I didn’t expect a new Testament album on my list for “Best of 2025,” but Para Bellum – the band’s first release with new drummer Chris Dovas – is easily within the top five.
From start to finish, Para Bellum is a relentless assault on the senses that never lets up. “For the Love of Pain” introduces the world to the band’s said latest member appropriately, while “Infanticide A.I.,” “Shadow People,” and “Witch Hunt” all keep the momentum going.
But there’s a couple stand outs here that need to be mentioned; “Havana Syndrome” is pure metal greatness, while “Meant to Be” is epic in all of its seven-plus minute glory. Metal fans rejoice, Testament are keeping the flames lit here indeed.
Up until this past week, Testament were still one of the few remaining early/OG thrash bands I was waiting to cross off my list to see. Little did I know my son/Photographer Jacob and I would essentially be spending two back-to-back days with the band in Orlando, first at a meet and greet/Q & A event at Park Ave CDs on Monday, October 14, then followed by watching the band perform at the Hard Rock Live with Kreator and Possessed (two other bands I’ve also been waiting many years to see) on Tuesday, October 15.
Monday night’s said event, where the band answered questions in an interview-type setting (as well as several questions from fans in attendance) before signing coffee cans of their newly-released Brazen coffee from Concept Cafe Coffee among other items (I personally had a can of it and a copy of 1992’s The Ritual album signed). There was even a brief pumpkin-carving contest, in which one fan in attendance took home the win for their Testament-themed submission.
Father and son writer/photographer duo Jesse Striewski (left) and Jacob Striewski with Testament’s (from left to right) Chris Dovas, Alex Skolnick, and Chuck Billy at Park Ave CDs in Orlando, FL on Monday, October 14.
As if the Park Ave CDs event was not enough to quench just about any fans’ thirst, the group were primed to hit the stage the following night at Hard Rock Orlando, and Rewind It were set to cover the show from start to finish with a photo pass. Unfortunately though it was still not meant to be to see death metal pioneers Possessed, whose set we missed entirely thanks to the traffic endured along the way (although a brief encounter with one of the younger members of the band did present itself for Jacob while on the other sides of the barricades prepping to shoot).
By the time we actually arrived, German metal masters Kreator – who ironically we had only caught the tail end of their set the last time we came across them at 2023’s Welcome to Rockville festival – were just kicking things off with (after “Run to the Hills” and “Sergio Corbucci is Dead” as brief intros for good measure) “Hate Uber Allies,” “Phobia,” and “Enemy of God.”
I was taken back by the amount of energy on full display by both band and audience alike (at one point the band had the crowd “open the pit” for one of the most intense moshing sessions I’ve ever witnessed to date) as they plowed through more numbers in the form of “666 – World Divided,” “Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite),” “Hail to the Hordes,” “Betrayer,” and “Satan is Real.”
Kreator give it their menacing all on stage at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL last Tuesday, October 15 (photo by Jacob Striewski).
An audio recording of “Mars Mantra” lead to a couple of demonic looking figures – reminiscent of something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – walking out on stage to segue the group into “Phantom Antichrist,” “Strongest of the Strong,” and “Terrible Certainty.” Another brief intermission lead to an encore featuring “Violent Revolution” and “Pleasure to Kill” prior to the metal legends taking their final bow and exiting the stage.
And speaking of metal legends, Testament finally made their way onto stage after the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right” curiously acted as their intro. “Eerie Inhabitants,” “The New Order,” and “Apocalyptic City” started their set off promisingly enough, though the enthusiasm from the crowd actually seemed to feel greater during Kreator’s set by this point in all honesty.
Testament frontman Chuck Billy giving it his all on stage at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL on Tuesday, October 15 (photo by Jacob Striewski).
More old and new favorites alike followed in the forms of “Raging Waters,” “The Preacher,” and “Trial By Fire” before a drum solo by admirable newcomer Chris Dovas, which then steered the band towards the likes of “First Strike is Deadly,” “A Day of Reckoning,” “Do or Die,” and “C.O.T.L.O.D.,” which all kept the momentum going.
Some of the best moments were saved for last as “Disciples of the Watch,” “Over the Wall,” and “Into the Pit” ended the already epic night on an epic high note. On a personal side note, one of the highlights during the entire two-night ordeal came via seeing/meeting former Death bassist Steve DiGiorgio, a local legend in his on right, as a member of Testament.
Testament have honestly never been at the top of the list for me as far as bay area thrash bands from the early ’80s (that also includes the likes of Metallica and Exodus) go, but I still maintain a certain level of respect/appreciation for them. On their thirteenth studio effort, they’ve come one step closer to finally winning me over completely.
Sure, there’s some run-of-the-mill, generic stuff (“WWIII” and “Children of the Next Level” come to mind, although the latter does have a fairly entertaining, animated music video that goes along with it), but there’s still more than enough heavy, epic riffs to pacify the average headbanger. Tracks like “Night of the Witch” and “Dream Deceiver” (my personal favorite) pack enough punch, and should fit nicely in future set lists (whenever that may finally be).
Overall, Titans of Creation isn’t bad listening material for old-schoolers looking to kick back with a few cold ones on a Friday night, but not a whole lot more than that.
The last time I caught former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach live, he was the supporting act for Guns N’ Roses back in 2006. Last Friday night’s show at The Plaza Live in Orlando somewhat paled in comparison to that of the larger, arena-sized production I saw him on years earlier. But despite this, those in attendance seemed to at the very least be having a hell of a time.
Young Canadians One Bad Son kicked off the night, ushering themselves onstage with the theme from “Rocky” before ripping into their set. Their style ranged from traditional heavy metal (“Scarecrows,” “Lost All Control”), to mainstream mediocrity (“It Ain’t Right”). Despite some of the most awkward silence I’ve ever witnessed at a live show in between songs, the band truly got it right towards the end of their set with a cover of the Talking Head’s “Psycho Killer.”
Prong/Madonna (yes, you read that right) guitarist Monte Pittman (who the band gets its namesake from) was up next. It wasn’t until about halfway through their set I realized Pittman had devised a super-group of sorts, featuring Holy Grail bassist Eli Santana, as well as former Slayer/Testament drummer John Dette.
Pittman offered a wide range of various rock genres; from metal numbers worth banging your head to (“Changing of the Guard,” “Everything Undone,” “Skeleton Key,” etc..) to even acoustic numbers like “Depth of Perception.” All in all, Pittman’s set was one of the surprising highlights of the evening.
Finally, former (though not “original” – die hard fans will remember that title actually belongs to Matt Fallon) voice of Skid Row, Sebastian Bach, took stage some time after the 11 o’clock hour, appropriately kicking off his set with one from his ex-band’s glory days, “Slave to the Grind.”
The current lineup Bach has assembled for his band offers its own rock royalty as well, with Spread Eagle/UFO bassist Rob De Luca and Riot/Fates Warning drummer Bobby Jarzombek rounding out the rhythm section. Newcomer Brent Woods handled guitar duties admirably (though at one point he threw handfuls of guitar picks into the crowd in what appeared to be a fit of anger).
More tracks from both his work with Skid Row, as well as his solo catalog, quickly followed, including “Piece of Me,” “Dance on Your Grave,” “18 and Life,” “Here I Am,” and “The Threat” (a personal favorite of mine that I don’t recall him playing the last time I saw him, and was definitely not expecting to hear this time around, either!) before getting into the “big guns” (literally).
Once Bach and his band went into the massive 1989 hit “I Remember You,” fans were screaming for more. Which they quickly received, as he then broke out with a couple more from Skid Row’s debut album in the form of “Big Guns” and “Sweet Little Sister.” Bach somewhat lost the crowd for a second with a less-than-stellar joke (the punchline, “Motordead,” should give you an idea of what it entailed) before introducing the song “All My Friends Are Dead.”
Thankfully he was able to recover with the hard-hitting “American Metalhead” before lashing out some more classic Skid Row cuts in the form of “Monkey Business” (in which the band briefly segued into a nice cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” mid-way through), “Rattlesnake Shake,” and the classic anthem “Youth Gone Wild,” which would have made for more than a perfect ending to the night. But Bach hit the already-exhausted crowd with one last solo song (which the name of completely escapes me at the moment) before finally calling it a night.
Unfortunately this time around any and all material from Skid Row’s Subhuman Race album was completely omitted from his set list (if memory serves me right, he at least played “Breakin’ Down” that first time I caught him back in ’06). Even so, I’m glad to see he’s still out there giving it his all, night after night.
Bassist Eli Santana (also of Holy Grail) opening the show on stage with Monte Pittman.
