Testament – “Brotherhood Of The Snake” [Album Review]

Call it heavy metal, call it thrash metal, call it whatever you want, but one thing is certain and that is that Brotherhood Of The Snake is a beautiful piece of work to listen to. Judging by the way the title track kicks this album into life, Bay Area thrash behemoths Testament are clearly in no mood to fuck about with pleasantries but, seriously, at this stage in their career, why bother with that when you can just do what you’re best at?

Brotherhood Of The Snake is not only everything you could want from a Testament album, it’s everything you could want from a metal album. The thrash titans put in a flawless display as the likes of “Stronghold” and “Centuries Of Suffering” whip up a frenzy of pounding, almost tribal drums and blistering thrash riffs and… loud? Well, there was a point where I left my headphones on my desk only for the vibrations caused by Chuck Billy and his thrash warlords to send them flying off my desk. It’s an unrelenting display as track after track of polished, crunchy thrash, like “Black Jack” and “The Number Game”, just go to demonstrate precisely why these Bay Area neck-wreckers deserve a place in the upper echelons of the thrash metal league.

The San Fran thrash legends are simply unstoppable as they barrel through pit anthem after pit anthem with no respite or let up in tempo. The process goes like this: the drums pound out a bone-cracking beat, the riffs kick in, Chuck Billy barks his lyrics out over the top of the melee his band are creating – repeat until end. Listening to Testament on top of their game, as they are on Brotherhood Of The Snake, is a beautiful thing to experience so, all that’s left is for you to do, learn the words, loosen up those neck muscles, check on your medical insurance and join us as we head into the pit!

Brotherhood Of The Snake Track Listing:

01. Brotherhood Of The Snake
02. The Pale King
03. Stronghold
04. Seven Seas
05. Born In A Rut
06. Centuries Of Suffering
07. Black Jack
08. Neptune’s Spear
09. Canna-Business
10. The Number Game

Run Time: 45:27
Release Date: October 28, 2016

Check out the track “Stronghold”