TESTAMENT — The Legacy (review)

TESTAMENT — The Legacy album cover Album · 1987 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
The Legacy is the debut full-length studio album by American thrash metal act Testament. The album was released in July 1987 by Atlantic Records. The Legacy is one of those albums that I have a lot of nostalgic feelings about. I was in my early teens when a friend of mine made a cassette tape copy of the album for me and I treasured that cassette copy for years. I had that tape with me on a couple of car holidays through Europe with my parents and I remember listening to The Legacy on my walkman driving through Germany on the Autobahn, lying on the beach on the French Riviera and while looking over the harbour in Monaco. It´s just one of those very special albums that envoke the feeling of sweet nostalgia in me.

The music on The Legacy is thrash metal with Chuck Billy´s distinct sounding vocals in front. He is actually a very diverse vocalist who masters both high pitched screams, raw thrash styled singing and even deep growls ( take a listen to C.O.T.L.O.D. (Curse of the Legions of Death) for evidence of the growls). He even tries to sing in a more melodic vein a couple of times but his skills are limited when it comes to that style of singing. The songs are mostly up-tempo and energetic with powerful fast riffs and a pounding rythm section. I was never much of a fan of Louie Clemente drums style though. He is a one trick pony and doesn´t vary his playing enough for my taste. Testament´s triumph card is lead guitarist Alex Skolnick though. I promise you it´s seldom you´ll hear such a talented guitarist in a thrash metal act. His solos are simply breathtaking. He´s got that neo-classical touch to his playing that just sounds fantastic in the context. He somewhat reminds me of guitarists like Andy LaRocque ( King Diamond, Death, Gutrix, Illwill, E.F. Band, X-World/5) and the late Criss Oliva ( Savatage). The songs are all of good quality and some are even excellent. Over the Wall ( which also spawned a video), Burnt Offerings and Apocalyptic City are good examples of how great the album can sound.

As mentioned above it´s always a nostalgic experience for me to listen to The Legacy, but if I try to judge the album without the nostalgic feelings, I actually find it sounding a bit dated. The production isn´t the best, Chuck Billy´s vocals are too monotone even with his varied vocal approach ( which shouldn´t be possible but is) and while the riffing certainly is powerful, the more regular thrash metal riffing isn´t that memorable. You know how you can hum along to a Slayer or a Metallica riff? That´s generally not the case here. Don´t get me wrong here though because there are many great riffs on the album and those solos still make my blood boil but the album just isn´t as great today as it used to be for me. So it´s not a full 4 for me. Rather a 3.5 star rating is warranted.
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