Testament blew away their audience once again! This was my seventh time seeing this band and I will continue to see them as long as I can afford to do so. As these veteran musicians took the stage the crowd was thunderous in their love and appreciation for this group of metal gods. During the first song there was a little technical difficulty where the mic went out at the last chorus, but Chuck Billy continued to belt out the vocals and redid the chorus once the problem was fixed. We had balcony seats and were able to watch the crowd below mosh and thrash throughout. It was awesome! They played a variety of music from most of their releases and quite a few of their older fan fave songs such as “Into the Pit,” “Practice What You Preach” and “Trial by Fire.” They brought a couple of lucky fans from the VIP section onto the stage and had them help sing “Into the Pit.” It was very cool and those two were having a great time thrashing up there with the likes of Chuck Billy. This show had all the elements of a huge arena show, from a raised drum set to great light displays and a very cool backdrop.  It is such a neat experience to see professionals such as these doing shows in smaller venues. The Rave is not a tiny place, but it has that up close and personal feel that an arena show does not. Dark Roots of Earth is their newest release and needs to be included into any die hard Testament fans collection. If you have never heard of them then you need to start somewhere!