GIG REVIEW: Testament @ UEA, Norwich

Tonight is the second major Metal gig in Norwich this year (after Cannibal Corpse / TBDM) and a night I have been looking forward to for a while!

First up Vader, Polish Death Metal legends play a blindingly brutal set of old and new material alike. There is no mosh pit which surprised me but hey, people still seemed to be enjoying their set and I knew for sure I was! First time seeing this band and it left me a good impression! -7/10

Second we have Annihilator, a band I remember from their Bloodstock 2016 set are flawless live. I had remembered correctly, they seemed to be having fun on stage, played perfectly, engaged with the crowd and just put on a killer classic Heavy Metal show! -8/10

Finally Testament hit the stage, which is geared out with artwork backdrops, pentagrams and skulls! They open with some newer material from the last couple albums, but the set is nicely varied from throughout the career. There was a fairly decent mosh pit for a Tuesday night in Norwich which was fun! Each member of the band did a solo during the set which was pretty cool, something you don’t see too often these days. Chuck’s vocals were brutal, the dual guitars were blistering, Steve Di Giogio’s bass was technically astounding as ever and Mr Atomic Clock Gene Hoglan just blasts through everything with ease. A great set, much like their set I saw (like Annihilator) at Bloodstock 2016. -8/10

Overall an awesome night and I was lucky enough to catch plectrums from Testament and Vader which was a nice touch!