Testament's Titans Of Creation: a peerless example of thrash craft

A titanic thrash statement from Testament on 13th album Titans Of Creation

By Malcolm Dome
( Classic Rock )
published
Testament's Titans Of Creation
(Image: © Nuclear Blast)

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At this stage of their lives, Testament could be forgiven for moving away from those trademark heavy roots. 

Thankfully, though, there’s no sign of these veterans losing commitment to full-on, riotous music. 

This album thunders along right from opener Children Of The Next Level, as vocalist Chuck Billy roars with typical bullishness, complemented by guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, who swoop and snarl in tandem

There’s no respite as power surges through WWIII, Dream Deceiver and The Healers, yet occasionally they do head for fresh territory, as on the black metal-influenced tornado of Night Of The Witch and the doom stylings of City Of Angels. 

There’s also the instrumental mastery on Symptoms, highlighting the tormented lyrics concerning mental illness – so appropriate in the current age. 

Titans Of Creation is a peerless example of Testament’s craft, and among their best albums in a 30-plus-year recording career.

Malcolm Dome
Malcolm Dome

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.