Rock In Review

Testament - The Formation of Damnation
Nuclear Blast Records

* * * * 1/2
4 1/2 Stars

The gods of Thrash are back and have struck again! Having been under the name Testament for 21 years (minus a few hiatus years), Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson have once again teamed up with most of the rest of the original members to put out their first new album since 1999’s The Gathering. Even though Testament hasn’t put out an album in almost 10 years, The Formation of Damnation was certainly worth the wait! With pounding drums being provided by Paul Bostaph (1993, 2007-present), heavy shredding guitars provided by Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick (1986-1993, 2001-present), thundering bass line provided by Greg Christian (1986-1993, 2003-present), and some of the sickest vocals to hit the Thrash scene provided by none other than Chuck Billy. Of the 11 tracks on the album, the two I would recommend most are “The Evil Has Landed” (Track 3) and “The Formation of Damnation” (Track 4/Title track). “The Evil Has Landed” stuck out to me for its lyrical content. Basically, the whole song is about the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. This song really just portrays that day and really hits you in a different way because of what happened. “The Formation of Damnation” sticks out to me more along the musical lines rather than the lyrical lines. The overall song is heavy and showcases some of Testament’s great talents (plus, the breakdown is awesome). Overall, the whole album is definitely one that will go down in the musical history books as another great piece of Thrash metal!

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