Bay Area thrash legends Testament are back with another album “Titans Of Creation” and it’s further proof the band are still putting out some quality music, over 3 decades in. With 2 singles making their rounds ahead of the release, we took a look at the rest of the album on offer before it’s finally unleashed to the world.
It’s been a relatively short 4 years since Testament’s previous album “Brotherhood of the Snake” spit it’s venomous songs to the legions of fans who have been enjoying the consistency this band has been putting out over the years. “Titans Of Creation” continues that tradition in brilliant style, marking this possibly an even stronger set of songs.
The two singles out, “Night Of The Witch” and “Children Of The Next Level” are good representations of the album. The first single “Night Of The Witch” is one of the heaviest tracks on the album and features guitarist Eric Peterson providing some background vocals that showcases his side of the more extremes of metal. Frontman Chuck Billy recently told us in our interview regarding that song that “I thought it would be interesting when we picked it that it might show another side of Testament because in that song Eric gets to sing the choruses and it’s definitely a different voice than mine but it added just another dimension and texture to the song”. That it certainly does.
The second single “Children Of The Next Level” which references the Heavens Gate cult features galloping riffs synchronised perfectly with the grooves of the Atomic Clock himself, drummer Gene Hoglan whose kick pedal patterns just fit the song brilliantly. It’s also a very strong opener, going straight into business before leading the listener into an array of nothing but pure metal.
Vintage signature Testament is abundant on “Titans Of Creation” but still sounding modern and fresh at the same time. With lush production and a blend of grooves and speedy tempos, Testament really have found the right mixture that was evident of their directions on albums such as “The Gathering” and “The Formation Of Damnation”. “WWIII” is old school thrash with a massive breakdown splitting the song before leading to further galloping riffs driven sections. “Dream Deceiver” continues the formula with anthemic choruses that is sure to get crowds singing in between the moshing. “False Prophet” is a real highlight though, ferocious grooves and high amounts of energy dripping from the perfect rhythm is just sheer perfection and a good enough reason alone to check out this album.
For the more adventurous, “Ishtar’s Gate” provides a middle eastern sound in a more heavy rock induced affair with Alex Skolnick truly shining with his blistering solo work while “Code Of Hammurabi” sees the band really click together like never before in this almost prog-like song kicked off by Steve Di Giorgio’s bass licks. Each member, not just on this song but really on every track on here just seem to be completely on the same page with everything with Chuck’s vocals as strong as ever and Eric’s riffs just pouring out like never before.
Then you get songs like “Curse Of Osiris” that just pulvarise you from start to finish just to cement that thought and really close things out with a bang. There may be a lot of old school vibes on this record but it’s also as modern and as brutal as anything out there today. Can a band going into this 3 decades and more still be this good? We think so and “Titans Of Creation” proves it on all fronts and also smashes this blind idea that bands can only produce good albums early in their career.
9/10
TRACKLIST
Children Of The Next Level
WWIII
Dream Deceiver
Night Of The Witch
City Of Angels
Ishtar’s Gate
Symptoms
False Prophet
The Healers
Code Of Hammurabi
Curse Of Osiris
Catacombs
