Para Bellum

I've been listening to this album for a while now and I can't really get into it. This sounds like Testament at times, but they throw in a lot of stuff (I won't go as far as to say, "everything but the kitchen sink") and the album sounds disjointed. You get some of the signature vocals, but also some that are more akin to death/thrash, which can be off-putting to some who are into the cleaner side of thrash that Testament usually operates in. Not the first time they've done this, but from memory I think this is the album they've used them the most (keep in mind, I said "from memory" ;)). At times I felt like I was listening to some '90s experimentation, at times it was a bit of a trip to the '80s, like on the ballad "Meant to Be," which is probably my favourite song here (Testament are good at ballads; change my mind), and then you have some more modern thrash closer to their more recent output. There's some good riffage here and there and the guitars shine the most in the speedier passages. It's not a great album but it has its moments. That said, in the end, once it's over I can't say I remember any of it, so Para Bellum won't be an album that comes to mind when I have a hankering for some Testament.