TESTAMENT + Unearth @ Metropolis

By Christine Lariviere - The Lonesome Strangers - 05/21/2009

On May 21st, seasoned metal veterans Testament played to a packed crowd at Metropolis, with openers Unearth. Watching a band with such a massive and age-diverse fan-base could only be compared to being devoured by a giant whale.  In the belly of the pit, I weathered a sea of sloshing and moshing, horn-bearing metal fans.  It was a rocky ride, and I was tossed about relentlessly amongst wave after wave of crowd-surfing, moshing, diving, spinning, kicking, punching, pushing, circling, and any other kind of enthused metal outburst.  Yet I survived to tell the tale, like some old, half-mad sailor too sun-drunk and dry-mouthed to properly convey a story.  However, I’ll try.

While waiting for the show to begin, Metropolis’ speakers began booming out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”  This song reminds me of two things. One, the season finale of The Sopranos, which I was NOT disappointed by, and two, riding in a car in a small, Italian town called Ripi.  Vincenzo (of the family I stayed with) only kept a Journey tape in his car, which is what I listened to repeatedly, as he drove through lush mountainsides, and through the town’s dusty markets and cobbled stone.  But I digress.  While this song is obviously near and dear to me, the fans at Metropolis did not seem to take as kindly to it, flooding the venue with “Boos.”

Boston’s Unearth opened the show with an instantly intense set, yelling, “Let’s get fuckin crazy,” and releasing a flurry of double-kick drumming so thunderous it might have made the Norse god Thor jealous.

The band was promoting their fourth studio album, The March, which was released on my birthday, October 14th of last year.  The album is conceptual, exploring the evil and hopeful aspects of human nature.  They played several songs featured on The March, including “Crow Killer” and “We Are Not Anonymous.”  Unearth also payed homage to headliners Testament by dedicating a song to them, reminding the audience of the band’s twenty plus years of experience. They closed their set with “Black Hearts Now Reign,” a hit off their celebrated 2004 album, The Oncoming Storm.

During the break, I could not help but notice a few bewildered stares coming my way.  It was at that point that I looked down and realized that I, foolishly, was wearing a red and white striped t-shirt.  Little had I known that for a great portion of the show, people had surely been playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with me, as I was surrounded only by black shirts, and maybe a few dark grey ones.  This was a tad embarassing, to say the least.  Again, I digress.

Soon enough Testament’s stage backdrop was set up.  It bore an image that was a sort of Romantic-style painting, depicting angels bearing swords.  It’s easy to parallel images of angels and their swords with musicians and their instruments. At least, it’s easy to do at a metal show.  Musicians like Testament take the stage as though it were a battle ground, and mercilessly give it everything they’ve got.  This is especially impressive considering the fact they’ve been around since before I was born.

The California based band, is promoting, The Formation of Damnation, their ninth studio album, which was released April 29, 2008.  They played many crowd favroites, including “Over the Wall” and “Absence of Light” as well as many songs off their new album, such as, “The Formation of Damnation,” and “More Than Meets The Eye.” 

Testament’s set was solid.  Chuck Billy’s vocals boomed out from under his full-head of long, curly hair, and Alex Skolnick artfully made his golden guitar wail along.  It was the kind of tight set that one could only expect from a band thats been around since 1983.  However, as I mentioned earlier, what surprised me was the constant level of energy and enthusiasm for their music that this band has maintained.  A real testament to their character (sorry, I’ve been pun-crazy lately). 

Tune into The Lonesome Strangers with Christine every Sunday from 4PM – 6PM