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✦✦✧✧ I prefer my Testament without blast beats, as it turns out. Don’t get me wrong: in terms of composition, you can still hear the Eric Peterson of it all. And the band is definitely shredding, including new drummer Chris Dovas. But the band feels to me like they’re trying to be too many things at once, and not all of their experiments pan out. Also the requisite ballad is mostly a miss for me (although it’s got a lovely solo). At the risk of sounding all “old man yells at cloud” about it, the band would do well to stick a bit more to their thrash roots.

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This post has responses:

November 2, 2025 Re: Testament — Para Bellum

I was frankly surprised by your reactions to the new album. I loved it on first listen, and that feeling hasn’t really changed after repeated listenings. I don’t care much...

November 17, 2025 Re: Re: Testament — Para Bellum

You're putting your finger on something that I have to admit has plagued me about Testament for a long, long time. I think I kinda want to hate them just...