Tag: testament (Page 1 of 2)

Another MOV reissue of one Testament’s classic early albums. Souls Of Black was release number four for the band, and is prime time Testament. I know I have mentioned this before, but these guys should have been in the Big 4 instead of Slayer, who I think are the most over hyped band in metal. There has to be a groove in the music that at least makes you want to bang your head. Testament have got that part down to a tee. They are the best at writing tunes full of groove and move.

The title track is a prime example of groove and move with a killer riff and beat. Side 2 has to be one of the best sides in thrash. Malpractice starts all groovy and weird, then a killer bouncy groove kicks in, it’s my favourite track. One Mans Fate really slays with a superb riff and killer groove! Testament rule!!!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

This is Testament’s 10th studio outing and it also sees the return of guitarist, Alex Skolnick, who left the band after 92’s The Ritual. The album was produced by Andy Sneap who always gets a killer guitar sound on all albums he produces. This is a 2021 reissue as a double album, but Side 4 gets three tracks from the Alcatraz sessions, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, and Souls Of Black – all classic Testament songs. This is one of the best sounding metal albums I have heard.

Opening track, For The Glory Of, is just freaking awesome and is my favourite on the album. More Than Meets The Eye is a monster tune with killer riffage and epic grooves. The Evil Has Landed has a wonderful groove and riffage – this band knows what makes killer metal. Keepin’ it groovy! The Formation Of Damnation will melt your face off – this is one hell of a heavy tune with beats and grooves just blasting with maximum heavy riffage. Dangers Of The Faithless has some Metallica-esque guitar to the opening with huge chuggas.

One of the fastest songs the band have ever done is next with, The Persecuted Wont Forget. A killer tune with epic guitar. Henchman Ride gallops along at a killer pace with a killer groovy riff. Killing Season has a very old school feel to the main riff. Superb track. Afterlife has the vibe and groove that makes you want to bounce off walls – great stuff! F.E.A.R is next up and this is classic Testament – just listen to the drums! Leave Me Forever closes out the album proper, and has more light and shade than any other track on the album.

This is a great sounding album, and a very cool looking pressing. I love Testament – they wipe the floor with Slayer.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

I have mentioned before that Testament should have been in the big four – at the expense of Slayer. They had the tunes and Slayer just had the image. This is the band’s 13th album released in 2020, and it has a very old sounding vibe to it. It’s not trying to be all modern metal, just good old thrash with plenty of groove and killer solos. They have one of the genre’s best guitar players in Alex Skolnick, and he rips it up all over the record. Gene Hoglan is the drummer on this album, and he has to be a machine with some of the beats he lays down here.

There is not a breath to be had with first three tracks that take up Side 1, Children Of The Next Level, WWIII, and Dream Deceiver – all are killer tunes with epic riffs and grooves. Night Of The Witch has such a wicked beat that I’m sure Hoglen is about to explode. The intro to City Of Angels is very dramatic, before we settle down to old school thrash groove-age. Killer guitar intro to Ishtar’s Gate, which is one of my favourites on the album. Big hats off to Chuck Billy whose vocals are on point throughout and sounds as good as ever. I’m a big sucker for chugga riffs, and The Healers hits the spot perfectly. Curse Of Osiris is fast – even by Testament’s standards. Woah boy! Code Of Hammurabi gets my vote for best track as it has a killer speed metal riff and groove that Megadeth could only dream of.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

What we have here ladies and hemorrhoids, is a wonderful reissue of Testament’s first album which was originally released in ’87. Metallica had released 3 albums and were huge by the time Testament had recorded this, and they both came out of that same Bay Area scene. Chuck Billy had replaced Steve Zetro Souza in ’86 on vocals, who went on to replace Paul Ballof in Exodus, making him, along with Eric Peterson, the only two members to appear on all albums.

In my opinion, Testament had the best twin guitars of any of the early thrash bands, as both Skolnick and Peterson can really shred. The band always write killer tacks that you can groove to that’s what makes the band great. Highlights for me are Burnt Offerings, which does borrow heavily from the Metallica school of riffing but is a killer track, just for the sheer insanity of the how fast can we actually play a riff is C.O.T.L.O.D, which puts a big smile on my face, and the final track, Apocalyptic City, which along with the insane thrash riffage has some killer guitar.

They slow down somewhat for their next album, The New Order, which for me is their best album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.