Spotlight: Testament

Back from the holidays and finals next week. Christmas is over and so is the Christmas music, back to some classic thrash this week...Testament. Testament is sort of that second wave of Bay Area Thrash bands. The first was the classic of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. The second wave was Testament, Metal Church, Exodus, and I guess you could even thrown in Vio-lence.

Anyway, Testament for me was always a Metallica clone. When I first heard Practice What You Preach I thought I was listening to Master of Puppets era Metallica, down to the vocals. The Ritual was Testament's own Black Album. I was never really impressed...until Low. Post Ritual Testament is the birthplace of modern thrash for me. Low combined the basic elements of thrash with modern vocals. Not total death growls, but more harsh singing. And let me tell you...it worked. From start to finish Low is a masterpiece. They even throw in Trail of Tears that reminds me of a classic Metallica ballad ala Fade to Black.

Low from Low

After Low, they went a little more extreme with Demonic. Now this is a death/thrash album. Chuck Billy's vocals are pretty much all death style. It's ok, but it's not Testament. Musically, it's similar to Low, but the vocals is what separates this from Low.

Shades of War from Low

The Gathering was next. Alot of fans say this is a masterpiece. It's ok for me. I think people are distracetd by the line-up. It is a who's who of metal gods. Steve DiGiorgio (from Death) on bass, Dave Lombardo (Slayer) on drums, and James Murphy (from Death). And then of course Chuck and Eric who were the remaining members after The Ritual. The Gathering has my favorite Testament song with D.N.R. thrash masterpiece. This album was more in line with Low, as Chuck reterned to his harsher vocals, but no death screams.

D.N.R. from The Gathering

After this they re-recorded some songs from their first 2 albums for First Strike Still Deadly. This saw the return of Alex Skolnick on lead guitar, who left after The Ritual. This is a classic album. The updated sound of the guitars and the newer style of vocals makes these classic songs even better.

Over the Wall from Live in London (reunion tour)

So what's next? Well Chuck had a cancer scare that put the band on hold for many many years. they are set to release an album in 2008. They have said is is somewhere between their debut and The Gathering. Should be a solid release though.

Legions in Hiding from Low

Playlist for the week:
Monday: Legions in Hiding, Chasing Fear, Hail Mary from Low
Tues/Wed: Trail of Tears, Shades of War, Urotsukidoji from Low
Thursday: D.N.R., Over the Wall, and Ten Thousand Thrones from The Gathering, First Strike Still Deadly, and Demonic.
Friday: Ride, Dog Faced Gods from Low