It's only been what. . . 11 years since Testament last played to Aussie fans on our turf.
Well, last night (18 June) in Brisbane they returned to fans arriving in hordes at The Tivoli. Diehards were chomping at the bit for their next fix (and even for some, a first live dose) of Testament; one of key bands of the Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal.This iteration led by the legend Chuck Billy (vocals) are Alex Skolnick (guitar), Eric Peterson (guitar), Steve Di Giorgio (bass) and newest member Chris Dovas (drums).
It had to be a sold-out show, judging by the flood of regular punters snaking over half a km to The Tivoli's front door, and a stacked line of VIPs to the left as well – everyone whose been waiting for ages must be desperate to relieve, refuel and rage for Testament.
The Tiv was bursting at the seams before the first amp kicked in – clenched fists holding preferred bevvies, leather patches and battle jackets dusted with pit grit here and there, and some lunatic screaming "TESTAAAAMENT!" long before Gold Coast death-thrashers Snake Mountain, the support act, were even on the stage.
What a kick-off! Snake Mountain came out fangs bared, no slow warm-up, no gentle tease. Nev Pearce (vocals) growling like a man possessed, tearing into 'The Revenant' with full chest and blood in his teeth.
Snake Mountain - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Jackson Price (guitar) and Jaymes Jackson (guitar/ vocals) slice the air with riffs sharp enough to gut the front row. Jared Day (bass/ vocals) had this coiled menace to him, anchoring the chaos, while Kristian Rousell (drums) played like he had five limbs and no off switch.
There's no filler either; 'Veins' and 'Extinction Through Fire' have us bulldozed by one of the heaviest local supports to hit this room in a minute. 'The Serpent' sees them laying down the kind of backbone that has a few longhaired punters windmilling. It's one hammer blow after another.
By the time they rip into their last song 'Everliving', the pit is moving like a saw blade. No one's standing still. It's tight. It's blistering. It's a brutal local handshake to Testament's impending thrash sermon.
We're encouraged to buy some merch to help them pay for fuel for their trip back to the Goldie and pose with horns raised while they get their band shot with the crowd behind them.
Not much to report on interval music and no intro tape. Hell no, there's no easing in – the band take their places ahead of Chuck Billy (vocals) storming the stage to a roaring Brisbane welcome, leading with the pummelling 'Practice What You Preach' and quick to get amongst 'Sins Of Omission'.
Testament - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The crowd's already cracking the floorboards. Billy's vocals are thunderous – how the hell is he still sounding this fierce after all these years?! It's like the bloke's been preserved in riff salt. No wonder he managed to smash that rare cancer to bits back in the day – you can see the fire still burning behind his eyes.
They keep hammering us: 'The Pale King', then 'The Haunting', with guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson going back and forth in blazing synchrony. Skolnick's shredding like he's channelling ghosts through his strings, while Peterson's holding down that earth-splitting rhythm like a goddamn tectonic plate.
Billy doesn't miss a beat either, commanding the crowd with the swagger of a pit general. "Open it up!" he yells, splitting The Tiv down the middle.
He commands something along the lines of "all my left side motherf...ers, beat the sh.t out of all the motherf...ers on the right. All my right side motherf...ers kill all of those motherf...ers on the left!"
Then he orders us to "WAIT till I say. . . GO!" It's a wall of death, Testament-style – and when 'Rise Up' hits, so does the chaos. 'D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)' punches in like a coffin lid slamming.
Testament - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'WWIII' and 'Low' don't let up for a second, and then comes 'Native Blood', churning and urgent. 'Trail Of Tears' slows the pace to a bruised, bleeding solo that eventually starts weeping. It's damn near spiritual.
Billy's grinning. He jives us. "Did I just call you Melbourne?" He sniffs a whiff of spliff (or so he thinks 😊) and tells us "I smell you!".
'The Formation of Damnation' hits next, and the tempo climbs again, the whole room riding it like a wave. Vocals are still relentless. There's no fatigue. No cracks. Just Billy commanding the whole venue like a dark preacher with a mic stand. He is enigmatic and imposing all at the same time!
Then it's 'Return To Serenity'. A massive sing-along. "Return to serenity," he croons, and the whole crowd joins in, swelling vocals, throats wide and open. Skolnick's solo gets deafening cheers with arms raised, horns high and heads thrown back.
Then Billy tells us "this one's old as hell – you ready?" and 'First Strike Is Deadly' absolutely kills. The crowd chants the title back at him before the first note drops. The drumming from Chris Dovas is next-level. It's like he's conducting the apocalypse: tight, brutal, relentless. The crowd's "OOOH OOOH OOHs" echo off the rafters.
Testament - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'Electric Crown' brings back the old-school groove, and Skolnick and Peterson trade more solos than the number of necks snapping in the front row of the barrier. Dovas keeps snapping the tempo like a man built of metronomes and caffeine. 'More Than Meets The Eye' has fists flying again, all of us bellowing those "whoa-oh-ohs" like we've known them since birth.
Billy surveys the wreckage. "You want some old-school sh.t?" We sure as sh.t do. 'Over The Wall' drops like a grenade. "Brisbane! ... LOW!" he shouts, and boom – they throw it in. Wasn't even on the printed set list, but tonight's special, just for Melb. . . Brisbane LOL!
The mosh explodes again and someone in the middle windmills their full beer can like a frothy helicopter. It explodes mid-air and no one even flinches. Finally, with no need for pleasantries, they slam the night shut with 'Into The Pit', and the floor bloody obliges, detonating like someone dropped a match in a keg of rage.
No speechifying, no encore bullsh.t, just a pure, unfiltered Testament clinic. It's carnage. Absolute thrash heaven; and every bastard in here is part of it.
Tonight wasn't a show. It was a siege; and when the smoke clears, there's only one thing left standing: thrash itself, sneering and undefeated.
More photos from the concert.
