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Testament And Onslaught Unleash A Thrash Assault In Bristol

Testament are currently on tour in the United Kingdom promoting their latest studio album, "The Formation Of Damnation" which was released last year to much critical acclaim. They made the wise choice to bring British thrash metal legends Onslaught along for the trek as well as young American thrashers Warbringer. Needless to say, no-one left disappointed.

I unfortunately arrived too late to see most of Warbringer's set but I saw the last song and they seemed like a good band. I'll make a point of seeing them in the future. It was a special show for Onslaught as the concert was being held in their home city of Bristol and the venue, (the Bristol Academy) was the only venue in the city the band hadn't played yet. The band opened their set with a thunderous response from the crowd as they ripped into the title track from their 2007 masterpiece, "Killing Peace." They continued on with a set that mainly consisted of songs from "Killing Peace" and their 1986 classic, "The Force" including staple songs, "Let There Be Death" and "Metal Forces" before finishing with "Power From Hell," the title track of their debut album. Onslaught showed ferocious energy from start to finish and seemed like they were having just as much fun as the whole crowd were. The only thing that seemed to let their set down was that alot of people complained about the sound, claiming the drums were louder than the vocals and guitars. It sounded fine to me though. After their set members from the band were hanging around talking to the fans at the merchandise stand, which is always nice!

Testament have been on a roll since releasing "The Formation of Damnation" and they're showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They opened their set with "The Preacher" and continued to give unleash a high energy, sonic assault from there. Chuck Billy cemented his repuatation as one of the best frontmen in Thrash Metal by connecting well with the audience and keeping his voice as intense as ever before, and with the guitar team of Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson behind him, in addition to the awesome rhythm section that is Greg Christian on bass and veteran thrash drummer Paul Bostaph, you can't go wrong. They performed the majority of their classic songs including, "Into The Pit," "Over The Wall" and "Disciples Of The Watch" as well as newer songs such as "More Than Meets The Eye" and "The Persecuted Won't Forget." A personal favourite moment of mine was when they began their encore with the excellent, "D.N.R." from the 1999 album, "The Gathering" before ending the show with the unusual choice of "The Formation Of Damnation." They left the stage to a great show of respect from the crowd after promising to return to Britain next year with a brand new album to support.