Testimony of Apocalypse combine progressive, doom, thrash, and death metal in unexpected ways leading the listener on a heavy, crushing journey that mirrors the experience of struggle, surrender, and redemption.
Testimony of Apocalypse formed in 2021 and released their debut album Escape the Judgement in 2022,which featured Michael Torone (Sacrement) on vocals. A year later the band release their follow-up, The Offering, which saw the band incorporate 10 different guest vocalists. For Agony in the Garden, the band has enlisted Derek Corzine (Blood Thirsty, Burial Extraction, Bloodline Severed) to handle bass and vocal duties and have brought in Cameron Nealey and Ryan Roebuck to provide lead guitar on the tracks. The album was self-produced with vocalist/bassist Derek Corzine handling the mixing at Corzine Studios and Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound taking the mastering duties. While I usually don’t mention artwork much, the portrait of Jesus on the cover by Seth Metoyer (Metoyer Media) is striking and a perfect complement to the music and themes. According to the band, Agony in the Garden was chosen as the heart of the album as it captures one of the most human and divine moments in scripture where Jesus in the Garden of Gethsesmane faced sorrow, betrayal and the crushing weight of what was to come but ‘chose the path of sacrifice, with love beyond compare.’ As such, the album mirrors that journey: the heaviness of struggle, the honesty of prayer, and ultimately, the hope and victory found in surrender to God’s purpose.
In all honesty, on first listen, I wasn’t exactly sure what the vision was for the album with it’s combination of progressive, death, thrash, and doom elements, often within the same track, but on each successive listen it became more and more cohesive and the combinations worked. I guess that’s a long way of saying that the album requires an open mind and deserves a time investment. Production, mixing and mastering are very well done, allowing every instrument to be heard and blending the various vocal styles well.
I found it interesting how the Agony in the Garden theme played out on the album, as it was not what I expected seeing parts I, II, and III. From a subject matter perspective, part I, “Innocence Lost”, focuses on the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, while part II, “To Face the Coming Storm”, focuses on Jesus struggling with his destiny and mission through prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, while part III, “Lost to the Flame” is focused on the rebellion in heaven led by Lucifer and him being cast out of heaven. While I went in expecting the different parts to flow, they are different musically as they are in subject.
“Innocence Lost (Agony in the Garden I)” opens up with a somewhat quiet feel and some whispered vocals that shift to clean singing and then alternating those with deep guttural growls as the song depicts the temptation and fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The song features some good starts and stops and shifting from a faster tempo back to the original slower one. Paul Graham’s drum work is somewhat understated in this track but very important to the overall sound. Cameron Nealey adds some good guitar work and this will be consistent through the album. The deep guttural growl blending into a higher pitched black metal-like shriek end the song well.
“Born Not of Blood” has a similar feel and high level structure with multiple vocal styles. Brining in Derek Corzine has given the album a more consistent feel that “The Offering” which featured 10 or so guest vocalists. Some very crunchy and doomy riffs drive much of the song and even underlie the guitar solo from Cameron Nealey. The song itself is on the role of Jesus in creation and in saving the world from sin and directly quotes scripture in some parts providing that authority. The combination of the deep guttural vocals in an almost duet at times with the shrieked vocals is just cool.
“I Surrender” and “Refraction close out the first part of the album before the second “Agony” song. “I Surrender” has some great guitar work in the beginning and a driving, angry riff that works well with the guttural vocals describing falling short and putting faith in oneself and contrast great with the clean vocals of recognition, “Of course I fail, I fall short, putting faith in myself, setting up the guttural vocals trading off with the shrieking vocals calling for the Holy Spirit to give guidance and the surrender to God’s love, breaking the shackles of sin. Powerfully done. “Refraction” on the other hand begins with a slower heavy dirge like riff and lyrically somewhat follows what happens after “I Surrender”. Driving riffs and drum work keep the song moving through multiple tempo changes.
“To Face the Coming Storm (Agony in the Garden part II)” makes use of some of the same elements as Agony part I with whispered vocals, moving to clean, to guttural. The refrain having the voice of Jesus being clean vocals while the descriptors being guttural or shrieked is especially effective and conveys the emotion in the scene very well.
“Cross the River” starts out with some lead guitar lines over a pummeling riff until the clean vocals come in urging the listener to “let go of the hurt that binds you…” Deep guttural growls urge the listener to “take the first step to freedom, unload your burdens on Him…” Slower almost sludgy riffs give way to clean brighter lines and return to heavier, pummeling riffs as the song progresses. The slower, near breakdown section after Ryan Roebuck’s first guitar solo is especially hard hitting and a good addition. I will say “To Say Farewell” opens up very much the first track, so much so that I had to back and check that they weren’t a part I/II piece. The brief moments of silence within the song between riffs is an excellent part of the song and adds to the overall impact even as brief as they are.
The album closes with “Lost to the Flame (Agony in the Garden III)” and describes Lucifer’s rebelling and his expulsion from heaven as well as his fate, “His kingdom in ashes, lost to the flame”. Given the topic, the somewhat chaotic opening and fast, thrash-like riff, makes sense, Deep guttural growls and higher pitch shrieks fittingly trade off vocals in this song.
Testimony of Apocalypse have produced one of the top releases of 2025 even though it does require some dedication and an open mind on the part of the listener. The blend of musical styles and vocals on the songs work well, give the listener a heavy experience, and showcase the quality of the songwriting. From a topic perspective and lyrically, the album pulls lines straight from Bible passages and crafts them into compelling stories as they were originally written but also uses them to highlight the struggles we all face with betrayal, sorrow, and fear and how through prayer we have hope, redemption, and ultimately peace.
Rating: 9/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Innocence Lost (Agony in the Garden I)
- Born Not of Blood
- I Surrender
- Refraction
- To Face the Coming Storm (Agony in the Garden II)
- Lost Species on the Earth
- Cross the River
- Settle Your Eternal Destination
- To Say Farewell
- Lost to the Flame (Agony in the Garden III)
Release Date: October 2025
Record Label: Roxx Records
Band Members
Paul Graham – Drums
Derek Corzine – Vocals, Bass Guitar
Nick Pacitti– Rhythm Guitars, Keyboards
Guest Musicians
Cameron Nealey – Lead Guitar (Tracks 1-6, 8-10)
Ryan Roebuck – Lead Guitar (Track 7)
Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TestimonyOfApocalypse
Bandcamp: https://testimonyofapocalypse.bandcamp.com/album/agony-in-the-garden
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testimonyofapocalyse/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TestimonyOfApocalypse
Lyric video for “I Surrender”:
Lyric video for “Born Not of Blood”:
Lyric video for “Innocence Lost (Agony in the Garden I)”:
Video for “Refraction”:
Video for “Lost to the Flame (Agony in the Garden III):