Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Live Nation (https://www.livenation.com/ )
Venue: The Van Buren (https://www.thevanburenphx.com )
Date: October 24th, 2024
Tour: Klash of The Titans Tour 2024
When it comes to seeing Testament live, there’s really only one way for me to describe their show— brutally intense.
The fact that they can still keep up that level of intensity (with insane technical proficiency to boot) after 35 years or so is equally impressive.
When the veteran Bay Area quintet announced the 2024 Klash of the Titans tour co-headlined with Kreator, I must concede I questioned why the tour would be taking an “old school” direction. By the way, that’s another term for music I don’t care for either.
For the sake of argument though, I do understand why it’s still prevalent in our everyday vernacular though. Just like heavy metal is— a term that I moved on from years ago.
But unquestionably, that form of music is indeed alive and well in 2024, and rightly so I might add.
Anyway, on this tour the band decided to keep the 15-song, 80-minute set list focused on its first two albums, 1987’s The Legacy and 1988’s The New Order. With one exception– more on that later.
It’s probably fair to say that many Testament fans consider the latter album their finest hour on record. By the way, that’s not hard to understand either.
The greatest thing about Testament live is that this band is, at the very least, a well-oiled machine. The current incarnation of the band consists of lead vocalist Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas.
Kicking off the set with Eerie Inhabitants and The New Order, there was pretty much no letting up as the show continued. However, by the third song Apocalyptic City, Billy directed the band to briefly stop the show for security to aid an injured fan up front.
Kudos to them for caring and being so observant. Billy then thanked the “rescue team” for their help, and the show resumed.
Songs like Raging Waters and The Haunting were certainly well-received by the audience. One look at the moshpit made that perfectly clear.
But for me, the band’s exceptional musicianship is still astonishing to this day. Despite all the lineup changes throughout their career, they’ve maintained a standard of excellence that’s, frankly, in short supply with some of their contemporaries.
Most importantly though, the songs never take a back seat to the individual chops of Peterson and Skolnick. Their individual styles truly complement each other, which ultimately make the songs better.
Or put another way, they’re the Tipton and Downing of “thrash”. Simple as that.
There was one recent song in the set called Native Blood from 2012’s excellent Dark Roots Of Earth album. Billy proudly dedicated it to “all of my Native American brothers and sisters out there.”
Artistically speaking, one could rightly contend that Testament has pretty much been at the top of its game since 2008 with the release of that year’s The Formation of Damnation— and the return of Skolnick.
On that point, that creative streak has continued with the aforementioned Dark Roots of Earth, 2016’s Brotherhood of the Snake, and 2020’s Titans of Creation.
Speaking candidly, that’s why I questioned why the band would decide to go back and only revisit the first two albums for this tour. Yes, I understand the significance of both The Legacy and The New Order. That goes without saying— but I’ll say it anyway.
However, Testament seem to be in a great place in 2024. Not many bands of their generation can honestly say that their current music holds up well alongside their “classic” material. To that end, that truly makes this band an exception, not the rule.
Back onstage, a Testament show isn’t complete without two of its staples to this day, Over The Wall (a song that would sometimes conclude an episode of MTV’s Headbangers Ball in the late 80s) and anthem-for-life, Into The Pit.
The rabid audience indeed went home happy— and tired I’m sure. Testament was firing on all cylinders and overall sound better than ever. It makes me wonder; do they ever have an off-night?
If they have, it certainly wasn’t on this night.
I have to say that co-headliner Kreator was pretty solid overall. I’m aware that they’ve been around for decades. However, I simply never took the time to listen to their music as a teenager in the 80s.
The band’s 75-minute, 14-song set pretty much covered various points of its nearly 40-year career with songs like Phobia, Enemy of God, and 666-World Divided. Overall, I think they won the crowd over pretty well. However, Testament ultimately deserved to close the show.
The final verdict? As an overall tour, I give Klash of the Titans four out of five stars. Looking forward to hearing new music from Testament sometime in 2025. Keep an eye out for it.
Special note from the Editor:
I have been to many metal shows and I have seen a lot of crowd surfers. There has been times that I have seen the surfer go down and back into the crowd. If you are going to crowd surf beware that you might be dropped and land on the concrete or fence and get hurt. This happened at this show. A gentleman surfed and fell as he was passed over the fence and landed on the stage side of the fence and ground. Security had to remove him in a wheelchair. I credit Testament for stopping the show and making sure the person was properly taken care of. I am not sure what happened once he was removed, but he might have missed the rest of the show. So, just make sure you are aware of what might happen and are willing to take the risk.
Testament
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
Kreator
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
Possessed
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
