Just got back from seeing the mighty Testament at the Scout Bar in San Antonio, TX.

The opening act was Lazarus AD. Never heard of them before and we actually missed part of their set. Doors were 7:00 PM, we figured show at 8:00, but apparently they hit the stage at 7:30 so we only caught a few songs of their set. Nevertheless, they were most impressive. They know their thrash and old school metal, but certainly aren’t locked in the days of old. They had a lot of power, thrash, and groove to their tunes. They also knew how to work and put on a show. The frontman had good stage rap and could work the crowd decently. They also had a lot of stage choreography going on, from headbanging to guitar posing (reminded me of KISS or 80’s hair metal bands). Don’t take that as a bad thing; it wasn’t cheesy and it showed they cared to put on a show and not just stand up there lifelessly. They were tight and impressive enough that my buddy W and I both bought their debut CD, “The Onslaught”, after the show. In fact, the whole band was there by the merch table and autographed the CD booklet. One of their guitar players is apparently a big Corrosion of Conformity fan, like I am. He had a COC t-shirt on and I noticed he also had a COC belt buckle. So happens I was wearing my COC belt buckle as well and we shared a bit of COC love. We listened to their CD on the ride back home and it was impressive. Good stuff.

The second act was Unearth. I have mixed feelings here. You could tell the band had the thrash chops, but they also had that “metal-core” vibe to them (one guitarist looked like he dressed at Hot Topic). I think that’s why I didn’t jive with them. However, I can say they had a great deal of energy and knew how to groove. While I didn’t care for them, they did do a great job of warming up and setting the stage for Testament. I can respect what they do, it just wasn’t my personal taste. 

Finally, Testament hit the stage. Being together for 26 years showed on stage. The depth of the songs, playing songs from their earliest albums to their current release. The fact the band was so tight and so together. They sounded great. Singer Chuck Billy never ceases to entertain with his “one man air-band”, now adding “air cymbals” to the mix. 🙂  I also liked that there was little downtime… no lengthy breaks between songs with lots of talk. Sure there was some breaks and talking, but it was mostly just song after song after song, just a brutal onslaught. The pit… man, the pit was intense. Not a lot of people in it, but those that were in it were going. The bouncers had their hands full. 🙂  Testament has certainly proven they can stand the test of time and only get better with age. I think my neck is going to be sore in the morning.

Helluva show. Just a lot of thrash metal. Loud, energetic, tight. Good times.

Updated: I forgot to give a set list. Well, I don’t have one for Lazarus AD or Unearth, but Testament….

They did something interesting on this tour. They had the fans vote on a website for what setlist they wanted to hear at the show. Three setlists were provided:

Set List A:

The Legacy + Best Of

Set List B:

The New Order + Best Of

Set-List C:

1. The Preacher
2. Practice What You Preach
3. The New Order
4. Over The Wall
5. Sins of Omission
6. More Than Meets the Eye
7. The Persecuted Won’t Forget
8. Demonic Refusal
9. True Believer
10. Do Or Die
11. The Legacy
12. Into The Pit
13. Souls of Black
14. Electric Crown
15. Disciples of the Watch
16. D.N.R.
17. Three Days in Darkness
18. The Formation of Damnation

Set-list “C” won out for the show, and while they did play most of that setlist they certainly changed it up. Because I was expecting them to do what was voted on, I didn’t plan on keeping track of the songs. I couldn’t anyways, being as how the pit was too active and I had other things to pay attention to. 🙂 So sorry, I don’t have an exact setlist for the show.

For whatever it’s worth, when they first started the “vote for a set list” thing they actually had a different “Set-List C” up:

1. The Persecuted Won’t Forget
2. Practice What You Preach
3. Into The Pit
4. Dog Faced Gods
5. Raging Waters
6. More Than Meets the Eye
7. Demonic Refusal
8. True Believer
9. The Legacy
10. Over The Wall
11. The New Order
12. Souls of Black
13. First Strike Is Deadly
14. Disciples of the Watch
15. D.N.R.
16. The Formation of Damnation
17. Three Days in Darkness

I actually liked this original “Set-List C” better than the revamped “Set-List C” — far more brutal (make a playlist in your iTunes, you’ll see). But really, all three set lists (the 2 votes and the one actually played) were all fantastic. Just shows how much good material Testament has!