Titans of Creation

Alright folks, this is it. Testament's catalogue wrapped up, and may I say they went out with a bang, if this is their last album of course. To satiate this series, there isn't a Dr. Pepper joke for this one. I’m not going to say much for this review, except holy shit, what a way to go out. This album truly is titanic, the production is massive and similar to the last 3 albums, only things are more dynamic and powerful. The guitar tones are potent as all hell and the bass is vibrant. The drums aren’t mixed too loudly and are technical as always, they stick the the formula of the songs well enough to keep you interested, and Chuck’s voice just doesn’t seem to age. Children of the Next Level is explosive, unpredictable and drops you right into the action, its unforgiving verse riff is one of the most crushing things that Testament’s ever recorded.

Dream Deceiver is a weird one, the title indicated a Judas Priest cover, however we got something else that might actually be even better. The intro sounds like a war cry, the double bass is so consistent, and then when the verse kicks in, the entire sound elevates. Chuck's vocals sound more omnipotent and dynamic than they have in years, and his pitch is nigh perfect, his catchy rhythm and delivery gives the chorus an epic kick, and it almost sounds like traditional 70's metal, but much heavier. Additionally, the riffs coincide with the drums seamlessly, showing that this track was cohesively composed and has been given substance throughout all of the sonorities to not only stand out as proficient by themselves, but they also complement each other. Thrash metal bands that incorporate such cohesion in their music is rare, and I can only name a few thrash bands out of the hundreds I know that frequently use it (Megadeth, Havok, Annihilator, possibly Xentrix and Dark Angel?).

I love how well the bass parts of this entire album are written, especially on songs such as City of Angels, it stands out from the rest of the band, and sometimes sounds like a lead instrument over the guitars, and the tone is sharp and polished whilst still retaining the grittiness. My only complaint about the production is that the drums do sound a little boxy, the toms don't really sound different to one another, and sometimes fills just sound like a random clash of notes, the cymbals are also too highly equalised, and their ear-piercing tone can become annoying when entire songs are filled with them (also evident on City of Angels and False Prophet). But, overall, the record does sound nice, although this is borderline unrecognisable compared to The Legacy or The New Order, with the exception of Chuck Billy's trademark voice. The album is admittedly too long for a thrash metal album, and sometimes it feels like some songs could just be halved or even cut from record completely, but every song has memorable moments.

WWIII is a favourite of mine, and Billy’s singing is really efficient, the guitars also mimic the vocals about 2/3 into the song, which is a nice touch. The next few songs all have intensely satisfying riffs and structures, Testament is in full force here. Symptoms is another one of my favourites, it’s just so eerie and cool. Curse of Osiris is just a classic thrasher to wrap up the album, it reminds me of Merchants of Death by Havok. The closer of this album is really weird, Catacombs sounds like it should be an intro, although it’s an outro, and sounds like it would be a really good war song, if it was a full song. Anyways. Great album, great performances, if only let down by a few dry songs such as City of Angels and Code of Hammurabi. If this is the last Testament album, I just want to tip my hat and say they did a bloody fantastic job, but that can be said about 2/3 of their career.