LIVE: TESTAMENT – Fremantle, 24 June 2025

LIVE: TESTAMENT – Fremantle, 24 June 2025
Metropolis Fremantle, Western Australia with Oceans & Omens
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Linda Dunjey

This is how to do it.

A practically packed house on a chilly Tuesday night, both the floor and mezzanine floors crammed with metalheads of all ages eager for Testament’s first visit since 2014.

After an impassioned and raucous opening slot by Oceans & Omens, dead on 9pm Beastie Boys’ Fight For Your Right to Party fills the club, then it’s time for the thrash legends to launch into Sins Of Omission, commanding attention unwaveringly for the next ninety-plus minutes.

Testament are legends, and though not recognised as part of the ‘Big Four’ of thrash, they are every bit as powerful and influential as Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. Metallica are another story, of course.

Through The Pale King, The Haunting and D.N.R. the crowd is a sea of devil horn hand signals and the roar of voices so their best to equal the metal assault as Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson trade electric licks as if in a race to see who can sprain a finger first.

Both Skolnick and bassist Steve Di Giorgio after some time away in the late 90’s and 2000’s, and this lineup – apart from drummer Chris Dovas – has been stable since 2014, and how it shows. The rhythm section are relentless, the guitarists frenzied – and out front of it is the magnetic and full throated Chuck Billy.

Native Blood – written about Billy’s native American roots – is dedicated to Australia’s indigenous people and lights the touch paper for a couple of old school crowd surfers and a fierce moshpit, before things are slowed down for Trail Of Tears and Electric Crown.

Formation of Damnation is brutally heavy, Di Giorgio’s bass solo rattles fillings, Return To Serenity shows a ballad can be heavy A.F., and More Than Meets The Eye nearly incites a riot with its football chant fuelled refrain.

Billy hopes out loud that “something happens and we get to stay in Australia another week” and as understandable a sentiment as that is, in these troubled times one should be careful what they wish for.

An encore of Into The Pit is undiluted, euphoric aggression and a helluva way to finish an epic metal night with a crescendo. Big Four be damned, this is top tier heavy metal, completely devoid of any mellowing with age.

Set List:
Practice What You Preach
Sins of Omission
The Pale King
The Haunting
Rise Up
D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
Low
Native Blood
Trail of Tears
Electric Crown
The Formation of Damnation
Souls of Black
Return to Serenity
First Strike Is Deadly
More Than Meets the Eye
Over the Wall

Into the Pit

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries