Testament – Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)

As one of the most awaited Thrash Metal releases of 2016, today we have Testament and their latest opus “Brotherhood of the Snake”. As one of the originators of the Bay Area Thrash movement, Testament seems to only get better with age as this album delivers over 45 minutes of no-holds-bared Thrash-tastic music.

Opening with the intense album title track, the band quickly fires the first round with blistering drumming and crushing riffs. Paired with Steve DiGiorgio’s intricate base guitar line, this song fires on all cylinders and delivers a hectic opening that will instantly raise your pulse. The intricate guitar work of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick brilliantly shines on killer tracks like “The Pale King”, “Seven Seals” and the amazing leads of “Neptune’s Spear”, which almost make this track, be more along the lines of Power/Progressive Metal bands.

Chuck Billy’s vocals sound as good as ever, particularly in more melodic songs like “Born in A Rut”, but he can still crank the intensity up a notch like on “Centuries of Suffering”. With experience usually comes great musicianship and this is the norm for Testament, the band sounds amazing in this release in part due to Andy Sneap handling the mixing and mastering of the album. Perfect evidence of this is the surgical balance between elements showcased on tracks like “Black Jack”.

Never missing a beat and keeping the band in line, Gene Hoglan is a force to be reckoned with through his intensity and crafty resourcefulness, sounding like he has 6 arms and 6 legs. As the release winds down with “The Number Game”, we are quite pleased and very impressed on how Testament manages to defy age and time and delivers on of their best albums to date. Every member of the band continues their expert touch to make “Brotherhood of the Snake” one hell of a musical experience.

Label: Nucler Blast Records

Release: October 28th, 2016

Genre: Thrash Metal

Country: USA