Testament

When the management of Jaxx Nightclub warns of a sellout, they're not fooling around. The spacious bar and club, located in Springfield, VA, has been home to thousands of shows throughout the decades it's been open. Acts including country, hip hop, rap, bluegrass and pop have all graced its stage, but at its heart, Jaxx has always been home to metal.

Sunday night, July 15th, one of the best thrash metal acts of all time delivered a crushing performance in front of the sold-out venue. Testament, featuring four of its original members, played a 90-minute set and encore heavy on the band's older material. Favorites from "The New Order" to "Souls of Black" showcased the vocal talents of burly Chuck Billy, while guitarists Alex Skolnick and Erik Peterson shredded the hell out of the crowd. Bassist Greg Christian was an energetic beast. The band surprised the crowd with the presence of drummer Paul Bostaph, replacing Nick Barker, who encountered visa problems getting into the U.S.

Testament also played a brand new song, titled "Afterlife", in the midst of its regular crowd-pleasers. Local support for the show featured several bands including Krass Judgement and Absolute Vengeance. DC-area metal veterans Division headlined the local talent, debuting songs from their upcoming CD. The band also recently announced a contest to promote its participation in August's Midwest Metal Anthem (August 24th-25th at J.J. Kelley's in Lansing, IL).

The contest revolves around the upcoming song, "The Collector". When a man's true love leaves him, he realizes he can't find a single woman to replace her. He decides to make one out of all the prettiest parts of his victims.

The winner (or winners) will be those victims in the song!

Division wants pictures of its female victims sporting Division merchandise in the most creative way. The instructions are easy: Cause a stir, make people turn their heads, force them to have nightmares. Creativity is an absolute must with this contest. Once the pictures are taken, contestants register with the Division Gallery and post them up.

Division will scream the name of the winner while on stage at the Midwest Metal Anthem, August 25th, at J.J. Kelley's in Lansing, IL. During the band's set, "The Collector" will make its debut, and the winners will be named in song! That night, the winner's name(s) will also be posted on Division's official site and MySpace page.

For more information, sound bites and updates, check out www.division-usa.com.