Testament - Titans Of Creation

My copy is finally here. Haven't had the chance to play the album yet.

Hope to do so tomorrow.

The biggest riff on the album is on "Symptoms". Kind of buried in the track order but that's another hit. Angry, aggressive, catchy. A bit old school. How a song based around a simple riff can so effectively get me so worked up is beyond me.

I noticed it was a Skolnick song and he's an active Youtuber, so I looked it up and:

Three months later and this has held up really well. Just enjoyed another spin. I think I like it even better than Brotherhood of the Snake. No duds like Canna-Business this time around.

The opening four tracks on Brotherhood are incredible, but it's not as consistent and that was only a 45 minute long album. Now with Titans we get 58 minutes and no filler.

I love WWIII, I like Chuck's singing on Dream Deceiver, and Symptoms is another great rack.

Lari wrote:

Three months later and this has held up really well. Just enjoyed another spin. I think I like it even better than Brotherhood of the Snake. No duds like Canna-Business this time around.

The opening four tracks on Brotherhood are incredible, but it's not as consistent and that was only a 45 minute long album. Now with Titans we get 58 minutes and no filler.

I love WWIII, I like Chuck's singing on Dream Deceiver, and Symptoms is another great rack.

I am spinning this one again on my way to work tomorrow morning .

It’s a very good album!

New Chuck Billy interview.

Lombardo has been chosen to replace Gene Hoglan. Excellent choice! He has history with them on their Gathering album. That said, I wonder which of the many bands Dave works with will be dropped to accommodate Testament’s demanding schedule. Currently, he also plays in Suicidal Tendencies and Mr. Bungle. Also, the Misfits… but they are not very active.

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/testament-rejoined-by-drummer-dave-lombardo/

I’m still curious what the real reason was for Gene to leave the band. Seems kinda strange…
He had a steady paycheck. It’s not like Gene is focusing on Dark Angel. He wasted two years while the lockdowns were in place to write for the previously announced new album.

Maybe Gene will spill the beans in a future interview.

I am quite sure that is why he left was because of Dark Angel as well as his other projects he has. He's not spilling any beans yet so I don't know exactly myself... but it makes sense.

Glad that Dave is back with Testament. Maybe another new album like The Gathering will happen because that album is BRUTAL!!

Now if they would just kick the skunk out of the band, maybe we could get another album with the quality of The Gathering.

mc666 wrote:

Now if they would just kick the skunk out of the band, maybe we could get another album with the quality of The Gathering.

I used to really like Alex. When he wasn’t a outspoken asshat.

I heard they were going to announce the new drummer, and was really hoping Dave would be the mystery man. I'm excited, he's by far my favorite metal drummer, and he just seems to make bands better when he joins. The Gathering is my favorite Testament album, so I hope they can recapture some of that.

Gene Hoglan is an amazing drummer, but his best work was with Dark Angel and Death. He kind of runs on autopilot these days.

I agree that Dave Lombardo is the GOAT of thrash drumming. His abilities seem natural and effortless.

Maybe another new album like The Gathering will happen because that album is BRUTAL!! wrote:

That would be nice, however, for me, any Testament album will be great... as long as Skolnick doesn't rap on it.

Troublezone wrote:

mc666 wrote:

Now if they would just kick the skunk out of the band, maybe we could get another album with the quality of The Gathering.

I used to really like Alex. When he wasn’t a outspoken asshat.

For me it's just the melodic wankery. Just give me some thrash. Formations was the first step down since The Ritual. Maybe Dave can add the muscle back.

mc666 wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

mc666 wrote:

Now if they would just kick the skunk out of the band, maybe we could get another album with the quality of The Gathering.

I used to really like Alex. When he wasn’t a outspoken asshat.

For me it's just the melodic wankery. Just give me some thrash. Formations was the first step down since The Ritual. Maybe Dave can add the muscle back.

I kinda like the melodic aspect to balance the brute force, but nowadays… Alex gets on my nerves with his lame commentary.

That said… give me some crazy Slayer solos any day! There’s always a place for the whammy bar and feedback.

New video for the song Curse of Osiris

Live from June