Live report TESTAMENT & VOIVOD, Markthalle, Hamburg – June 13th, 2023

Under the banner of ‘Titans of Creation’ two thrash metal veteran bands, Testament and Voivod, make a stop in Hamburg. As you surely know, Exodus should also have been part of the tour, but due to family circumstances on guitarist Gary Holt’s side, the band was forced to cancel their participation in this European tour. So now it’s up to Testament and Voivod to offer the fans a headbanging Tuesday.

It is a warm summer day in Hamburg and therefore it is not surprising that many fans enjoy the summery evening outside with a cold beer until shortly before the show starts. But when the lights in the room are turned off at 19:00 sharp, the scenario changes abruptly and the room is packed. Already before the show many fans with Voivod shirts could be spotted and the Canadians are welcomed warmly and loudly by the crowd.

With ‘Killing Technology’ and ‘Obsolete Being’ the quartet starts their set with two great song; one from the early days and a newer tune with a lot of firepower. Generally it has to be said that the setlist is very balanced and doesn’t leave out any of the various eras of the band. This is also very understandable, considering that the Canadian metal trailblazers are already 40 years in business. Frontman Snake and the band also appreciate this a lot, as it is the fans allowoing the band to do what they love the most for four decades; make music they love.

Of course, at a show like this, legendary Voivod guitarist Piggy cannot be forgotten, is in everybody mind, and after ‘Rise’ is played, “Piggy” chants resound loudly through the Markthalle. Also Jason Newsted will not be forgotten tonight and his time with Voivod was mentioned in the context of ‘Rebel Robot’ taken from the ‘Voivod’ album where he was part of.

Voivod show in 60 minutes why they belong to the greats in sci-fi thrash metal and that Chewy gives the fans a high-five from the pit at the end of the set is creditable and shows the band’s joy of playing in front of enthusiastic fans.

After a short break of 30 minutes Testament enter the stage. The Bay Area legends start right away with ‘Rise Up’ and ‘The New Order’ while the temperatures in the Markthalle rise up from very warm to sauna hot by the minute.

The quintet plays a set that includes all eras of the band. With ‘Children of the Next Level’ and ‘Night of the Witch’ the guys perform two songs from the newest release, and it is up to Eric Peterson to add the witchy vocals to the chorus of the latter. And the ones having seen Testament the last time in Hamburg know, that Chuck Billy asked for a promise – ‘Practice What You Preach’. And while performing this bone crushing anthem tonight, the crowd delivered which was rated with a ‘10’ by drummer Chris Dovas.

The vibe at Markthalle is really good tonight, also reflected by some ohohoh-sing-alongs during ‘More Than Meets the Eye’. And there is a little twist to the setlist too. ‘Electric Crown’ makes it on the setlist tonight which was a spontaneous decision by the band. After having played the song during the soundcheck, the guys took the decision to add it to tonight’s show. What a good decision and also it means that the set ends tonight with ‘Alone in the Dark’ instead of the usually played ‘Disciples of the Watch’. ‘Alone in the Dark’ is a great closer of a superb show with fans singing along the chorus loudly.

One just could imagine how stellar the evening could have been with Exodus being part of this package too. However, Testament and Voivod did their best to create a metallic and heavy evening for fans of oldschool thrash metal and they succeeded in this mission. Everybody for sure had some fun tonight.