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Album Review – Testament / Para Bellum (2025)

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Let’s prepare for war to the sound of the breathtaking fourteenth studio album by Oakland, California’s own masters of old school, crushing Thrash Metal.

“Parabellum” is the second half of the Latin phrase “si vis pacem, para bellum”, which translates to “if you want peace, prepare for war”. That’s exactly what Oakland, California’s own Thrash Metal masters Testament are offering us all now in 2025 with their infernal fourteenth studio album, titled Para Bellum, a worthy follow-up to their 2020 beast Titans of Creation. Produced by Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson alongside Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios, who also recorded vocals, bass, drums, and acoustic guitars, with guitars recorded at Dragon Lair Studio and Skol Productions Studio, mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios, and showcasing an apocalyptic artwork by the majestic Eliran Kantor, the new opus by the iconic  frontman Chuck Billy, the unparalleled guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, the ruthless bassist Steve Di Giorgio, and the beyond talented newcomer Chris Dovas (Evulsion, Unflesh, Aversed) on drums is a lecture in both old school and modern-day Thrash Metal, sounding as heavy, infuriated, intricate and explosive as a real war, leaving us absolutely disoriented after all is said and done.

Chris already showcases his welcome card in the opening beast titled For the Love of Pain while Eric and Alex hypnotized us all as expected with their undisputed riff attack, with Chuck’s ruthless roars being the icing on their thrashing cake. Their sonic devastation goes on in full force in Infanticide A.I., where Chuck’s deep, enraged gnarls walk hand in hand with the striking riffs and solos by the band’s guitar duo in a lesson in Thrash Metal, followed by Shadow People, utterly tribal, dark and heavy, a more melodic display of the band’s core sonority led once again by Eric’s and Alex’s flawless guitar work. Meant to Be follows a similar pattern as their own song “Dark Roots of Earth”, a somber, pensive ballad including some acoustic moments; whereas back to a much more ferocious, progressive and ruthless sonority we have High Noon, perfect for breaking our necks headbanging to Chris’ intricate beats and fills.

It’s time to go hunt some witches in the name of old school Thrash Metal with Witch Hunt, another avalanche of metallic riffs and blast beats for our total delight where Chuck sounds inhumane as usual on vocals; and I also love when he sounds less demented like in Nature of the Beast, delivering those raspy, deep and almost “clean” vocal lines that give the whole song an even edgier vibe, as melodic as it is groovy. Room 117 offers the band’s more contemporary sonority from their latest decade, with Steve hammering his bass mercilessly accompanied by the pounding drums by Chris; whereas Eric and Alex will crush your damned minds and souls with their electrifying axes in Havana Syndrome, an explosion of first-class Testament for the masses. Finally, ending the album we face the Stygian, imposing title-track Para Bellum, one of their most detailed, multi-layered songs of the past few years, with Chuck’s demonic growls sounding phenomenal from start to finish in an ode to war before all fades into the void.

Readiness to fight is necessary to maintain peace and defend oneself or one’s country, and the undisputed Thrash Metal blasted by Testament in Para Bellum is also necessary in the life of any decent human being. You can follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and other nice-to-know details about one of the torchbearers of classic thrash, stream their demonic creations on Spotify, and above all that, grab a copy of their incendiary newborn spawn from Nuclear Blast or by clicking HERE. In other words, it’s time to prepare for war, and there’s nothing better than Testament’s new album to inspire us all to head into the battlefield alongside one of the most important bands in the history of heavy music.

Best moments of the album: For the Love of Pain, Infanticide A.I., Witch Hunt, Nature of the Beast and Para Bellum.

Worst moments of the album: Meant to Be.

Released in 2020 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. For the Love of Pain 5:35
2. Infanticide A.I. 3:27
3. Shadow People 5:45
4. Meant to Be 7:33
5. High Noon 3:52
6. Witch Hunt 4:16
7. Nature of the Beast 4:28
8. Room 117 4:18
9. Havana Syndrome 4:40
10. Para Bellum 6:30

Band members
Chuck Billy – vocals
Eric Peterson – guitar
Alex Skolnick – guitar
Steve Di Giorgio – bass
Chris Dovas – drums

Guest musicians
Dave Eggar – cello, violin, viola, orchestrations, strings arrangements
Chuck Palmer – orchestrations, strings arrangements
Xavi Morató – violin

Concert Review – Kreator & Testament (History, Toronto, ON, 10/03/2024)

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The city of Toronto had the ultimate pleasure of hosting a lesson in insanity, circle pits and walls of death by three of the most iconic Thrash Metal bands of all time.

OPENING ACT: Possessed

The third night of the week with a massive metal concert including several amazing bands was simply exhausting, but in a very good way, of course. After all mosh pits faced on Monday and on Tuesday, this Thursday night in Toronto was reserved for a lesson in insanity, circle pits and walls of death by the iconic metal giants POSSESSED, KREATOR and TESTAMENT, during their Toronto stop of their undisputed Klash of the Titans North America 2024 Tour, another event brilliantly organized by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were at History to cover such a pulverizing show, but of course due to the ridiculous traffic at the QEW I missed San Francisco, California’s own Death/Thrash Metal legends POSSESSED. I’m getting truly frustrated every single time I need to drive downtown for concerts because the QEW is getting worse and worse day after day, and by the time I get to the venues my energy is drained.

Well, Keith said they simply destroyed everything and everyone on stage, igniting some sick mosh pits right from the beginning, and I can imagine how amazing it was as they closed their set with the classic Death Metal, from their 1985 cult album Seven Churches. After their show, the band’s frontman Jeff Becerra spent a lot of time (and I mean A LOT) at their merch booth chatting with each and every fan that wanted to meet him in person. I always say things like that are what make some bands special, and Jeff and his Possessed are definitely in the hearts of their Torontonian fans forever not only due to their first-class, undisputed heavy music, but also by showing everyone how human, humble and polite they are, and I’ll make a promise to myself that next time Possessed take the city of Toronto by storm, I’ll do whatever it takes to be there in time to see them kicking ass on stage.

Setlist
Pentagram
Ritual
Tribulation
Graven
The Exorcist
Demon
Death Metal
Swing of the Axe

Band members
Jeff Becerra – vocals
Daniel Gonzalez – guitars
Claudeous Creamer – guitars
Robert Cardenas – bass, backing vocals
Chris Aguirre II – drums

KREATOR

I might have missed the mighty Possessed, but fortunately I made it in time for German Thrash Metal steamroller KREATOR, who were absolutely ruthless throughout their entire show. The setlist this Thursday was not very different from their 2023 show in Toronto alongside Sepultura, but who cares? It was an avalanche of massive, high-octane thrashing hymns for the delight of all fans of one of the most important metal bands in history. It was total madness right from the very first seconds of their now classic song Hate Über Alles, from their 2022 album Hate Über Alles, driving fans wild inside the nonstop circle pit that took most of the floor section at History. There were several walls of death as well, all led by the one and only Mille Petrozza, who seems to feed from the action happening inside the pit to play better and better as the concert progresses.

Also, I gotta say that playing Enemy of God, 666 – World Divided and Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite) in sequence, and closing the show with Violent Revolution and Pleasure to Kill, is definitely not for the lighthearted. It’s a very demanding show, and only the strongest of the strong can survive over one hour of pure Teutonic thrash. Not only that, their stage was also darkly beautiful, with the giant demons on both sides plus the one behind the drums (needless to say, I would love to have one of those) giving the whole show an even more demonic vibe, which could clearly be seen during their blasphemous hymn Satan Is Real. Kreator are one of those bands I would go see live every week or even every day if I could, because they always deliver, never sounding tired of bored, therefore bringing absolute chaos to our damned hearts.

Setlist
Run to the Hills
Sergio Corbucci Is Dead
Hate Über Alles
Phobia
Enemy of God
666 – World Divided
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
Hail to the Hordes
Betrayer
Satan Is Real
Mars Mantra
Phantom Antichrist
Strongest of the Strong
Terrible Certainty
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Pleasure to Kill
Apocalypticon
Satan Is Real (Maria Nicolaides country version)

Band members
Miland “Mille” Petrozza – vocals, guitar
Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitar
Frédéric Leclercq – bass
Jürgen “Ventor” Reil – drums

TESTAMENT

It was getting relatively late, already close to 10pm (and I was exhausted from a very busy week), but that didn’t mean all fans at History didn’t have any energy left for the melodic massacre blasted by Oakland, California’s undisputed thrash titans TESTAMENT. I honestly though my favorite drummer of all time Dave Lombardo was still with the band (and maybe I should have researched it better prior to the show), but to my surprise the drums are now in the hands of Chris Dovas, of bands like Unflesh and Evulsion (and you should definitely listen to both, as they’re insane). Now I can say he’s the perfect replacement for titans like Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo, simply smashing his drums nonstop and, consequently, giving more fuel for the fans to keep running around inside the circle pit. In addition, their entire setlist was comprised of songs form their old school classics The Legacy (1987) and The New Order (1988), just to give you an idea of how heavy, fast and electrifying the whole concert was.

Songs like The New Order, Trial by Fire, Alone in the Dark, and in special Disciples of the Watch and Into the Pit were phenomenal, with Chuck Billy barking in our faces nonstop and demanding we didn’t stop moshing not even for a single second. I was mesmerized as usual by Alex Skolnick on the guitar, because amidst such a hurricane of heavy and fast-paced tunes, he kept delivering clean, stunning solos in all songs. He’s by far one of the best metal guitarists out there, and his unique, striking technique brings endless beauty and energy to Testament’s violence. In the end, we were all extremely satisfied (and tired, of course) with an overdose of classic Thrash Metal by all three bands, and as Chuck Billy said, I can’t wait for their return to the city already with a new (and most probably incendiary) album in hands.

Setlist
(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)
Eerie Inhabitants
The New Order
Apocalyptic City
Raging Waters
The Preacher
The Haunting
Trial by Fire
Drum Solo
First Strike Is Deadly
A Day of Reckoning
Alone in the Dark
Do or Die
Disciples of the Watch
Over the Wall
Into the Pit
Foreplay

Band members
Chuck Billy – vocals
Eric Peterson – guitar
Alex Skolnick – guitar
Steve Di Giorgio – bass
Chris Dovas – drums

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Album Review – Unflesh / Savior (2018)

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A dark, aggressive and extremely technical opus of Blackened and Melodic Death Metal by a four-headed American beast, sounding as pulverizing as extreme music can be.

Forged in 2014 in the fires of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the United States as a solo project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Beevers (Solium Fatalis), who’s by the way a student at the highly prestigious Berklee College Of Music, but currently located in Boston, Massachusetts, Blackened Melodic Death Metal four-piece squad Unflesh has been on a roll since their inception, having already released an excellent EP in 2016 titled Transcendence to Eternal Obscurity (which featured the astounding German drummer Hannes Grossmann as a session musician), followed by their new and insanely heavy and entertaining album Savior. Featuring a beautiful and menacing artwork by Brazilian artist Junki Sakuraba, Savior will strongly appeal to fans of the unparalleled music by bands such as Dissection, Necrophagist, Emperor, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Dimmu Borgir, among others, placing the band comprised of the aforementioned Ryan Beevers on vocals and guitar,  Chris Gardino (Pathogenic, Wolfsmyth) on the guitar, Peter De Reyna (Seven Spires) on bass and Chris Dovas (Seven Spires) on drums as one of the most promising names of the current underground scene.

Ryan Beevers himself had a few words to say regarding Savior, giving more details on the direction he wanted to follow with his brainchild.  “I’ve always thought of the band as having a kind of mixed sound of 90’s black metal and more technical death metal bands. Since the band started I just called us “Extreme Metal” because it’s a broader label. I never thought the sound of the band would be described as just black metal or death metal. When the first EP “Transcendence to Eternal Obscurity” came out, most people seemed to identify the sound as technical death metal. This album is one more step forward in molding the sound of Unflesh, musically and lyrically the ‘Savior’ album is a lot darker and more aggressive than our previous EP,” said Ryan about his new opus, one that he definitely should be proud of, and one we should all thank him for providing to us, avid metalheads.

An eerie piano intro grows in intensity until progressiveness and sheer devastation invade our senses in the opening track Savior, thanks to the fulminating riffs by Ryan and Chris Gardino as well as the bestial drumming by Chris Dovas. In other words, it’s a dense and intricate depiction of modern-day Progressive and Melodic Death Metal, and a fantastic welcome card by the entire band. Following such breathtaking beginning we have Bestowal of Decay, bringing an avalanche of groove and complexity, being even more demonic than the opening tune with Ryan sounding hellish and demented on vocals, all complemented by some sick guitar solos and some ass-kicking, classic Death Metal lyrics (“The great fade of all life in the dawn / A blissful perception of the fathomless darkness obtained / Primeval scriptures deciphered before the mortal eyes / By forsaken powers of Unanimation / Unveiled”); and their destructive but very harmonious onrush of Black and Death Metal goes on in Final Writhe, an incendiary tune led by the mesmerizing riffs and solos by both Ryan and Chris Gardino, with Chris Dovas showing no mercy for his drum set while Peter brings density and darkness to the music with his unstoppable punches.

More rhythmic and presenting what’s perhaps the most intricate and thrilling beats of the entire album, always supported by Peter’s thunderous bass, Erosive Devotees presents an enraged Ryan growling and screaming nonstop, turning it into one of the top moments of the album, whereas in The Eradication Commenced the band fires more of their electrifying Blackened and Melodic Death Metal with no sign of slowing down at all. Quite the contrary, the band’s stringed trio is on fire from start to finish, slashing our ears beautifully while Chris Dovas adds hints of Doom and Black Metal to his beats and fills. And Caliginous is an even more progressive and melodic tune by Unflesh, with Ryan gnarling in perfect sync with the guitar lines and beats blasted by the rest of the band. Put differently, you can break your neck headbanging or simply close your eyes and enjoy the complex music waves of this multi-layered extravaganza. Either way, you’re going to have an awesome time.

Then a pulverizing display of dexterity and rage waits for us in Desecration of Light, a circle pit-catalyst with all ingredients we love in contemporary Extreme Metal where Chris Dovas will crush your skull with his demonic beats, while Ryan and Chris Gardino have an exciting guitar duel with their wicked riffs and solos, before a superb guitar solo introduces us to another scorching hot voyage through the realms of violence and progressiveness in Disintegration God, ending with another gorgeous guitar solo until everything fades into ethereal sounds, with its classic lyrics being the icing on the cake (“And the somber thrives as animation subsides / When all designed under a star descends into infinity / Predestined fall, all-encompassing fade of life / It corrodes away before the throne of Death / And into its sacred lore”).

In order to let Unflesh penetrate deep inside your mortal flesh with the top-tier metal music found in Savior, simply pay them a visit at their Facebook page and YouTube channel, and buy your copy of the album form their own BandCamp page or webstore, as well as from iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. The monstrous beast known as Unflesh is more menacing, violent and cohesive than ever, and I’m sure not only the band’s talented originator is happy with the devastating potential of his infernal spawn, but also anyone else who loves the perfect fusion of aggressiveness, feeling and technique in extreme music.

Best moments of the album: Bestowal of Decay, Erosive Devotees and Desecration of Light.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Independent

Track listing
1. Savior 5:04
2. Bestowal of Decay 5:23
3. Final Writhe 5:13
4. Erosive Devotees 5:22
5. The Eradication Commenced 5:13
6. Caliginous 5:17
7. Desecration of Light 4:26
8. Disintegration God 5:35

Band members
Ryan Beevers – vocals, guitars
Chris Gardino – guitars
Peter De Reyna – bass
Chris Dovas – drums

Guest musician
Anthony Lusk-Simone – additional orchestral elements