UMUR "Souls of Black" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Atlantic/Megaforce Records in October 1990. "Souls of Black" is the fourth album release by Testament in little over 3 years, and it was alledgedly written and recorded a bit faster than the band had originally planned, but as Testament had been offered to be part of the European leg of the now legendary "Clash of the Titans" tour, which ran from September 1990 - October 1990 (and also featured Slayer, Megadeth, and Suicidal Tendencies), Testament wanted to have a new album out before the tour. They didn´t quite succeed in doing that, but "Souls of Black" was released on the day of the Stockholm show towards the end of the tour. Conincidently it was released on the exact same day as "Seasons in the Abyss (1990)" by Slayer.

The music on "Souls of Black" is Testament taking a step back to a harder edged sound after the rather sterile and powerless sounding "Practice What You Preach (1989)". That sound production sets the two albums miles apart. "Souls of Black" features a pretty raw guitar tone, and a relatively powerful production, but the songwriting is also generally of a harder edged nature. Except for the short acoustic intro track "Beginning of the End" and the effectful power ballad "The Legacy". Other than those two tracks the material on the 10 track, 39:16 minutes long album is hard edged and thrashy in nature. It´s not all tracks which stand out upon initial listen, but repeated listens reveal more hooks (although the relatively one-dimensional songwriting is a minor issue, and the word filler does come to mind a couple of times too). Some of the highligts include the above mentioned "The Legacy", the heavy and groove laden title track, and the closing track "Seven Days of May".

The musicianship is generally on a high level (drummer Louie Clemente is as usual the weak link though), but I feel I need to give a special mention to Alex Skolnick, who plays one blistering guitar solo after another throughout the album. The musical foundation is alright, but he provides the icing on the cake. That little extra which makes the album stand out a bit more. Upon conclusion "Souls of Black" to my ears sounds like a slight return to form, and while it was alledgedly written and recorded in more of a hurry than the band had wished for, I personally think the more raw and immediate material works really well. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog 1990′s Souls Of Black is a truly enjoyable album from the bay area thrash band Testament. The album features fan favourite semi-ballad ‘The Legacy,’ and the famous title track ‘Souls Of Black,’ so right from the get-go you know that this album is worth your time.

Sometimes this album is overshadowed by the reputation of the band’s previous three albums The Legacy, The New Order and Practice What You Preach, all of which are undeniable classic albums of the highest order, but if you enjoyed those records then you will surly enjoy Souls Of Black as well, continuing the melodic yet heavy thrash style from the Practice What You Preach album.

Opening, as all the best thrash albums do, with a short acoustic guitar intro into an out and out thrash number the album gets going to a strong start, with the very catchy ‘Face In The Sky.’ From that point on the album never dips in quality, with songs like ‘Love To Hate,’ and ‘One Man’s Fate,’ being as good as anything you’d expect from Testament.

Each area of the album is of the highest quality; the music is strong, the lyrics are strong and the production is strong.

In summary, don’t miss out on Testament’s incredible fourth studio album, critical claims that it sounds rushed just don’t hold up against a fair and educated listen. If you like thrash, especially bay area thrash and especially by Testament, then Souls Of Black is an album you want to be listening to.

Stephen Testament began experiencing with their sound in 'Souls of Black' due to the volatile climate of musical industry. With many older bands facing difficulties and sometimes impossible obligation from the label, the new dawn of 90s shown an extreme change in many styles, and Testament didn't escape that. Widely rated low by their fans, in my opinion, 'Souls of Black' is, on the other hand, an undervalue commodity that was overlooked by many. Not only it still has the big hooks you always want in a metal band, this album's diversity is actually the key to their career development and to reach a new generation with a more acceptable mainstream edge isn't always a sin.

For example, 'Face In The Sky', the killer groove in the riffs and the heart-stopping drums, commanded by the assaulting voice of Billy, is tremendous and huge. 'Falling Fast' and 'Absence of Light' are still packed with incinerating riffs and some remarkable solos. 'Malpractice' has that 'Practice What You Preach' feel and Skolnick's shiny solo is a big spotlight. I found that 'Seven Days of May' isn't the masses favorite but this one is definitely a forgotten gem.

The title track, 'Love To Hate', and 'One Man's Fate' might fall into a good category, but still a very enjoyable songs. 'The Legacy' is a balladic attempt, though I consider it the weakest track of the album, the song itself is actually pretty nice.

People seemed to always compare this one to their earlier works and thus finding out that it's quite inconsistent, different, and lesser in quality which eventually remains unplayed for years without realizing that there are actually a lot of strong tracks inside. If you can ignore the production which had been plaguing many classic thrash albums, 'Souls of Black' is an interesting piece of history to be explored and I hope that you can dig out the treasure buried in this underrated record.