Testament

A legend of the San Francisco thrash metal scene, it's a miracle these guys even got off the ground. Their original name was "Legacy", but that became a problem when some funk/disco group claimed that was their name...and just before they cut their first record, lead singer Steve Souza split to join Exodus! (The parting was far from amicable, from what I hear.) Undaunted, however, the other guys hired some big, sweaty Indian dude named Chuck Billy, and they proceeded to churn out some of the loudest, thrashiest metal ever heard...for a while, at least.

"Legacy Demo:1" (demo bootleg CDR)

  1. "Burnt Offerings" (5:23)
  2. "Reign of Terror" (4:29)
  3. "Alone in the Dark" (4:29)
  4. "Raging Waters" (4:29)

Another homemade bootleg from the Ralf F Walter collection. The sound quality here isn't very good, with quite a bit of distortion and surface noise -- but then again, I used to own a copy of this original demo, and believe me, it really did sound this sucky, trust me! Still, it's an essential peek into the band's past, when they were still known as "Legacy" and featured Steve "Zetro" Souza on vocals. Plus, in "Raging Waters", they say "Satan's triangle!" instead of "the devil's triangle!" which is pretty cool.

"The Legacy"

  1. "Over the Wall" (4:04)
  2. "The Haunting" (4:11)
  3. "Burnt Offerings" (5:03)
  4. "Raging Waters" (4:30)
  5. "Curse of the Legions of Death" (2:28)
  6. "First Strike is Deadly" (3:41)
  7. "Do or Die" (4:36)
  8. "Alone in the Dark" (4:01)
  9. "Apocalyptic City" (5:48)

A solid debut album, memorializing the "Legacy" of their original name with the album title...but what the hell is up with the CD mastering here? It STINKS!! Man, this is one of those moments when you read the warning, "The Compact Disc can reveal the limitations of the source tape," they really mean it!! I'm even tempted to say the crappy vinyl version was better...but I won't, of course. :)

"The New Order"

  1. "Eerie Inhabitants" (5:06)
  2. "The New Order" (4:25)
  3. "Trial by Fire" (4:14)
  4. "Into the Pit" (2:46)
  5. "Hypnosis"--instrumental (2:04)
  6. "Disciples of the Watch" (5:05)
  7. "The Preacher" (3:37)
  8. "Nobody's Fault" (3:57)
  9. "A Day of Reckoning" (4:00)
  10. "Musical Death (A Dirge)"--instrumental (4:05)

At first I wasn't even going to get this album, after hearing their totally shitty cover of Aerosmith's "Nobody's Fault" on the radio, but luckily that one song turned out to be an anomaly. The rest of the album KICKS, without exception! Right from the opening track, "Eerie Inhabitants": "LIFE!! A game that people play...CRY OUT!! Will there be a better day?" (or did it go, "Can there be another way?" I can't remember and my fucking CD-Rom keeps spitting out this CD for some stupid reason...) A classic in every sense of the word, setting the standard for all things thrashy & sweaty.

"Practice What You Preach"

  1. "Practice What You Preach" (4:54)
  2. "Perilous Nation" (5:50)
  3. "Envy Life" (4:16)
  4. "Time is Coming" (5:26)
  5. "Blessed in Contempt" (4:12)
  6. "Greenhouse Effect" (4:52)
  7. "Sins of Omission" (5:00)
  8. "The Ballad" (6:09)
  9. "Nightmare (Coming Back to You)" (2:20)
  10. "Confusion Fusion"--instrumental (3:07)

Ooh, Testament goes progressive...and I love it! The title track is a MONSTER, definitely the best thing the band has ever done. They even get silly with a ballad entitled...well, "The Ballad"! Great album, one of the best this poor tired world has ever seen.

"Souls of Black"

  1. "Beginning of the End"--instrumental (0:36)
  2. "Face in the Sky" (3:53)
  3. "Falling Fast" (4:05)
  4. "Souls of Black" (3:22)
  5. "Absence of Light" (3:55)
  6. "Love to Hate" (3:40)
  7. "Malpractice" (4:43)
  8. "One Man's Fate" (4:49)
  9. "The Legacy" (5:30)
  10. "Seven Days of May" (4:41)

Umm, bit of a misstep here. Instead of continuing in the progressive-metal vein, they fall back on more standard, thrash-metal licks...and not very effectively either, sorry to say. It's only saving grace is "The Legacy", a brilliant piece of multi-tempo acoustic thrash.

"The Ritual"

  1. "Signs of Chaos"--instrumental (0:30)
  2. "Electric Crown" (5:46)
  3. "So Many Lies" (6:04)
  4. "Let Go of My World" (3:45)
  5. "The Ritual" (7:34)
  6. "Deadline" (4:47)
  7. "As the Seasons Grey" (6:16)
  8. "Agony" (4:07)
  9. "The Sermon" (4:48)
  10. "Return to Serenity" (6:25)
  11. "Troubled Dreams" (5:14)

Much more controlled and mainstream, this one's a lot more similar to Practice. "Electric Crown" is a brilliant piece of work, and "Return to Serenity" and the title track are decent, ballad-ish tunes...I can't really remember that much else about it, though, which is a shame because it's just so damn good...

"Return to the Apocalyptic City"

  1. "Over the Wall"--live (5:28)
  2. "So Many Lies"--live (6:13)
  3. "The Haunting"--live (4:28)
  4. "Disciples of the Watch"--live (4:38)
  5. "Reign of Terror" (4:48)
  6. "Return to Serenity" (4:30)

A live "teaser" EP that came out during the long interim between Ritual and Low. Ony four live songs, but they sound a lot more raw & genuine than the slickness of their Live at the Fillmore set which came out later. Paul Bostaph (between gigs with Forbidden and Slayer) does the drums here.

Of particular interest is "Reign of Terror", a song from their Legacy days, rerecorded with Chuck Billy on vocals! I'm not sure if it's the same as the version on the "Trial by Fire" single, but I think it is. (Actually, I didn't even know this song was on here until very recently, which is why I didn't buy it for the longest time.)

"Low"

  1. "Low" (3:33)
  2. "Legions (in Hiding)" (4:17)
  3. "Hail Mary" (3:32)
  4. "Trail of Tears" (6:06)
  5. "Shades of War" (4:44)
  6. "P.C." (2:50)
  7. "Dog Faced Gods" (4:02)
  8. "All I Could Bleed" (3:37)
  9. "Urotsukidoji"--instrumental (3:40)
  10. "Chasing Fear" (4:56)
  11. "Ride" (3:16)
  12. "Last Call" (2:41)

Oh dear, Billy's voice sounds totally shot to hell on this one. So, to make up for it, the band decides to turn grindcore! (Well, on the track "Dog Faced Gods", anyway.) Definitely not one of my favorites, though better than their sorry-assed Souls of Black. Schisms within the band are also showing up at this point -- lead guitarist Alex Skolnick left (oft bemoaned by more dedicated fans, yet I hardly blinked) to be replaced by some guy from Obituary (the WORST death metal band in the world!!) Apparently there was no official drummer at this point, since the guy who did the stickwork (John Tempesta of the now-defunct Exodus, and now apparently in White Zombie) isn't listed as a band member.

"Live at the Fillmore"

  1. "The Preacher" (4:20)
  2. "Alone in the Dark" (4:36)
  3. "Burnt Offerings" (5:14)
  4. "A Dirge"--instrumental (2:03)
  5. "Eerie Inhabitants" (3:50)
  6. "The New Order" (4:31)
  7. "Low" (3:13)
  8. "Urotsukidoji"--instrumental (3:47)
  9. "Into the Pit" (2:54)
  10. "Souls of Black" (3:39)
  11. "Practice What You Preach" (4:59)
  12. "Apocalyptic City" (5:58)
  13. "Hail Mary" (3:45)
  14. "Dog Faced Gods" (4:46)
  15. "Return to Serenity"--studio, acoustic version (5:55)
  16. "The Legacy"--studio, acoustic version (5:16)
  17. "Trail of Tears"--studio, acoustic version (6:16)

Nice live set, a little better produced than Apocalyptic City, and thankfully focused on material from their first two albums. For some reason they felt the need to do a few "unplugged" versions of their songs as well...not that I'm complaining, just that I'm tired of "Return to Serenity" by now!

"Demonic"

  1. "Demonic Refusal" (5:21)
  2. "The Burning Times" (5:15)
  3. "Together as One" (4:17)
  4. "Jun-Jun" (3:43)
  5. "John Doe" (3:11)
  6. "Murky Waters" (3:00)
  7. "Hatred's Rise" (3:15)
  8. "Distorted Lives" (3:36)
  9. "New Eyes of Old" (3:00)
  10. "Ten Thousand Thrones" (4:37)
  11. "Nostrovia" (1:32)

The band broke up for a little while and then reformed, this time with ex-Dark Angel/Death drummer Gene Hoglan, and Eric Peterson (the only original member left, not counting Chuck) handling all guitars. Wow, this album is HEAVY!! The vocals are pure gutteral grindcore, although the music is a lot more technical and thrashy than bands in that genre. Presumably, this is the same lineup that did "Rapid Fire" on the first Judas Priest tribute album, although on that song Chuck's voice has really gone to hell...

"Signs of Chaos: The Best of Testament"

  1. "Signs of Chaos"--instrumental (0:30)
  2. "Electric Crown" (5:31)
  3. "The New Order" (4:26)
  4. "Alone in the Dark" (4:05)
  5. "Dog Faced Gods" (4:05)
  6. "Demonic Refusal" (5:22)
  7. "The Ballad" (6:10)
  8. "Souls of Black" (3:24)
  9. "Trial by Fire" (4:17)
  10. "Low" (3:36)
  11. "Practice What You Preach" (4:56)
  12. "Over the Wall" (4:08)
  13. "The Legacy" (5:32)
  14. "Return to Serenity" (6:32)
  15. "Perilous Nation" (5:51)
  16. "Sails of Charon" (4:40)
  17. "Draw the Line" (2:49)

A greatest hits compilation, which is kind of a misnomer since Testament never had any "hits" in the pop sense...it's only value here is for the two exclusive cover songs, "Sails of Charon" (originally by the Scorpions) and "Draw the Line" (hey, another Aerosmith song!)

"The Gathering"

  1. "D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)" (3:33)
  2. "Down for Life" (3:23)
  3. "Eyes of Wrath" (5:26)
  4. "True Believer" (3:36)
  5. "3 Days in Darkness" (4:41)
  6. "Legions of the Dead" (2:37)
  7. "Careful What You Wish For" (3:30)
  8. "Riding the Snake" (4:13)
  9. "Allegiance" (2:37)
  10. "Sewn Shut Eyes" (4:15)
  11. "Fall of Sipledome" (4:48)

This one's a lot more dynamic than Demonic, and as a result sounds much heavier, even though only four or five songs reach the all-out ferocity of "Dog Faced Gods". Actually, one could call this album a "return to form" -- or, at least a return to Souls of Black, since most of the slower-paced songs sound a helluva lot like that album. (With "Allegiance" hearkening all the way back to The New Order...whoohoo!) Some people call this the best Testament album ever, and while it's certainly their best in a long while, I really do miss the more melodic, mid-tempo stylings of Practice What You Preach and The Ritual. At least Billy sings more than he growls on this album, which is a plus. Oh, and the revolving-door drummer policy continues, with Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer) hitting the skins here. (I think they've gone through all of them, now?)

The Testament camp has been awful quiet lately...they did put out an album called First Strike Is Still Deadly, comprised of re-recorded tracks from their first two albums, and I don't need to tell you what I think of THAT cheap marketing ploy! Even though they were just raising money for Chuck Billy's esophageal cancer treatments...which seems to be in remission, thank God. (It really did have me worried, though, because when I found out about it, Chuck Schuldiner of Death and Paul Baloff of Exodus had just died within weeks of each other, and you know how these things come in threes...but then Randy Castillo died instead and Billy was spared! Way to take one for the team, Randy!!)


Previous Band Back to Index Next Band