As was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980's, Testament needs no introduction. But a short recap is always useful. In 1986, they released their first studio album, The Legacy. The band has had numerous lineup changes, leaving Guitarist Eric Peterson and lead vocalist Chuck Billy as the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums. IN addition to the duo, the band's current all-star lineup comprises guitarist Alex Skolnick, drummer Gene Hoglan, and bassist Steve Di Giorgio. The albums The New Order (1988) and Practice What You Preach (1989) are absolute thrash metal classics and that's when I got into this band. During the 90's I lost touch with the band but in 1999 Testament released their magnificent The Gathering and I was fully on board again. The band has since released an excellent album after the next.
Following 2016's Brotherhood of the Snake with the same lineup, Titans of Creation is the thirteenth studio album. It's a natural follow-up, in general terms they kept the essence of their sound: Fast tempo, heavy thrash riffs, melodic and yet powerful singing, twin guitars, amazing guitar solos, and a suburb rhythmic session. But Testament also dared to experiment a little bit here and there touching a progressive path which gives this album a strong sense of engagement even when it is a bit too long (12 songs in 1 hour). The album features some of their longest songs ever, the progressive-ish "City Of Angels" being the longest on the record with almost 7 minutes. The first single "Night Of The Witch" is one of the best tracks where they explored a sound that reminds a lot of King Diamond. I also love the nice touch of Peterson singing the bridge in contrast with Billy's deep guttural voice. But there's plenty of traditional thrash metal. For example the opener "Children Of The Next Level" and "Dream Deceiver" are super melodic thrash anthem, old school style. And also "WW III" and "False Prophet" which are aggressive tracks that bring me back to The Gathering.
And what to say about the guitarwork? Well, Peterson and Skolnick outdone themselves again. The whole record is full of great riffs and solos, but if I'd highlight one song it would be "Symptoms". From the one minute intro, to the riffs during the verses and the guitar solo, it's a thrash guitar lesson. Another nice touch is "The Healers" which features a guitar picking pattern Black Metal style combined with more traditional metal riffs. Now let's talk bass. Di Giorgio's bass sound is just one of the best I've heard in a thrash album. While you can hear it during the whole album, it never gets too loud or distinctive. Check out the songs "City Of Angels" and its sludgieness and "Ishtars Gate" for example. The latter is actually one of the tracks displaying some experiments and a slightly different approach to the singing and guitar riffs. The almost Renaissance style of painting on the cover gives the album a distinctive touch in line with its music.
My only complain is just the length, the last third of the album looses me a bit. But the good thing is that the shortest and thrash song on the album "Curse Of Osiris" picks things up at the very end. Here Peterson is back with some more vocal contributions and Gene Hoglan displays all of his might behind the kit!
Testament did it again! Their 4th excellent album in a row shows no signs of those thrash veterans getting tired. More impressively they were able to do so by expanding their sound without loosing their identity and thrash roots. This is a mandatory album for any thrash metal fan.
SCORE: 84/100
Genre: Thrash Metal
Released by Nuclear Blast Records on April 3rd, 2020
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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad
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