When one thinks of what this band have been through over the years it is something of a surprise to know that they are still going. But not only are they still going, they are producing some of the most incredible tight frenetic metal one could ever wish to hear. First off, whenever Gene Hoglan is behind the kit the guys in front of him have to lift their game as otherwise he will leave them for dead – easily one of the most influential and important drummers of the whole metal scene – so Greg Christian locks in and keeps his head down while Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson do what they do best, namely play guitar as if their lives depend on it. Then secondly at the helm is the man who refused to let a little thing like cancer stop him, Chuck Billy is a legend and this performance shows why that is.
Released with as a DVD/CD set I only have the one hour and forty minutes of music to listen to, but that is plenty to take in, as this is as brutal a set as one could wish for. The passion in “American Hate” is palpable while the fans at the Paramount in Huntington, NY back in February obviously had a blast. If you had been at the show that night this is what you would have got rammed down your ears. Apart from their most recent album I haven’t played much testament over the years but after hearing this I see that I am going to have to revisit my opinion of them as this is immense. All power to the production of this, as every nuance is captured as well as the sheer over the top metalness of it all.
Thrash rarely, if ever, gets better than this. Here is a live album that belongs in every metalheads collection.
