Genre: Thrash

Label: Nuclear Blast/Burnt Offerings Records

IS Rating: 10

Comments: A comeback of titanic proportions.

Release Date: April 28, 2008

Putting their decade long hiatus to good use, Testament return with a vengeance fueled by their long dormant piss and vinegar that’s boiling under the cheesy banner of “The Formation of Damnation.” Ten years removed form what was arguably their best effort, 1999’s oft-overlooked “The Gathering,” Testament version 2.0 are now galvanized with long lost members (original guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Greg Christian) and new blood (former Slayer and Exodus drummer Paul Bostaff); the results are devastating.

Unlike the slew of retro-thrash practitioners cluttering the scene these days, Testament begin their new album with an epic intro that’s equal parts Wagnerian bombast and heavy metal grandeur of orgasmic proportions. Just when you think a gallop is forever confined to the old school, the stomping “More Than Meets The Eye” barges in. As the oodles of awesome on its throbbing melody infects the listener’s bloodstream, Chuck Billy finally manages to establish himself as a credible singer—the man’s voice is the sound of the beast, literally. These Bay Area legends then go political for “The Evil Has Landed,” a brooding, thumping ode to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The title track arrives in a stampede of machinegun drumming then the decibels ease for the hypnotic “Dangers of The Faithless.”

Blessed with original songwriting, a bulletproof guitar tandem in Eric Petersen and Skolnick, plus loads of heaviness, this album can’t possibly go wrong. All through the martial overtones of “Killing Season,” the brooding “Afterlife,” to the melancholia pervading closing track “Leave Me Forever,” this “Formation...” overwhelms everyone’s astronomical expectations. “The Formation of Damnation” rates beyond ‘good.’ It’s a celebrated comeback that could very well become one of this decade’s finest moments in heavy metal.

Miquel Blardony