic, in one ear, out the other thrashers. That’s nowhere to be found on Para Bellum. Each song boast its own singular character, daring the listener to explore further and get lost in a pit (pun intended) of brutal thrash necromancy. If this is war, Testament are more than prepared; they’re armed to the teeth and ready to go.
10 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Kreator, Sepultura, Lamb of God