IN REVIEW: Testament - "Titans of Creation"

What can I say about Testament at this point that hasn't been talked about for the majority of their 30+ year career? Even those with a passing familiarity with metal probably know some of their story; coming up in the Bay Area thrash scene of the mid-80s, they were just one of scores of fledgling bands to be influenced by the juggernaut that was Metallica. For some, that's where the story begins and ends, in their minds the band that tried to mimic Metallica so hard they still do it to this day. The thing is, Testament's story is a little more aligned with Slayer in my mind, so as to say they refined their core sound to a point and have stuck with it more or less the entire way. A few detours happened as part of their journey (and they were largely ill-received, proving my belief that metal fans are the most fickle of any genre), but in 2020 Testament are regarded more than perhaps any of the Big Four (especially in the wake of Slayer's retirement) as the dependable, reliable choice in metal.

Testament's thirteenth album, Titans of Creation, won't change anyone's mind about them for better or worse. With a lifetime of experience and an already impressively consistent discography at their disposal, there isn't really much incentive for Testament to stretch out their sound. That said, they have stretched out their scope; clocking in at close to an hour, Titans of Creation is the band's longest offering to date, which allows for some expansive arrangements, with most tracks dwelling in the five-to-six minute range. Some of the results are especially pleasing, and the record opens in full assault mode, with the first four tracks all offering up the kind of fleet-footed thrash that fans have come to expect from Testament. Particularly impressive are opener Children of the Next Level, a galloping thrasher about the infamous Heaven's Gate cult, and lead single Night of the Witch, which gets a boost courtesy of Eric Peterson's additional vocals, his scream lending a little extra flavour alongside Chuck Billy's unmistakably forceful voice.

After the blistering attack of the album's first 22 minutes, City of Angels slows the tempo down and ratchets up the intricacies and intensity, with the subject matter pertaining to serial killer Richard Ramirez, who terrorized Los Angeles over a 14 month period in 1985-86. While murderers aren't exactly unexplored territory for metal bands, this track jumps out primarily due to its placement on the album, steering it into a darker, more sinister direction.

Here's where things start to meander a bit, which is always a concern when dealing with long albums in the age of stunted attention spans; Ishtar's Gate isn't bad, but its middle eastern flourishes and more prominent bass line aren't enough to save it from sounding inferior to what came before. Symptoms (despite its title being especially prescient in light of the current COVID-19 crisis and the positive diagnoses of several of the band members and crew) plods a bit and exposes lyrics that aren't up to snuff. From here, the album settles into mediocrity; the trilogy of False Prophet, The Healers and Code of Hammurabi, while certainly competent thrashers, don't really stand out except for a few brief sections within the songs (like the latter, which features a section that suggests some influence by Tool). These songs aren't notably good or bad but, as songs that occupy the back half of a long album, by times they don't feel entirely necessary either.

The exception is penultimate track (and last song proper) Curse of Osiris; if we're talking about ending on a high note, how about a fast note? This song brings back Peterson's screeching menace, the fastest tempos on the record, even blast beats. It's also the shortest song on the album at just over three minutes, and it couldn't have possibly sustained its frenzy for longer even with a slightly slower breakdown at the two-minute mark. It's surely a Testament song, but the little touches of black metal help to end things in surprising and incendiary fashion. Which makes the inclusion of the plodding two-minute interlude Catacombs even more puzzling. With no other interludes to be heard on the album and nothing of substance contributed by the choral, keyboard-laden track, there's simply no reason for this to be here. It sounds like an interlude they didn't get around to including on previous album Brotherhood of the Snake, so they tacked it on as a bonus track here, and that explanation makes as much sense as any I can come up with.

By and large, Titans of Creation delivers everything you want from a Testament album and a little of what you didn't quite expect. It also feels bloated and probably could have benefited from losing its outro and maybe one of the other B-side tracks, but even then I don't think it would make the album's reception that much different. This is, a couple of slight surprises aside, another Testament record to add to your collection or ignore completely depending on how you feel about the band. There's nothing wrong with that and, as revered titans of thrash with a legacy that remains unsullied, Testament has clearly done something right.

April 3, 2020 • Nuclear Blast
Highlights Children of the Next Level • City of Angels • Curse of Osiris