Testament, Destruction, Parabellum
- Bleeding Priest
- Apr 13
- 5 min read
UC Theatre
Berkeley, CA
April 10, 2026
Night #2 of the trifecta of shows I went to this particular week/weekend was Testament / Destruction / Parabellum at The UC Theatre in Berkeley. Between the spots I had on the list and a friend having extra tickets himself I had to corral 5 semi-wasted Metalheads before going in. Never again!
Parabellum had already started when we finally entered the theatre. There’s a lot of hype following these guys. But unlike a lot of bands that get so much attention from basically knowing the “right” people these kids have the skills, chops and tunes to back it up. They’ve definitely improved by leaps and bounds since the Nefarious gig at the DNA and that was only 3 months ago!
I’m guessing their recent studio time with Gary Holt rubbed off on them. They’ve got the momentum for sure. My money’s still on Trencher being the first new Thrash band from The Bay to break out but we shall see. We have two great new bands that are representing The Bay proper. Parabellum had a strong contingent of fans at the show and their energy was through the roof. The sound wasn’t so great but it didn’t take away at all from their performance and desired effect. Parabellum obviously have a bright future ahead.
I don’t think I’ve missed a Bay Area Destruction gig since their show at the Maritime Hall in 1999, maybe 2000. My love for these dudes is giant. Needless to say they were the band I was most excited to see this night for sure.
They opened with “Curse The Gods”, duh! What other song in their catalog is a better opener? And that set the tone for what would be a Teutonic Thrash Tour De Force. It was pretty much a perfect setlist with highlights being “Deathtrap”, “Mad Butcher” and “Bestial Invasion”.
But the absolute highlight was the RIPPING!!!! instrumental “Thrash Attack”. It’s so fucking cool they still bust this song out from time to time. It’s a top 5 Destruction tune for me. Ahh the instrumental…a lost art form in the world of Metal. Especially in Thrash nowadays which is quite odd being that it was a standard back in the day. Most Thrash bands worth a drop of beer have an instrumental…usually within their first three albums. I said MOST!
Old Grandad had a few instrumentals but they were more like acid jams that weren’t super constructed songs. I’m dying to record a real Thrash instrumental. Between Death Angel and Nefarious it’s bound to happen sooner or later right? FUCK THAT! I’m making it happen. Mark my words….one of, if not both of those bands will have an instrumental on their next album. You heard it here first folks.
What show were we talking about? Oh right, DESTRUCTION! Two other songs in their set worth mentioning are the duo of tunes (“Nailed To The Cross” and “Thrash Til Death”) off of quite frankly their second best (1 being Eternal Devastation and 3 being Infernal Overkill) album released, The Antichrist. That album just came out at the right time and played a huge, HUGE part in the Thrash Metal revitalization of the early 2000’s. Along with Exodus’s Tempo Of The Damned. This is also the album when I got to know Destruction personally and eventually call them friends.
Vicious Rumors did like a week and a half tour with Destruction in 2002 in Europe. We shared a bus and hit it off immediately. Schmier and I have remained great friends ever since. I can’t forget Mike either. I miss that dude. He’s the reason why Destruction stand out from the herd. Most GOOD Metal guitarists I know love Destruction and rightfully so. Mike is in my top 10 favorite guitarists of all time. I hope he’s doing well wherever he is.
So now we get to the band of the night Testament!! As soon as they started I was blown away by their stage. Holy shit did they put some money into the production and you can bet your ass it looked AWESOME!! I mean, even if I had never heard a single one of their songs and wasn’t even that interested in Metal in general I’d still have stayed and watched the show. It was that fucking spectacular. It rivaled Kreator’s inflatable “Demon”. Testament always takes care to have a cool looking stage but this one’s the top of the heap. They’re going to be hard pressed to outdo it.
The next thing that needs to be addressed immediately is their current drummer, Chris Dovas. This dude can fucking play. Like, he’s the best drummer they’ve ever had. Which seems an impossible feat. considering the list of former drummers Testament boasts. I mean they’ve exhausted the pool of next level, iconic Thrash drummers. They chose wisely going with a virtual unknown. He sounds great on the album but hearing him play live is a whole other animal. He goes from Lombardo songs to Hoglan songs to Tempesta songs effortlessly. Adding his own flair all the while. And the new songs with all the blast beats? Forget about it. Dude wins.
Testament’s set list was a lot cooler than usual as well with a bunch of surprises such as Demonic’s “John Doe”. That’s an album that deserves more love honestly. The Ritual’s “So Many Lies” and my favorite song of the night, Practice What You Preach’s “The Ballad”. That’s riight…THE BALLAD!!
I’ve always loved this song. I love everything about it but the title. I’m sure I saw Testament play it live back in the day but I don’t recall actually. In any case, when they played it at this show they had my complete and full attention. It sounded fantastic. Skolnick’s solo in the beginning gives me the chills. It’s just a perfectly crafted tune that should stay in their set for a while. It was flashback city hearing it again.
Once again Testament have proven why they’re the biggest Thrash band below “the big 4”. Most Thrash bands put on a show… Testament put on a concert.
–Bleeding Priest
