Brotherhood of the Snake Testament 2016 Nuclear Blast Records Hailing from the Bay Area, Testament cut their teeth in the pits of Thrash Metal movement and are one of the bands that stayed true to their Thrash Metal roots with the distinctive vocals of Chuck Billy and the ever present guitar of Eric Peterson. As the so called ‘Big 4’ exploded into the mainstream and altering their sound, it can be argued that bands like Testament, Overkill and Exodus carried the Thrash Metal flag keeping the genre alive. Brotherhood of the Snake is the 11th studio album and the long awaited follow up to the fantastic 2012 album, Dark Roots of Earth. Brotherhood of the Snake features near enough the same line-up as Dark Roots of Earth with the only change being the exit of Greg Christian to be replaced by ex-Death bassist, Steve DiGiorgio. DiGiorgio completes the line-up of Chuck Billy on vocals, Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick on the guitars and Gene Hoglan beating the drums. Continuing in the same vein as Dark Roots of Earth, Brotherhood of the Snake has a very, if near identical sound to the previous album. The reason for this would be that once more the production has been conducted by Billy and Peterson themselves with the mixing and mastering done by the legendary Metal producer Andy Sneap who has helped shape Testaments sound since the 1999 album, The Gathering. As you would expect from Testament, Brotherhood of the Snake blasts open the speakers with the pounding title track before the single from Brotherhood of the Snake, The Pale King kicks in with another pounding rhythm, a running theme throughout Brotherhood of the Snake, Hoglan’s drums drive the album forward at breakneck speed without relenting once. Testament have a fantastic sound, it is uniquely theirs and it prevails throughout the album with themes revolving around religion, bureaucracy and vices. In comparison to the previous album, Dark Roots of Earth, Brotherhood of the Snake falls just below this and that isn’t a bad comparison. Dark Roots of Earth is one of the best albums that Testament have released and for Brotherhood of the Snake to be just behind is a high accolade and serves as a benchmark to just how good Brotherhood of the Snake actually is. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes, Brotherhood of the Snake feels as if it is over as quickly as it began, the title track, The Pale King, the Book of Revelations themed Seven Seals and the pro-marijuana anthem, Canna-Business are all serious highlights from Brotherhood of the Snake. As a band, Testament have produced an absolutely fantastic album, Billy sounds just as he did 20 years ago and once more Skolnick plays his heart out showing that even in the Metal world, there are still guitarists that are underrated and overlooked. It is now getting close to the end of the year and at the year end, Brotherhood of the Snake will be riding high in the lists and once more, just like with Dark Roots of Earth, Testament have out-done themselves and produced another near flawless album. 9/10 Adam The Pale King (Peterson/Billy)
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