Metal Annihilation brings bands, metal heads to Zuni

ZUNI, N.M. – Testify headlined and hosted the 7th Annual Metal Annihilation show at Chu-Chu’s Restaurant on Sept. 30, pulling a diverse crowd of metal heads from the surrounding Zuni and Navajo communities.

Testify’s lineup for the show was Darius Yazzie (vocals/guitar), Edmund Yazzie (drums), Nick Willie (rhythm/lead guitar), and Thomas Manwell (bass guitar).

Also, on last Saturday’s bill were opening acts Born of Winter, Narbona, and Poison Insanity.

Testify was promoting the release of the band’s latest album, “Rage.” The seven-track EP was released on streaming platforms on Sept. 8 and features clean production qualities highlighting churning guitars and clear vocals.

Lead singer Darius Yazzie said Testify has been performing together as a band for more than 10 years, adding that the Zuni community has always been very welcoming and excited with the band’s live performances.

“We first played Zuni back in 2015, and the people just really took to us. They made us feel so welcome,” Darius said.

At that time, Testify was promoting their do-it-yourself tour called “Reservation Slaughter,” which featured various metal bands from the area for an outdoor concert at Chu-Chu’s.

The band formed a relationship with Chu-Chu, the owner and proprietor of the restaurant, who spent much of the night on the back patio Sept. 30, grilling barbecue ribs and turkey legs for customers inside the restaurant.

The outdoor stage behind the restaurant was lit with multi-colored lighting and headlights from cars parked nearby as fans watched the various bands perform on stage for the Saturday night show.

Darius said the “Metal Annihilation” concert in Zuni has become an annual event for Testify and that they always try to bring different opening bands each time.

“We made it a yearly deal, and it’s every time we go back, the people are always so great to us, and we really appreciate them,” he said.

Rage

The new Testify album is titled “Rage,” and the EP features seven tracks, including “Walk of Sorrow,” “Here We Stand,” “This Life,” “Rise Above,” “Rage,” “Beneath The Ashes,” and “Blinded By Affliction.”

Testify spent about a month recording the new album at the “jam spot” in Coolidge, New Mexico. They previously recorded with Tommy Chavez at his Midnight Sun Studio in Albuquerque, but his unexpected passing in July 2022 left the band without a recording studio.

“We were really bummed out because (Midnight Sun) is where we recorded our first two records,” Darius said.

Luckily, the band reached out to Andrew Godfrey, the sound engineer at the Launchpad in Albuquerque, because he had mobile studio recording services. Godfrey traveled to Coolidge to record Testify, spending about a month getting all the tracks down.

“One week it was drums, another week it was guitars, and the next week it was vocals, and so on,” Darius said. “It was really cool to bring him to our part of the rez and setup in our jam spot and take our time, not being pressured to go back to work or having to pay for hotels.”

The relaxed nature of the recording shines through on the new Testify album, which the band is proud of, especially since much of the material was written during the pandemic.

Read the full story in the Oct. 5 edition of the Navajo Times.

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