TESTAMENT – “Titans of Creation” Album Review

ALBUM SUMMARY

REVIEW – IN SHORT

TESTAMENT has been around since 1983 and the generation of metal fans growing up around that time already know all about the band. TESTAMENT’s new album Titans of Creation, however, may provide an opportunity to open the door, just a crack, to a new generation of metal fans. Most fans consider the groups first 4-5 albums as ‘peak’ TESTAMENT. I tend to disagree with that idea, but TESTAMENT certainly seem to be running at a higher gear than in recent years, and “Titans of Creation” is the evidence. The album is polished, well-crafted, and hits hard. It also isn’t just a straight-forward thrash record. The album weaves between groove oriented riffs along with the classic TESTAMENT thrash.

Titans of Creation, the band’s thirteenth studio album, is a mix of the Practice What You Preach and The Gathering eras of the band. If you are a fan of these eras, you will no doubt enjoy this new album. Overall, it has a nice mix of melody and grit. While every song is not a home run, the majority of the album is top-notch TESTAMENT and the performances are fantastic all around. Does Chuck Billy push his limits a few times throughout the album? Sure. This creates a few mixed results, but overall Chuck in fine-form. It is also readily apparent that guitarist’s Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick have played together for a long time. They are in sync throughout the album, especially during the guitar harmonies. Arguably, the biggest standouts on the album are Steve Di Giorgio on bass and Gene Hoglan on drums. Both are long-time players in the metal community and their performances lay the foundation for each song.

My core criticism on the album is the lyrics – they are wildly inconsistent. Songs like “Children of the Next Level”, “City of Angels” “Ishtar’s Gate”, and “Curse of Osiris” contain interesting history lessons and stories – including the Heaven’s Gate cult and the Night Stalker serial killer. The lyrics on “WWIII”, “Dream Deceiver” and “Night of the Witch”, however, range from cliche to cringe-worthy.

Titans of Creation is not groundbreaking like TESTAMENT’s early albums, but is still a great addition to the their catalogue. It is a must own for TESTAMENT fans and may even introduce the band to metal heads that haven’t given the band a shot before.

REVIEW – IN DEPTH

Titans of Creation, whose album art legitimately looks like an amazing piece of art, opens with “Children of the Next Level”. Its an epic, galloping song about the Heaven’s Gate cult of the 1990s. The track opens methodically and has an epic feel to it. 12 seconds in, the riff down tunes and the album is officially kicked off with a driving TESTAMENT riff. The song mixes in a galloping drum beat and the rhythm section stands out immediately – thanks to Gene Hoglan and Steve Di Giorgio. The song is expertly performed, though a few of the riffs (the chorus in particular) aren’t revolutionary.

The ‘Rider comin’ all dressed in black‘ section of the song is brutally awesome and 3:15 to 4:19 may be the greatest section of any song in the TESTAMENT catalogue. The guitar harmonizing during this interlude is exceptional and the music is intricate, heavy, and melodic. Listen for yourself if you don’t believe me. The solo immediately following is a rough transition but still well-crafted by Alex Skolnick – I wouldn’t expect anything less. The song also ends on a strong note. At 6 minutes 13 seconds, the song might be too long for some but it never seems to drag on for me. Overall, I would love to see this performed live and “Children of the Next Level” is worthy of a spot in your regular TESTAMENT listening rotation.

The second track, “WWIII” is heavier than the opener. It sounds like something off The Gathering album – if Alex Skolnick had played guitar on it. The music is strong on this song, though maybe a little derivative of other TESTAMENT performances. The verse kicks in with double kick and the section following the first chorus is peak TESTAMENT, slowing things down to a groove.

The weakness of “WWIII” is the lyrics. They are bland, cliche and take away from the music if you focus on them too much. The solo also doesn’t mesh with the song as well as I would hope. All that said, most other fans and critics have given this track very strong marks. I certainly think it’s a good song, just not great. The mid-tempo section toward the end of the song is great for head-banging as well. Overall, I suggest ignoring the lyrics here and enjoying the music.

“Dream Deceiver” follows “WWIII” and is a mostly forgettable track. There are sections of the song that sound almost identical to “The Persecuted Won’t Forget” from TESTAMENT’s The Formation of Damnation album and the chorus doesn’t hit home for me – Chuck Billy’s vocals feel like they are an octave too high. The verse, however, is very drum heavy and has a good groove. The solo is the best on the album so far. Despite those strong points, “Dream Deceiver” is likely I song I will skip over in the future.

Track four, “Night of the Witch”, was the first single released for this album. The song is quintessential thrash metal and will certainly be played during live sets. It is faster paced than the first three tracks and hits just as hard. My only real gripe with this song – the lyrics are straight-up cringe-inducing at times. The amateur rhymes and dull lyrical content on this track means two of the first four songs (“WWIII” being the other) have subpar lyrics.

The mid-section interlude on “Night of the Witch” is head-bang worthy – actually, the entire song is pretty head-bang worthy. In addition, the section that immediately follows the solo (3:39-4:12) is amazing. If I can knit-pick for a moment, I also feel the song is too long. At 6 minutes 32 seconds, a full 2 minutes could probably be cut from the song. All in all, I give the same suggestion here as I did with “WWIII” – enjoy the music, head-bang to the music, just don’t pay much attention to the lyrics.

“City of Angels” is kicked off by Steve Di Giorgio, whose bass stands out a lot on this track. Now, I’ve seen a lot of hate being thrown around by other fans who say this is the weakest song on the album. They argue it’s too slow and mid-tempo. I wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, “City of Angels” is one of my favorite tracks on the album – it’s diverse and I can’t help but head-bang when the song fully kicks in. The verse starts off quiet, and is pretty soft for TESTAMENT, but when the verse kicks in, you’ll head-bang too. The song continues to change tempos and intensity with the chorus – starting quiet and subtle before kicking in. This layering of speed and ferocity adds layers to the song. In addition, each riff fits together and flows well – just a well-arranged song. Let me also make note of the breakdown at 4:10: it will start mosh pits at live shows. I’m even okay with the length of the song in this case. I feel it is warranted considering the dynamics of the track.

Have some bass on track six! “Ishtar’s Gate” is the second straight song to start off with the rhythm section only and, wow, does the bass stand out. The opening riff has a middle-eastern feel to it and the track continues the trend of more melodic, mid-tempo songs. The verse really leans on the bass to go along with a talk-whispering Chuck Billy. I’d argue the verses on “Ishtar’s Gate” will split TESTAMENT fans – they will either love this or hate it. Personally, I like the song. The chorus is sung in the wrong octave (similar to “Dream Deceiver”), but the track is strong overall. I enjoy some of the riffs and rhythms so much I played air guitar during a few listens – I’m not afraid to admit it. The song wraps up with a thematic-ending that fits the song: “No one shall enter…These walls are sacred…entombed forever…enclosed within Ishtar’s Gate”.

“Symptoms”, track seven on Titans of Creation is arguably my favorite on the album. I was hooked within the first three second of the song – it sounds like TESTAMENT meets IRON MAIDEN. The opening is fantastic! The song then moves into a classic head-banger riff. The song is yet another mid-tempo track and the bass and drums stand out once again. Chuck Billy’s voice is perfect on this song. It’s right in his wheelhouse and sounds a lot like The Gathering album once again. The chorus is even memorable and catchy. Alex Skolnick’s solo is backed by a great rhythm section, which stands out just as much as the solo. Not taking anything away from the Skolnick, his solo is on point and fits snugly into the song. Overall, “Symptoms” makes for a perfect live track and doesn’t have any noticeable weaknesses. It even has a shot at my top 10 favorite TESTAMENT songs.

I don’t have as much to say about “False Prophet”. The eighth track starts off strong with a riff any fan would immediately recognize as TESTAMENT. However, the song loses me at the verse. It’s relatively generic and uninteresting. I feel like I’ve heard the same thing in a thousand other songs. “False Prophet” seems like a filler track that didn’t make the cut for the Practice What You Preach album. My main takeaway is that the song begins and ends on strong notes but really drags throughout the middle section.

The ninth song really shows off the superb production quality of the album as “The Healers” introduces each instrument one-by-one. The opening of the song builds nicely and sound straight out of the 80s. When the drums kick in, the song does not immediately go full speed either. Instead, it opts for a more ‘casual’ drum beat. Another level of drum speed does get added when the song reaches the chorus. I really love the main riff of “The Healers”, it’s simple but effective. The lyrics also feel relevant to the current world landscape – we could all use a little healing right now. I do expect this will be a song that is forgotten over the years. The type of song that fans will stumble across in the future and think to themselves “wow, how did I not know about this song?”

“Code of Hammurabi”, the tenth track overall, is the third song on Titans of Creation to feature Steve Di Giorgio’s bass skills. He’s great and the opening of the song is great. I love the riff! As the song progresses, there are more remnants of The Gathering, especially the ‘Eye for an eye for an eye‘ lyrics. The chorus has great guitar runs, again reminiscent of IRON MAIDEN, and the entire song fits together well. The guitar solo is also the best on the entire album – this entire section of the song is impressive. There is nothing more to add except to say that “Code of Hammurabi” is another standout track on a very strong TESTAMENT album and is sure to be a fan-favorite.

“Curse of Osiris” is the eleventh, and final full-length song on Titans of Creation. It wraps up the album on a high note as the fastest, heaviest, and shortest track. Guitarist, Eric Peterson, adds his vocals to the chorus which gives the song an even heavier, death metal element. The ‘Bring forth death‘ vocals by Chuck Billy also really stand out to me. At 3 minutes 24 seconds, the song wastes no time; it hits hard, does it’s thing, and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Great song and great way to wrap up the album.

“Catacombs” is TESTAMENT’s way of closing out the album thematically. I’m not going to give it any bonus points but it also takes nothing away from the album. It sounds a little like the opening of SLAYER’s “Hell Awaits” before transitioning to a riff virtually identical to the song “Legions (In Hiding)”. All in all, it works as a nice palette cleanser before starting the album over again!

To summarize, Titans of Creation is a great thrash album with top-pier production and performances. It doesn’t quite match TESTAMENT’s top 4-5 albums but is a contender to top their second-tier of records. TESTAMENT fans, buy the album! Thrash fans, buy the album! Other metal fans, check out the album at the very least!