Santa Ana’s Galaxy Theatre was host to a veritable horde of metal-monger fans and bands on Saturday, March 31st, foremost of whom were venerable thrashers Testament. Fans from all over Orange County and points beyond were hot to see the intense quintet, and after a full day of almost more bands than one could shake one’s fist at, Galaxy patrons were feted and sated by the genre-defining crew from up north. Folks came from far and wide for the lick-laden affair, which featured a feisty army of amp-stompin’ rompers and rockers on two stages inside the hall, plus a courtyard full of merchandise vendors.
Coordinated by Chain Reaction Booking, the Saturday show featured about twelve thrash bands on the main stage and another ten or so on the smaller second stage. Sunday was scheduled for another full day of live music, focusing on death-metal bands instead. Saturday’s line-up included well-known So-Cal bands such as Arsis, Silent Civilian and Ankla in the big hall, while the more intimate had aspiring local bands such as Arias, Enthral, and Summer’s End. Sound separation between the two stages was surprisingly satisfactory, so that bands didn’t interfere with each other’s audio during their sets, and movement between the two areas was free and easy.
An abundance of Testament t-shirts everywhere testified to the fact that the Bay-Area boys were indeed the main draw for the event, and a post-show talk with a handful of black-shirted youngsters at the bus station revealed that they, and many of their peers, had come from as far away as San Diego and elsewhere to see Testament perform. The lads referred to their area of musical interest as “death-thrash,” which was interesting because of the fact that it has been reported that relations between the “thrash” and “death” camps aren’t always friendly. Nevertheless, these gents - Fernando, Chucky, Alex, Ernie, Roman, Martin, and Vincent – cited Testament as a primary inspiration for their own band project, called Immolated Seraphim. (See them on MySpace via “/arsenicthrash”.) The fellows said that they were truly awed by the sight and sound of the boys from the Bay, adding that they’d make the journey again in a heartbeat (parents permitting!).
Just before Testament, on came Flotsam and Jetsam, a loud lot of lads who featured the surprising addition of an electric fiddle for their opening number. They performed in a style that veered from slow churn to fast burn, from power-chord progressions to full-speed metal mania. Audience response was decent, but as soon as Flotsam and Jetsam left the stage, the chants of “Test-a-MENT!” began, holding up through a long pre-show sound check. But finally a friendly bald barker came forth to announce “Heavy metal forever!” and “You guys rule – Cheers!” – and then, into the bright lights and just-spritzed mist, out stepped Testament, strapped for action and ready to rock. Plus-size singer Chuck Billy was primed and pumped, along with guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, plus the powerful rhythm section of Greg Christian on bass and Nick Barker on drums.
The boys blazed through a hearty set of heavy-hitting favorites old and new, from “Preacher” to “The Haunting” to “Souls of Black” to the very appropriate “Into the Pit,” which was duly honored by abundant moshing and crowd-surfing. The band played till just past midnight, with the crowd eager for more, which was made plain when Chuck flat-out asked, “You want some more? Well, we’re working on a new record, is that okay?” – and the resulting roar made it plain indeed, some more was just fine with this crowd. But alas, the show couldn’t go on forever, so Testament summed up by delivering “Alone in the Dark,” followed by “Disciples,” which received a rousing response indeed. Not surprising, considering that pretty much everybody at the affair agreed that they were most eagerly awaiting the headlining set from Testament – and they were most fully gratified, for Testament rocked hard and rocked well.
