ALBUM REVIEW: Titans of Creation – Testament

It’s always a special occasion when the legends of our beloved genre decide to grace us with new material. It’s even more special when that material slays. Such is the case with TESTAMENT. The Bay Area thrash OGs have had a fantastic run of late, with their incredible comeback album The Formation of Damnation proving to be a masterpiece of the genre in 2008, while Dark Roots of Earth in 2012 and 2016’s Brotherhood of the Snake (read our review here) kept the quality high. 2020 sees the quintet return and keen to maintain their meteoric rise – but can TESTAMENT establish themselves of the Titans of Creation?

Single track Children of the Next Level flies out the speaker as the opening gambit, with the instantly recognisable leads of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick immediately demanding all attention. Chuck Billy is one of the most iconic frontmen in thrash, and he makes his presence felt immediately here with his melodious vocal attack. However, it is Peterson and Skolnick that steal the show here – their soloing stands as ironclad proof that they are one of the most exciting guitar duos in the game. WWIII is a much more blistering affair, sounding wonderfully old-school from start to finish, while Dream Deceiver offers a more melodic moment of respite.

Lead single Night of the Witch is an absolute ripper. Eviscerating in its delivery, here we see TESTAMENT offering up the first major game-changer on Titans of Creation. While this is still all-out thrash at its core, Peterson has bled some of his black metal guitar work from his recent DRAGONLORD project into Night of the Witch, even delivering some truly frostbitten vocals alongside Billy in the chorus. A clear album highlight, and a wonderful taste of the expansion in TESTAMENT‘s sound.

Where Night of the Witch offered a new taste of extremity to the thrasher’s arsenal, City of Angels brings in a whole new level of groove. Easing up on the speed and aggression here, TESTAMENT bring in a sludgy, skull-crushing barrage here in a welcome change of pace. Ishtar’s Gate keeps the groove coming, while Symptoms, and False Prophet bring a speed metal influenced, old-school thrashing sound into play to devastating effect. The Healers keeps this up-tempo delivery going, but here we see TESTAMENT flex the death metal influences that have been part of their arsenal for decades. Crushingly heavy riff work and borderline growls from Billy dominate the soundscape, while Gene Hoglan delivers blast-beats and double-bass a’plenty.

Code of Hammurabi opens with a stunning bass-line from Steve DiGiorgio before the quintet dive into some of the finest thrash riffing of the record. Heavy on the hooks, Code of Hammurabi proves to be one of the catchiest moments on Titans of Creation – the solo in particular is instantly memorable, carrying a mystical, Eastern edge to it. Penultimate track Curse of Osiris ends Titans of Creation on a high, proving to be one of the strongest TESTAMENT tracks of the last twenty years. Razor sharp in its execution, here Peterson‘s black metal touch makes itself known once again – particularly in the chorus, where he takes over from Billy in the vocal department and the riffing takes a noticeably icy turn. Wonderful solo work, atomically accurate drumming and warm bass work round off one of the strongest moments on the record, leading into the atmospheric outro of Catacombs.

Dark Roots of Earth and Brotherhood of the Snake are both solid modern thrash albums, but they never quite captured the magic of The Formation of Damnation, or TESTAMENT‘s early work. Titans of Creation, however, has magic of its own. Proving to be a spellbinding display from start to finish, Titans of Creation is far removed from the thrash-by-numbers efforts of many of their peers. Rather, the Bay Area OGs deliver strength upon strength, continuing to grow and expand their sound with the mesmerising inclusion of blackened flourishes. 33 years on from their debut, TESTAMENT are showing they still have more magic in their patch-jackets; Titans of Creation stands as their strongest record in a decade – at least.

Rating: 9/10

Titans of Creation is set for release April 3rd via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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