Two Words, One Answer.
testament
 Practice What You Preach $13.96 To me this is one of the most accessible, perhaps almost commercial thrash albums there is...in '89 perhaps it was, not sure but it was supposed to bring them into the group of Metallica/Megadeth/Anthrax league, and to me bands like Testament, Overkill, even Exodus deserved more respect but seemed to just fall short. The overall feel of this album is very bright and straightforward for the most part, I love the bass sound of this CD...at high volume it can almost have a very live feel to it...very in your face, but at the same time the songs are interesting and catchy enough so as to hold your attention for song after song. Each song has it's own feel to so it's not just thrash after thrash song, it changes speeds and there are differnet tones thrown in, it's just a really interesting album to listen to for me anyway. Favs include just about everything I love "Perilous Nation", "Envy Life", and of course the title track. "Sins Of Ommision" is probably the best of the bunch also. They do a ballad called "The Ballad" that is right up there with any Metallica ballad IMO also. Lot of great guitar work on here too of course which Testament is known for, a ballad, and some somewhat social and environmental issues that are kept on the light side, but represent the full force of this classic release.  Testament $14.98 The Bottom Line: A quiet and moving (and bleak and depressing) look at America before the end, Testament never attained the level of cultural penetration that The Day After did but in its own way its a worthier film; with a powerful performance by Jane Alexander in the lead and a conclusion that'll put a lump in your throat, it's quite a little gem.  The Gathering $11.98 Testament has been a band I only discovered recently the past few years and have been a great addition to my metal regiment (Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Megadeth, Sepultura, etc..) The Gathering is another amazing addition to the already fantastic discography that Testament has accumalated over the past years. With the Gathering, Testament displays their raw metal force seen in Demonic with a return to a more progressively thrashy sound. D.N.R rips this album open in a fury of fast metal riffs that set the stage for what the Gathering is going to be, with intense drumming thanks to former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, beautiful crafted metal riffs by veteran Eric Peterson, great guitar work by James Murphy, and the usual power-wrenching vocals of Chuck Billy. Billy has returned to his older style of singing, with less of the death metal style seen in Demonic. The whole album screams "no-holds-barred-metal-in-your-face" with tracks like Eyes of Wrath, Legions of the Dead, and Riding the Snake, which are committed to showing the world that no one rocks harder than Testament. If you enjoyed Low and Demonic, than this a welcome addition to the Testament sound with an album that is every bit an evolution of the powerful thrash metal. And if you are like me and enjoyed the Skolnick-era of Testament (i.e. The Legacy, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, Souls of Black, and The Ritual), you will be pleased to see that, even though the leads are not as commanding as the earlier years, Testament is still one of the greatest bands of metal, crafting an aggressive and powerful metal sound like no other. |
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