Testament: Gig Review

Everybody needs a lift now and then; there’s no denying this. For most people, this is going out partying or something to that effect, but for me, it was watching Testament brutally attack the audience with songs, each one better than the next. It was an incredible adrenaline surge and although temporarily sidelined by a cold, I could feel the sheer energy of the crowd. I could relate to people when they got that look on their face and ran into the pit. This happened to a friend of mine when the opening riff of Into the Pit was played. It was an instant adrenaline surge.

It was a relatively hot day on the 15^th of December 2012 and a bunch of my friends and I reached the Embassy Horse Riding School after a quite an irritating hiccup. The taxi’s tire had gotten punctured. We reached the venue by the time Parikrama were just finishing up their set and by the time we bought our tickets and got in, Kryptos were already on to their second song. Kryptos is an incredible band that is on the cusp of exploding. Their new album, The Coils of Apollyon has been rated highly on many review sites, I mean, we here in India knew that this band was amazing, but there is nothing like the feeling you get when you watch someone ‘underground’ get recognized in the manner that Kryptos has been recently. It’s really a proud moment when I, or any Indian metalhead reads a good review of this album, it deserves to be up there. So anyway, after a near-perfect set, Kryptos were made to vacate the stage before playing what is probably their signature song, Decension, much to our disappointment.

After about forty five minutes of sound checking, the sound of a choir came on the PA. I suspected something as up and I ran as I carefully avoided people so as to not drop my Shawarma and before I knew it, Testament were actually on stage! And there I was, stuffing food into my face. I dropped it and a friend and I immediately rushed toward the stage. It was time to ‘Rise Up’. It took me about two minutes for me to realize that everything was just as it was meant to be. Chuck had his portable mic stand and Alex had his black watch, and sure enough, when Chuck said ‘Rise Up’, we screamed ‘WAR!’ as loudly as we could. It’s a strange thing when a band takes stage. I remember feeling drained and ill during the sound check, but the moment testament hit the stage, all those feelings were gone. They were replaced with a surprisingly flexible neck.

After ‘Rise Up’, we were whisked onto the signature riffs of ‘The New Order’, the title song of their 1988 album, and ‘The Preacher’. Chuck then promptly greeted the crowd by saying, among other things, ‘Namaste’, which led to many loud cheers. It was then time for ‘Native Blood’, another song off the new album, Dark Roots of Earth. The talents of Mark Hernandez were perfectly showcased in this song. Next up was ‘True American Hate’, which is probably my favorite song from Dark Roots. There are few solos more apt than the one in this song, and it was as incredible on stage as it is on the record. This solo, to me, is probably Mr. Skolnick’s finest solo in recent times in a metal context.

The band then totally ripped the crowd in half with ‘More Than Meets the Eye’. The album this song is from, The Formation of Damnation was what got me into Testament; I can only imagine what it must’ve felt like to have heard it after nearly a decade of no new Testament music, and by God, it sounded amazing. We were then treated to the title song of the new album, ‘Dark Roots of Earth’, which got everyone moshing. It was then time to ‘Go old school’, as Chuck put it.

As soon as it was announced that ‘Into the Pit’ was the next song, there was a mass exodus from the standing areas to the mosh pit and it stayed that way for a while, because the next two songs were ‘Practice What You Preach’ and ‘Over the Wall’ and not moshing to these three songs could be considered borderline sacrilege.

Next up was ‘Souls of Black’. Greg Christian was a presence throughout the show, with his rock steady bass playing, but this was when he came out onto the spotlight. The bass intro got everyone in the pit more excited. ‘Alone in the Dark’ was the next song. This, together with ‘More Than Meets the Eye’ were two songs that the audience were really involved in. Songs that everyone enjoyed screaming their lungs out to. The stage went pitch black after ‘Alone in the Dark’, and we knew that something big was coming.

This was one of the best shows I’d attended for sure, but when the opening riff of ‘DNR’ was played, it became so much more than that. There are few concerts that I can recall perfectly, three to be precise. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and now, Testament. To me it’s a symbol of how good the show was when you can recall many details. I can still remember every part of the song, I can remember Chuck tossing plectrums, I can remember how he spelt out ‘DNR.’ in the air, complete with the full stop, but that wasn’t the end.

It was time for ‘3 Days of Darkness’. Chuck was signaling how in three days, we’d all be gone, or that’s how I perceived it, and it really seemed to resonate with everyone. Including me, I must admit. I suppose everyone romantically likes the idea of everything coming to a complete end, and just like that, we were into the last song, ‘The Formation of Damnation’, the title song of the album which had Alex Skolnick returning as lead guitarist, the album which ended nine years of silence from the Testament camp, it was a fitting end to a brilliant set; what’s more, Chuck descended to the crowd, and to great effect. If you thought he was majestic on stage, you should see him a few feet away from you. People, including me ran towards him like moths to a flame. The band then, unfortunately said their goodbyes, rather reluctantly, because Chuck’s microphone had stopped working for some reason.

All in all, nobody could have asked for a better Saturday night. The band was much more than five excellent musicians on stage. Everyone was at the top of their game. In fact, Alex was so near perfect that I picked up my guitar, wiped all the dust away and found inspiration again. It’s been lacking recently, and this was just the kick I needed.

There were a few complaints about the venue being prohibitively far from the city and that the sound could have been better. Another major complaint was that Gojira were playing a show on the same day. This was a major organizational hiccup, but I didn’t complain, nor did I hear anybody else complain. Everyone was taken aback and were trying to recover from a masterful performance. It would be safe to assume that many car rides back home were really quiet because that was the effect it had on people. I hope they come back, because this was an experience of a lifetime.