{"id":49483,"date":"2016-10-28T00:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T00:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=49483"},"modified":"2016-11-07T00:30:27","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T00:30:27","slug":"album-review-testament-brotherhood-of-the-snake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-testament-brotherhood-of-the-snake\/","title":{"rendered":"TESTAMENT – Brotherhood Of The Snake (2016) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

TESTAMENT
Brotherhood Of The Snake<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNuclear Blast (2016)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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As a big thrash fan growing up in the 1980s I often became frustrated at the fact that bands such as Testament, alongside Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel, seemed forever embedded in that tier just below the \u201cbig four\u201d of Slayer<\/a>, Megadeth<\/a>, Metallica and Anthrax.<\/p>\n

Okay, it could be argued that that particular quartet of thrash titans deserved their place in that top four due to releasing a batch of classic albums, but as the 90s and beyond came it could also be argued that Testament etc. became the true<\/em> big four; rarely, if at all, straying from their thrashing roots, never once bucking to trends, and consistently producing high class, face-melting metal.<\/p>\n

With Brotherhood Of The Snake<\/em> \u2013 the 11th studio album from Testament \u2013 the band once again removes flesh, pummels ears and crunches bones. It\u2019s been four years since 2012\u2019s Dark Roots Of Earth<\/em><\/a>, but with a line-up boasting Chuck Billy (vocals), Eric Peterson (guitar), Alex Skolnick (guitar), Steve DiGiorgio (bass; replacing Greg Christian, who left the band for the second time) and Gene Hoglan (drums), how could they go wrong?<\/p>\n

A new Testament album is always something I\u2019ve eagerly anticipated, and with Andy Sneap once again mixing this was always going to be a behemoth of a record. Chuck Billy and company serve up ten sonic blasts, and when I say \u201cblasts\u201d I mean some truly head-ripping torment.<\/p>\n

And what better way to flay the soul than with the opener \u2013 the title track of such crushing quality that one has to keep reminding oneself that Chuck Billy is no spring chicken, and yet crushes the competitive youth of today in one simple swipe. Bellowing like a demon and heaving like a great, titanic dragon as those formidable yet ever recognisable barks resonate with wonder. The track surges on that churning twin guitar attack of Skolnick and Peterson, but it\u2019s Hoglan\u2019s mega-pounds and DiGiorgio\u2019s complex, bubbling bass lines which really bring the waters to the boil. Let\u2019s not forget, Steve DiGiorgio is the guy whose technical flirtations gave the likes of Death, Sadus and Cynic their extra vim.<\/p>\n

Lyrically, Billy spins a yarn pertaining to our ancient ancestry with mentions of esoteric reptilian races and alien bloodlines; the perfect bolshie narration for such a steaming hot lump of molten thrash. His vocals continue to remain unpredictably fearsome as he churns out an aggressive thrash chomp which is then contradicted by an ominous, deathly roar.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a perfect way to kick off the record, and with \u2018The Pale King\u2019 the San Francisco band continues its lethal flow; black rivers of chunky riffs, sonic thrash booms of Hoglan and Billy\u2019s demonic tongue. Of course, Andy Sneap \u2013 alongside producer Juan Urteaga \u2013 make sure that there\u2019s enough crunch and charisma in the mix, along with DiGiorgio\u2019s distinctive twang which trickles and stabs with dazzling effect.<\/p>\n

\u2018Stronghold\u2019 comes next; beefed up by a metallic thrash glaze it opens with a steady nodding gallop bolstered by Hoglan\u2019s hammering. Billy comes to the fore, barking orders before the backdrop of Peterson and Skolnick\u2019s guitars and supercharged by some classic thrash gang chants. There\u2019s some killer melody here too; a devilish slice of groove metal that wouldn\u2019t seem out of place in the mid-to-late 90s. But with Testament there\u2019s always that ability to shapeshift, and as soon as the solo kicks in we\u2019re reminded of why this band has become such thrash veterans of grace and style.<\/p>\n

\u2018Seven Seals\u2019 really does showcase Skolnick\u2019s wizardry; again combining heaps of weighty melody and bulldozing thrash. It could be argued that already Brotherhood Of The Snake<\/em> is standing up as Testament\u2019s fastest work for some time. And with each chapter of the ten tracks emerging like some rising, frothing leviathan, the quintet dishes out some truly monolithic lumps of metal.<\/p>\n

\u2018Born In A Rut\u2019, \u2018Black Jack\u2019 and \u2018Neptune\u2019s Spear\u2019 all touch upon vintage Testament chuggery married with massive groovery, while \u2018Centuries Of Suffering\u2019 once again flirts with deathlier tones.<\/p>\n

You sort of know what\u2019s coming, but with this record there\u2019s a vigour that wasn\u2019t always apparent on the previous batch of efforts, mainly due to the band\u2019s all too keen meddling with traditional metal and melodic strains. And while there\u2019ll always be that insistence upon segments of subtlety, Brotherhood Of The Snake<\/em> concentrates more on aural savagery, but one so clean and clinical that fans old and new will find so much to savour.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TESTAMENTBrotherhood Of The Snake Nuclear Blast (2016)Rating: 8.5\/10 As a big thrash fan growing up in the 1980s I often became frustrated at the fact that bands such as Testament, alongside Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel, seemed forever embedded in that tier just below the \u201cbig four\u201d of Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Anthrax. Okay, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-testament"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49483"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49504,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49483\/revisions\/49504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}