Brotherhood of the Snake
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''Brotherhood of the Snake'' is the twelfth studio album by American
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band Testament, released on October 28, 2016. It is the band's first studio recording with bassist
Steve Di Giorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for working with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of whom he was one of the co-founders), Death (metal band), Death, Testament (band), Testament, Megade ...
since ''
First Strike Still Deadly ''First Strike Still Deadly'' is the ninth studio album by Testament, released in 2001. It consists of re-recorded songs released on ''The Legacy'' and '' The New Order'', as well as a re-recording of "Reign of Terror", which was originally on ...
'' (2001). ''Brotherhood of the Snake'' also marks Testament's fifth collaboration with
Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaime ...
, who had mixed and engineered all of their albums since '' The Gathering'' (1999) and produced ''
Dark Roots of Earth ''Dark Roots of Earth'' is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album ...
'' (2012). The album debuted at number twenty on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, making it Testament's second-highest-charting album in the US, behind ''Dark Roots of Earth'', which peaked at number twelve four years earlier.


Background and production

The possibility of an eleventh Testament studio album was first mentioned about a week before the release of ''Dark Roots of Earth'', when vocalist
Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...
stated that Testament would not take "huge gaps" between albums anymore, and would "work hard and tour for two years or so," and try to release another album when they could. Guitarist
Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...
added, "There's definitely some politics in the band now. I think if the record does good — which I think it will — it'll see Testament be doing another record. There's some people in the band that are, you know, I think aren't a hundred percent there unless, you know, it keeps going good. That's pretty extreme, but, like for me, I'm down for whatever. I started the band, I'm totally into it. This is what I do. I think, you know, if Testament sees darker days, I don't know if this lineup would stick." Testament spent most of 2012 and 2013 touring in support of ''Dark Roots of Earth'', including supporting
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and
Death Angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gone ...
on the ''
Worship Music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...
'' tour, and headlining their own U.S. tour, with support from Overkill,
Flotsam and Jetsam In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are specific kinds of shipwreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A shipwreck is defined as the r ...
and 4ARM. 2013 also saw the release of a live DVD/double album from Testament ''
Dark Roots of Thrash ''Dark Roots of Thrash'' is a double-disc live album and DVD by American thrash metal band Testament (band), Testament, released on October 15, 2013 through Nuclear Blast Records, Nuclear Blast. The performance was recorded at The Paramount Theat ...
'', which documents the band's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in
Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...
in February 2013. When asked in a September 2013 interview if Testament had any ideas for the follow-up to ''Dark Roots of Earth'', Billy stated Testament would begin writing and recording the album from January to April 2014 for release later that year. He added that the band was in the "right direction" with ''Dark Roots of Earth'', and added "I think that the old saying 'if it's not broken, don't fix it' fits, so we're probably going to stick with the same formula and idea. I think that there isn't any Testament album that sounds the same, so who knows what kind of songs we'll write next year...I don't know." However, these plans fell through, when it was announced in January 2014 that bassist
Greg Christian Gregory Christian (born April 29, 1966) is an American musician who is the former bassist for thrash metal band Testament. He left the band in 1996, but rejoined in 2004 and left again in 2014. In addition to Testament, Christian has also played ...
had left Testament for the second time, citing differences with the band and money disputes as the reasons. Christian was replaced by Di Giorgio, who was the bassist for Testament from 1998 to 2004. Asked in an April 2015 interview about Testament's plans to begin recording a new album, Peterson said that his "main goal" was to "get home
rom tour Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
in June, finish it up and get in the studio by September." Billy added that the band's goal was to have the album finished by Thanksgiving. In May 2016, Billy confirmed the title of Testament's eleventh album to be ''The Brotherhood of the Snake'', which at the time had been recorded, and he hoped for it to be completed before their UK tour in June 2016. Peterson said that the album was going to "get delivered at the end of June, and it'll be probably be delivered to the record company by the end of the summer just in time for a really big tour we're doing of Europe." When asked about the musical direction of ''Brotherhood of the Snake'', Peterson replied, "It's different. This one is more thrash. I mean, this has got some of the fastest stuff that we have ever played. Usually, we have one or two thrash songs, and then we have some mid-tempo, and then we have a slow, heavy one, and then up-tempo kind of stuff. Half of the new record is thrash, which we've never done before." He also described the album as their "kind of ''
Reign in Blood ''Reign in Blood'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings."Touring Blood", ''Decibel Magazine'', April 2008, p. 57. The album was the band's first collaboration with pro ...
'' record", a reference to
Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
's third studio album. Billy has stated that the album draws lyrical inspiration from the ancient astronaut hypothesis, namely through the ''
Ancient Aliens ''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific top ...
'' television program. Furthermore, he said the title comes from the name of an ancient secret society. On August 4, 2016, Testament began an eight-day countdown to the release of the artwork for ''Brotherhood of the Snake'', and the album's track listing was revealed later that month. In an interview published August 26, 2016, Testament singer Chuck Billy revealed that first single "Brotherhood of the Snake" would be released September 2, 2016. Testament released second single "Stronghold" October 12, 2016. The official video for the song “The Pale King” was released on October 31, 2016.


Reception

''Brotherhood of the Snake'' has received generally positive reviews from critics.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writer Thom Jurek gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, and states that it "offers an excellent sonic portrait of Testament doing what they do best -- aggressive, riff-heavy, in-your-face thrash. There is a fun concept at work here, but this is more a track-by-track listening experience that adds up to a massive whole."


Track listing


Personnel

*
Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...
– lead vocals *
Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...
– lead guitar *
Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *
Steve Di Giorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for working with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of whom he was one of the co-founders), Death (metal band), Death, Testament (band), Testament, Megade ...
– bass *
Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
– drums


Charts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brotherhood of the Snake, The Testament (band) albums 2016 albums Nuclear Blast albums