Berkeley is Testament’s backyard, so that opener slot comes with pressure.

A lot of local openers treat a night like this like a victory lap before it even starts, lots of thank-yous, lots of “we’re honored,” and a set that plays like an audition. Parabellum didn’t do that. They played like they’d earned the spot and they were there to make sure you remembered their name when the lights came back up.

They came out swinging and made the early crowd act like it wasn’t early at all. The floor started moving fast, and you could feel that moment where people stop using the opener as “beer line time” and start actually watching.

“I Am the Mockingbird” was the point where the room fully clicked in, that hook landing even on people who didn’t show up as Parabellum diehards. Then they went for the most Bay Area move possible, an Exodus cover “And Then There Were None” with Harald Oimoen coming out to join them. That’s not just a guest spot, it’s a stamp of approval in this town, the local handshake in public.

And that’s the bigger point. Nights like this are supposed to be about legacy, but the Bay doesn’t survive on nostalgia alone. It survives because the pipeline stays alive. Seeing a local band open for local kings in a sold-out hometown room is the scene doing what it’s supposed to do.

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