Testament

w/ Picture The End and Anarchsphere

The HiFi Bar – Melbourne, 26th September, 2008.

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I had extremely high expectations going into this show. There was this nagging thought in the back of my mind going “I hope they really are as incredible as I remember” in fear of ruining the memories of last year’s phenomenal show at the Prince Bandroom. Well, Testament delivered once again.

The night started slow. Anarchsphere opened and I really have the same opinion now as I did last time I saw them, it’s just boring. They aren’t a bad band, the sound is fairly solid, but they aren’t overly active on stage and I find their music to just be a big mix of generic chugging. Other than a handful of nodding heads, the crowd didn’t seem to get into it much either.

By the time the second support, Picture The End, came on stage, the crowd had certainly built up. If only crowds built up that early for local gigs too, but that’s a rant for another time. These guys put on a slightly better show but it was still very unengaging. By the end of only the second song I was bored out of my mind, and the latter half of the set had me constantly thinking “didn’t they just play this one?”. There was a bit more movement in the crowd here, but it wasn’t really a great reception.

As usual, it was a case of support acts being chosen due to their popularity and the contacts they have. When you stick two generic, modern metal bands on the bill of a classic thrash band like Testament, that’s what happens. I’m starting to find that at most gigs, two support bands is too much anyway. It was blatantly obvious that most of the crowd were just hanging for these guys to leave the stage so Testament could finally come on.

After a hell of a long wait, a few Testament chants and Metallica sing-along’s, the lights and music finally died down… only to suddenly come back on again. The crew came back onto the stage to make more adjustments with Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” cranked on the speakers in the background. Eventually, the lights dimmed again and the crowd roared as Testament finally joined the stage, blasting straight into the classic “Over The Wall”. As I have come to expect from the HiFi Bar, the sound was muddy and perhaps a tad too loud. Chuck’s vocals were quiet in parts, and some of the faster riffing merged into a wall of noise. After the almost-perfect sound they had at the Prince last year, this was a bit disappointing. However, they more than made up for it with their stage presence. Peterson was constantly up the front of the stage, leaning in towards the crowd and doing a great job of creating a more intimate feel in a big, bad venue. Skolnick did similar on the other side of the stage while Christian went nuts headbanging a bit further back. Chuck, as expected, spent most of the time air-guitaring with his microphone stand, a trademark of sorts, and coaxing the crowd into singing along at every opportunity. To be honest, Chuck could just stand still and he would still have stage presence. He just has it. “Into The Pit” was the second track, which was played a bit too early in my opinion. That’s a track designed to send the crowd nuts, which they already were considering how early it was in their set. But oh well, it was a crowd favourite as usual. The band powered through a few more classic tracks as tight as could be. The band went off stage for a little bit before coming back to play two newies. “More Than Meets The Eye” went off with its great singalong sections, it was definitely a better live track than recorded. “Henchmen Ride” sounded great too, again, better than it did on the album. The new album really sounds better with that extra punch of power at a live show. “The Legacy” was up next and probably the highlight of the night. It’s just a fantastic live song, and was a well needed break for my neck. “Apocalyptic City” followed and was the only song in the setlist that wasn’t that great, I’m not really sure what it was but it just wasn’t a very interesting live track and the crowd didn’t get into it. Another quick break and the band came back out with one of their most brutal live songs, “D.N.R”.  Another highlight of the night for me, that song is just so incredibly huge, as is “Three Days In Darkness” which was next up. A final quick break, and the band came out with my favourite track off the new album, the title track, and a few more classics to end the night.

Testament are an incredible live band, full stop. After last year’s show, my opinion was that they put on a killer performance that night, but this year’s show confirms that they are just consistently amazing on stage. Last year’s show just topped this one, which is entirely due to the change in venue and certainly not the fault of the band.

I strongly urge every single one of you to see Testament live at some point in your life. You will not regret it. 9.8/10

You can see more photos from the night here.

Setlist:
Over The Wall
Into The Pit
Practice What You Preach
The New Order
Electric Crown
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More Than Meets The Eye
Henchmen Ride
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The Legacy
Apocalyptic City
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D.N.R.
Three Days In Darkness
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The Formation Of Damnation
The Preacher
Alone In The Dark
Disciples Of The Watch

Reviewed by Mitch Booth
Photos by Scott Boelson