Live Review: Testament - Academy, Manchester
11th October 2025
Support: Obituary, Destruction, Nervosa
Words: Matthew Williams
Photos: Tom Atkin
Having had the pleasure of witnessing the first night of the UK leg of the Thrash of the Titans tour in Bristol earlier in the week I was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat, at the prospect of seeing all four bands again in Manchester. The Manchester gig coincided with the release of Testament’s latest album “Para Bellum” and I was hoping that we might get another new track tonight.
With a mix of Greek and Brazilian members, thrashers Nervosa were given the task of getting everything started. Having taken the place of Goatwhore, it was a big task, but they are a slick outfit, with cracking drumbeats from Gabriela Abud, who said she wanted to start drumming after seeing Joey Jordison drumming upside down. In guitarist Helena Kotina, they have an aggressive guitar player, who looks at ease on stage sharing axe duties with founding member Prika Amaral, accompanied in the rhythm section by bassist Hel Pyre.
They have a twenty five minute set and rip through the songs at a rapid pace, getting the crowd properly warmed up and have an array of songs starting off with “Seed of Death”. As the guitarists face off, it's a blistering track to begin with before they scream into "Behind the Wall". It's got a furious riff from Kotina, whose fingers are a blur, whilst bassist Pyre is the perfect picture of serene and calm. Amaral queries if everything is ok with her guitar before explaining that the next song, "Kill the Silence" is about all those people who have been physically and mentally abused.
"Physical Chaos" is a belter of a track, which sounds great and has lovely, controlled solos. "This next song is very fast" Amaral says in a soft tone before she screams out "Venomous" and she's right, it is very fast. " This is dedicated to all you metalheads, Jailbreak" and with lots of whammy bar and double kick bass, they end with big cheers from the crowd. "We are super happy to be here, but time is short, and this is our last song. We will be back, so look out for some big news soon" as they finish off a storming set with the excellent "Endless Ambition". They all face the drums with their instruments held high to take in the applause.
A quick change sees the German thrash legends Destruction take to the Academy stage, ready to pulverise all before them. They don't take any prisoners as they launch into "Curse the Gods" as smoke fills the stage, but it's the presence of legendary frontman Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer that dominates proceedings. "Manchester it's been many years " as they launch into the brutal beautiful "Nailed to the Cross " which is fast as fuck and sees the first crowd surfers emerge.
They are clearly on fine form after a few shows as Schmier dedicates the next song "Scumbag Human Race" to the assholes of the world, of which, in his words, “there are plenty right now”. The solos from Damir Eskic and Martin Furia are something to behold and when they take us back to the 1980's for the classic "Mad Butcher" the crowd are mesmerised. It's another staple thrash song and epitomises what the band is all about, heavy, savage and merciless.
With Randy Black hitting that snare with metronomic accuracy and aggression, they treat us to “No Kings, No Masters" off their latest album “Birth of Malice, which will surely become another classic from the Teutonic masters, before going back in years for "Thrash til Death". Schmier addresses the audience, “This is the best crowd and best show so far on this tour” which hurts a little after Bristol, however, I got over it quickly, as it was time for the quintessential Destruction song, the anthemic "Bestial Invasion" which sounded unparalleled. They end with saying " it's been a pleasure being here in Manchester" before rounding off with "Destruction" which sees the pit going wild and their set finish on a high.
Judging by the amount of Obituary t-shirts in the crowd, I'm assuming that most are here to see the Florida death metal legends as they perform songs from their classic 1990 album, "Cause of Death”. As usual they start with the majestic "Redneck Stomp" and it begs the question, is there a better opening song in metal that is played consistently by a band? If there is, I'm yet to witness it. The main man John Tardy joins the proceedings to a rapturous applause as "Sentence Day" starts. His voice is killer, the overall sound is amazing and they don’t pause, heading straight into "A Lesson in Vengeance" as Tardy marauds across the stage.
The solos are immense from Ken Andrews and with the stage in darkness, Tardy bellows out "Alright Manchester, this is off the new record and it's called The Wrong Time" as a roadie joins drummer Donald Tardy for a few thumps of the floor tom. It's another example of how, after so many years, they are still the best death metal band around.
In his trademark long sleeved shirt and camo shorts, Tardy owns the stage and as the backdrop changes to reveal the album cover from "Cause of Death" it's greeted by huge cheers as this is what the crowd have come for. "Infected" pierces the air, slow and painfully sinister is a perfect example of the genre, and then chaos ensues. Smoke fills the stage for the epic "Body Bag" with flashing lights they play "Dying" to insane levels before the stormy introduction summons forth the monstrous title track, "Cause of Death". The crowd are being whipped up into a frenzy by Tardy as he informs us that "this is an old song by Celtic Frost" as if we needed reminding.
They have unleashed merry hell in Manchester tonight, with "Chopped in Half" seeing crowd surfers galore as they are treated to a spectacle like no other. "Turned inside Out" is followed by "I'm in Pain" before the final epic song, which is introduced by the immortal words of "this is the title track off our very first record" and the audience erupts as "Slowly we Rot" shakes the foundations of not only the venue, but all of Manchester. With an inflatable gator being chucked into the crowd it finishes with Donald standing aloft his drum kit milking in the applause that he and the rest of the band, richly deserves. And I need to say well done to teenager Jacob, who told me that he had crowd surfed for the very first-time during Obituary. Oh, I remember that joy very clearly.
Now it was time for co-headliners Testament, whose new album was out on the same day. It’s a modern-day thrash masterpiece and demonstrates that they are aging like a fine wine. With The Beastie Boys “Fight for your Right” blasting out of the PA, the red lights appear, and new drummer Chris Dovas steps up, the are greeted like returning Olympic gold medallists.
They blast into D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate) with master of ceremonies Chuck Billy prowling the stage looking fitter and healthier. With no pause, “WWIII” is up next and the inevitable crowd surfers begin. For some reason bassist Steve Di Giorgio is up on the raised platform hitting the cymbals, before Billy speaks, “Oh yeah, how we feeling motherfuckers? Ok, we’ve been told that they count the number of stage divers here, so we’ve got to set a record tonight” and they begin that quest with my favourite Testament song, “Practice what you Preach” as I sing my heart out, very loudly!!! With Skolnick and Peterson, they have, in my opinion, the best guitar duo in metal, and it shows tonight. With “Sins of Omission” following, Billy tells us that “it’s good to be back” and we are all “our indigenous people” as they race into “Native Blood”.
Then comes the first of two ballads, “Trail of Tears” which heralds a few cameras, and we get five sporadic pyros at the front, with Billy stood in between them. “Low” and the epic “More Than Meets the Eye” follow with the backing vocals adding more depth to the words. “I want to thank you all for coming out tonight to support us and the other bands on the Thrash of the Titans tour, we really appreciate it”
We get a drum solo from Dovas, who has added something new and fresh to their dynamic sound. His drumming is inspired tonight and is pushing the band to new, higher levels, with the “First Strike is Deadly” sounding better than ever. “It’s a special day for us, as our new record Para Bellum is out today, so check it out” they share a shot each on stage, and they play the first of two new songs, “Infanticide A.I.” and the guitars from Skolnick and Peterson, are on fire, as they go directly into another new one, “Shadow People”.
With an energetic Billy, the new songs go down well, and when he asks for “a nice mellow circle pit” the pyros ignite again for ballad number two, “Return to Serenity”. There was no blow up inflatable at the back of the stage unlike Bristol, but with “50 people needed to break the record” it’s time for the wonderful “Electric Crown” which was cut near the end due to a medical emergency, which thankfully wasn’t too serious, But, as Billy said, “it’s important that we all help each other out, as they play final track, the imperious “Into the Pit” which sees more crowd surfers than ever and brings an end to a stellar night of thrash and death metal from some of the best bands in the business.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
