Truth be told here; since “Formation Of Damnation”, Testament has released only good records. In fact, “Dark Roots Of Earth” can easily be considered one of their best albums of their entire catalogue. And if you missed by any chance the more or melodic or traditional side on “Brotherhood Of The Snake”, then brace yourself for a total recall on “Titans Of Creation”. It is one of those cases where just a mere look at the cover sleeve is sufficient enough to suggest that this is definitely an album worth checking out. And in the case of “Titans…”, the final result fully justifies this premonition.
The beginning is absolutely mind-blowing with two thrash anthems as “Children Of The Next Level” and “WW III” are classic Testament tracks with Skolnick and Peterson delivering some excellent groovy riffs quite reminiscent of the “Dark Roots…” atmosphere. The follow-up song “Dream Deceiver” is even more melodic (especially in the chorus where Billy’s vocal line brings in mind Scorpions’ “He’s A Woman, She’s A Man”) while Peterson makes his debut behind the mic in the chorus of “Night of the Witch” with some black metal essence in there. Needless to say that Hoglan & DiGiorgio build the whole structure of “Titans…” with the tight rhythm section.
All in all, Testament releases yet another impressive album that reaches the same quality level as “Dark Roots…” and “Formation…” while it is definitely superior to “Brotrherhood…”. “The new album not only meets everyone’s expectation but at the same time reminds us all why Testament is not only a living legend of the Bay Area scene but of the thrash genre in general.
Highlight: Am I the only one who finds it peculiar that since 2008 Testament uses in the album titles the word “of”…?
