Testament, Onslaught and Warbringer at Glasgow Garage

Testament, Onslaught and Warbringer - Glasgow Garage, Tuesday July 21st 2009

ome things in life are indisputable: the sky is blue, the earth is round and a good thrash bill will always go down a storm in the city of Glasgow. Despite starting ten minutes after opening time, a well packed venue and very warm reception greets Warbringer. Visibly elated by the crowd, the Californian thrash revivalists provide a perfect warm-up for the devoted bangers in the pit.

Bristol’s Onslaught then proceed to kick everything up a notch or ten. Clearly a much-beloved band within the Glasgow thrash scene, it’s a shame that their otherwise crushing set is a bit too short due to the 10PM curfew. Highlights include the opening salvo of ‘Killing Peace’ plus the timeless and anthemic ‘Power From Hell’.

No disrespect to Anthrax, but is this reviewer alone in thinking Testament are musically worthier of belonging among the thrash genre’s legendary “big four”? Possibly not judging by the response welcoming these legends as they dive straight into ‘The Preacher’ and then utterly destroy for the next 70 minutes. Classics like ‘Over The Wall’ and latter-day gems such as ‘D.N.R.’ are fired from the stage like precision-guided missiles; each causing maximum carnage on the dance floor. It’s hard to find suitable adjectives to describe the sheer intensity of this gig or how on-form Testament are. Ending with the title track from the excellent ‘Formation of Damnation’ album, the band leave a venue and crowd so drenched in sweat it’s amazing we’re not paddling our way to the exit. Testament are brilliant live, now that’s fucking indisputable.

Article by Gordon Jeans