Titans of Creation

What's left to say about Testament at this point in their career? Their first three albums speak for themselves, and their output over the subsequent 30 years has been more hit than miss. Their current lineup pretty much makes them a supergroup, with Gene Hoglan and Steve Di Giorgio rounding out what might be the best rhythm section in metal right now. Chuck Billy remains a contender for best front man in all of metal, and Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson have only gotten better over the years.

So you know you won't hear better musicianship on a thrash album in 2020. But all the skill in the world doesn't amount to much if it's in the service of mediocre songs. Does Titans of Creation deliver? Does it add anything to the band's considerable… ahem… legacy? I think it does, but only just so.

Things start off promising with ‘Children of the Next Level’, a solid mid-tempo thrasher about the infamous Heaven's Gate cult. It's a good summary of where the band is at in 2020, with flawless production, super competent musicianship, and impressive song craft. The lyrics are a little goofy, but I don't know how you write a song about a UFO cult that doesn't sound silly. Not even Chuck Billy can make the line, “So now the time has come for Ti-i to appear” sound cool.

Follow-up track ‘WWIII’, is a ripper of a tune that suffers similarly in the lyric department. If you had just played me the music to the song, and asked me to pick a lyrical theme, I might have suggested a crazy, out-of-control kegger, a blistering street race, an edgy biker gang, or maybe a wicked jousting competition? But Chuck Billy goes dark. The dichotomy between the music and the lyrical content/delivery is pretty hilarious. Never before has a metal song about everyone dying in a nuclear holocaust sounded so damn zippy. I kind of love that about it, but I'm not sure it's what the band was intending.

‘Dream Deceiver’ strikes a better balance between lyrical themes and songwriting, landing firmly in the totally 80's, Dokken zone—only with Testament's muscular thrash production. As with ‘Children of the Next Level’ and ‘WWIII’, it's a little silly, but it works for me. I could see the song being a fun addition to their setlists.

It's not until ‘Night of the Witch’ (yours is ‘Eye of the Witch’, ours is ‘Night of the Witch’) that the band really starts firing on all cylinders. This song is a straight-up face-melter that holds its own against the best of Testament's catalog. Sadly the band doesn't let rip like this again until the last proper song on the album, ‘Curse of Osiris’. A couple more songs like these two would have added at least a few points to my score.

What we get instead is a lot of good, mid-tempo groove-thrash that doesn't always play to the band's strengths. Chuck Billy's voice sounds strong throughout, but his lyrics and delivery are sometimes questionable, walking a fine line between cringe-y and delightfully cheesy (I still haven't decided where I land on his “Quee-quee-quee”-ing on ‘Ishtar’s Gate'). In spite of the cheese (or because of?), the band genuinely sounds like they're having a blast with the new material. There are many highlights to be heard, including some serious shredding in the last third of ‘False Prophet’, and some tasty bass-work by Di Giorgio on ‘City of Angels’.

On the whole, Titans of Creation is a fun listen that I enjoyed more than 2016's Brotherhood of the Snake, but less than 2012's Dark Roots of Earth. If you liked either/both of those albums, I suspect you will like this one as well. It's got a handful of rippers accompanied by some solid killer filler, which is just about all I expect from any thrash band this deep into their career.