Band:	Testament
Album:	Brotherhood Of The Snake
Style:	Bay Area thrash metal
Release date:	October 2016

01. Brotherhood Of The Snake
02. The Pale King
03. Stronghold
04. Seven Seals
05. Born In A Rut
06. Centuries Of Suffering
07. Black Jack
08. Neptune's Spear
09. Canna-Business
10. The Number Game

We typically associate the job of producer with the overall sound quality of an album. When things sound crisp and clean, we praise the album's "production values". However, that's not the sole role of a competent producer; if it were, then a sound engineer to mix the album would suffice. The real job these guys have is to have good taste and to help the band and their songs be the best versions of themselves. Producers help with musical structure, song selection, track list order, and, in some cases, they go as far as to change musical segments entirely.

Well, with that being said, I have to give big kudos to the production values of this album. Sure, Andy Sneap did a fantastic job with the mixing process and delivered a clear, heavy-as-balls, and solid-as-it-gets sound for the album. But the real interesting part of this album is the actual production. We are talking Testament here; this is a band that knows what it's doing, but let's face it - they are not exactly youngsters and people do eventually run out of gas. That memo, however, didn't seem to make its way to Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson, because they (being the people who know the ins and outs of Testament the best) somehow made the band sound like it was in its prime.

Brotherhood Of The Snake presents Testament doing what it is known to do best: delivering fast-paced songs with punch, perfect either to sing along to or to mosh to during their live shows (I've been there while they played some of these songs, and trust me on this one, it's something you want to experience). The performance from everyone involved is just as professional as it gets.

If there's something that kinda holds this album back, it's the fact that the songs don't really vary much, and by that I more or less mean they don't at all. There's no particularly bad song, but they tend to feel a bit samey after repeated listens; there's also the fact that the band is playing in a very comfortable zone and does very little to reinvent itself. Not that I have a lot of problems with the second part, but a little more variety would have been appreciated.

Regardless, this is a solid-as-bricks album, and it shows that the band is going just as strong as ever and adds some real bangers to the live act that I hope stay there from now on.