By Nicholas Kobe, Staff Writer

[Nuclear Blast; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

“Infanticide A.I.” is the first single from Testament’s upcoming fourteenth studio album, Para Bellum, and delivers a promising, politically-conscious taste of the band’s first LP in five years. 

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The lyrics on “Infanticide A.I.” use the classic thrash metal formula of ‘describing the horror of some apocalyptic threat,’ except they apply that concept to A.I. This primarily takes the form of calling out A.I. for threatening human “souls” by either physically or artistically replacing us. While Testament’s statement isn’t particularly deep, it is evocative in the visceral way that thrash metal traditionally excels in.         

Of course, another thrash metal staple is lyrics that may be a 6 on paper, but become a 9 when paired with booming vocals and hellish guitars. Testament has that in spades. Chuck Billy’s vocals are a perfect balance of deep, powerful growls and a nasally, but clear, higher end (seen more dramatically in a band like Overkill). This balance, plus modern production, makes him and the rest of the band sound great. The riffs here are really solid, if a little formulaic for thrash. They keep the blood pumping and are enhanced with more soaring melodic leads than I expected. 

This isn’t a criticism per se, as the whole song seems to be going for something more melodic; it’s something they’ve been doing pretty much their whole career, and they’re just as good at it now. The short guitar solo is wild and furious before bringing the song back into a post-solo riff I like almost as much as the main. The rhythm section is also excellent, even if bassist Steve DiGiorgio isn’t as flashy as he sometimes can be. 

My biggest lyrical criticism is that the “infanticide” aspect of the title isn’t as clearly featured in the lyrics as one might expect. “Creating children of their own control/ Machine that’s programmed to replace the soul” implies that the “infanticide” in question is A.I. threatening to take away the critical thinking of the youth, creating this “generation genocide” that Testament refers to, but it’s a bit of a stretch. 

Of course, Testament isn’t the first thrash band to marry metal’s aggressive, frantic sounds with pressing issues; it was common with bands like Megadeth, Sodom, and Testament themselves in the ’80s and early ‘90s. However, as a lot of metal bands have grown out of touch with age, the social commentary likewise hasn’t been as potent in new records from some of thrash’s legacy acts. Of course, there are plenty of new bands to fill those shoes, but it seems like for every socially-aware band, five others are using A.I. art or licking boots in some other way. 

The fact that Testament has something potent to say, packed in a solid incarnation of their classic thrash metal sound, gives me a lot of hope for Para Bellum. Considering how many of their peers are either retiring or have run out of ideas, seeing Testament keep their finger on the pulse as much as they were 30 years ago is promising.