Live report TESTAMENT, OBITUARY, DESTRUCTION & NERVOSA, Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg – October 14th, 2025

Thrash metal veterans Testament have released a new album, “Para Bellum” and are now touring Europe and the UK to perform the new songs live. They are joined on this road trip by Obituary, Destruction and Nervosa.

With four bands on the schedule tonight, the show starts early. When I arrived at Grosse Freiheit 36, the doors had already opened and there was a longer queue of metalheads. This illustrates two things. Firstly, the tour package is very exciting, and secondly, it indicates Nervosa‘s status, considering they are performing at 18:30 sharp. It seems that the band has quite a solid fanbase, with people coming out early to enjoy this roaring blend of thrash and death metal. “Seed of Death” kicks off this roaring metal night, and the buzz among the fans outside the venue is reflected inside. The hall is already well filled with fans, who give the Brazilian group a warm welcome. Their set focuses on their last three albums, with “Jailbreak” being the centrepiece.

Nervosa has only 30 minutes, but they make the most of it. Massive thrash metal fills the room, peppered with death metal influences. The four-piece does a great job, with Prika Maral’s roaring voice and Helena Petyarre’s energetic guitar playing being important assets of Nervosa’s sound. It seems that the girls have gained some new fans tonight – at least, this is what the applause at the end of their show indicates.

(click on pics to enlarge)

After a short break, Destruction take over the metal baton and start with a classic. “Curse of Death” is taken from the “Eternal Devastation” album, and it’s a great way to kick off a heavy metal show. The volume seems to have shifted from ‘loud’ to ‘very loud’, and the moment “Nailed to the Cross” fills the room, everyone is on an adrenaline high. A Destruction show wouldn’t be complete without “Mad Butcher”, which is also part of tonight’s setlist. Even though the mad butcher isn’t on stage in person, it is the ferocity of the song that impresses, even after decades.

The three new songs fit perfectly into a set that also benefits from the enormous stage presence of band leader Schmier and the two guitarists. Martin Furia and Damir Eskic deliver massive riffs and bring heavy metal to life through their passionate stage acting and postures. Destruction belong to the ‘Big Teutonic Four’, and tonight’s show clearly explains why. Dedication meets experience, resulting in a vigorous 40-minute show that is greatly appreciated by the metal fans at Grosse Freiheit 36.

(click on pics to enlarge)

The changeover after the Destruction set takes a bit longer, but the highly professional crew deserves a mention for working so efficiently and in such good coordination. These guys deserve a thumbs up, especially since the facilities present some extra challenges.

At 20:15, the lights go out and Pat Travers’s “Snortin’ Whiskey” announces a group of death metal pioneers. As usual, the entire stage is covered in fog as “Redneck Stomp” marks a thrilling start. Obituary has returned to Hamburg every autumn for the last three years, and 2025 is no exception. While the setlist was dominated by the latest album, “Dying of Everything”, it is a classic album from the band that is in the spotlight tonight. “Cause of Death” celebrates its 35^th anniversary this year, and the Floridian metal force played five songs from this legendary album. The Tardy brothers, Trevor Peres, Terry Butler and Kenny Andrews never disappoint. Tonight, the five-piece from Tampa delivers a smashing death metal show that doesn’t need any gimmicks. The sheer intensity of songs such as “Body Bag” and “Cause of Death” puts a spell on the metalheads at Grosse Freiheit 36. Obituary leave no doubt that they are one of the most iconic bands in this genre, and it is their slower pace, reminiscent of the Florida swamps, that defines their brutal signature sound. Fans are excited from start to finish of the Obituary set, which ends with the mind-blowing “Slowly We Rot”.

(click on pics to enlarge)

Obituary set the bar high for Testament, who start their set with the crowd already warmed up by “Fight for Your Right” and “Run to the Hills”. Considering the launch of a new album a few weeks ago, Testament decided to play a balanced set of old and new songs. Rather than presenting a new song, the band kicks things off with “D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)” from the “The Gathering” album, followed by “WWIII”, a newer song, but not from “Para Bellum”. It takes a while before the fans hear any new material, While Testament play some older songs like “Practice What You Preach”, “Native Blood” and “First Strike is Deadly”, first, which lead to some solid headbanging and crowdsurfing.

There are two moments during the show where the energy level drops. One is the rather average “Trail of Tears”, which is clearly not one of Testament fans’ favourite songs, and the drum solo is another. It is not that it was a bad solo, and as much as I like drummers to present their skills, the solo takes away the energy, which returns with the aforementioned “First Strike is Deadly”. Still, we haven’t heard a new song, which is about to change.

“Infanticide A.I.” and “Shadow People” are two excellent tracks from the new album, and the fans’ reaction proves that they are familiar with these two songs. The two new tracks and the smashing classics are the moments tonight when the fans really go wild. Circle pits and crowdsurfers – that’s metal!

With “Return to Serenity” and “Electric Crown”, and the closer “Into the Pit”, the Bay Area metal icons placed songs at the end that all challenge your neck muscles.

Testament are renowned for being at the forefront of Bay Area thrash metal, and their new album proves that they have lost none of their fascination. Despite two weaker moments, the band delivered great thrash metal tonight, including brilliant solo parts from Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson. At the same time, Obituary’s vehemence was impressive, meaning that we were able to enjoy two legendary bands on this co-headliner tour.