Much like the hair metal bands they once rivaled and ridiculed, most of the 80s thrash bands still active today have grown old and tired. They traded in their denim jeans and bullet belts for camo shorts and one size fits all belts from Wal-Mart, and their Marshall stacks for Line 6 Spider Vs. Granted, not every band fell headfirst down the modern metal black hole. A small handful have been able to retain the raging fury of those salad days. And then you’ve got a band like Testament who falls in between. They’ve changed with the times, but without fully sacrificing the elements that make them great in exchange for trendsetter’s glory.
Throughout the course of their 35 year career, Testament has always been consistent. Aside from one truly awful album in Demonic (1997), they’ve fared better than many of their peers. Their latest release, Titans of Creation, continues the same neo-thrash formula they put in place on The Formation of Damnation (2008). We’ve got the gruff vocals of Chuck Billy, the extra crunchy riffs of Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, and rhythm section heroics of Death alumini Steve DiGiorgio on bass and Gene “The Atomic Clock” Hoglan on drums. If we’re judging off sheer technical ability alone, this might be the best lineup of Testament yet.
Titans of Creation has its share of relentless thrashers that are bound to become staples of future live sets. They aren’t throwbacks to the glory days, but they utilize the modern sound well. One can’t ignore songs like “Children of the New Level”, “False Prophet”, and my favorite song, the closing track (excluding the instrumental outro “Catacombs”), “Curse of Osiris”. Talk about going out with a bang! This is Testament at their most extreme in a while. Billy utilizes his extreme metal vocals while Hoglan blasts away into oblivion. The result is a little over 3 minutes of thrashing insanity.
Other songs, such as “City of Angels” and “Dream Deceiver”, are mid tempo with a hard rock edge similar to The Ritual (1992). I’m surprised “Dream Deceiver” hasn’t been released as a single…yet. Another song of note is “Symptoms”. With its gang chorus and chugging groove metal riff, you’d probably expect me to hate this. I’m not gonna lie: It’s catchy as hell and I dig it bro! There’s definite shades of Lamb of God and Hatebreed on here. I haven’t listened to either since junior high, but it’s funny how Testament influenced both and can do their styles better than they can.
As for the rest of Titans, there aren’t any other tracks that stand out. These songs aren’t bad per se. It just falls into the same vein as their previous modern output: half solid, half mediocre. Like those prior albums, regardless of the song quality, the highlight is the guitar work of Skolnick and Peterson. I love their savage displays of shred which defined the late 80s, but I may love their current style even more. The duo’s playing has certainly matured with age, acquiring a neo-classical taste in the vein of Randy Rhoads. There’s no shortage of riffs, solos, or fretboard wizardry to satisfy you monthly Guitar World readers.
Titans of Creation is no titan of an album, but Testament is a titan of a band who even at their “worst” can really do no wrong. Their legacy is forever enshrined in the scrambled brains and on the jackets of headbangers worldwide. May these Bay Area brutes continue to thrash the masses “Into the Pit” for decades to come!
6 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Anthrax, Exodus, Lamb of God