UMUR "First Strike Still Deadly" is an album release by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Spitfire Records in October 2001. The album features re-recordings of select tracks from the band´s first two albums "The Legacy (1987)" and "The New Order (1988)" (five tracks from each album) and a re-recording of "Reign of Terror". The latter was originally featured on the band´s "Demo 1 (1985)" (released under the Legacy monicker before the band changed their name to the current one). The track was later featured in a studio version as the B-side to the "Trial by Fire (1988)" single. The same version of the track was also featured on the 1993 "Return to the Apocalyptic City" EP. The version of "Reign of Terror" which is featured on "First Strike Still Deadly" features vocals by original Legacy (and later Exodus) singer Steve Souza. Souza also performs vocals on "Alone in the Dark", which was also featured on "Demo 1 (1985)" (and later in a re-recorded studio version on "The Legacy (1987)"). The vocals on the remaining tracks on the album are performed by regular Testament singer Chuck Billy. "First Strike Still Deadly" sees the temporary return of Alex Skolnick (lead guitars), Steve DiGiorgio (bass), and John Tempesta (drums).

Bands can have several reasons for re-recording "hits" or even full releases, but the most common reason is that they don´t own the rights to the original recordings, and rightfully want a piece of the cake. In the case of Testament that´s fully understandable (if that was the reason for the re-recording) as "The Legacy (1987)" and "The New Order (1988)" are arguably among their most popular and commercially successful releases. The problem with most (not all) re-recordings is that re-recordings of classic tracks are often overproduced, lack the rawness of the original recordings, and even worse lack the hunger and attitude, which you experience when you listen to the originals...unfortunately that´s true for "First Strike Still Deadly" too.

No one can deny that the album is filled to the brim with classic thrash metal tracks and that Testament can perform those tracks in their sleep, but unfortunatley it all sounds phoned it, completely lacking of power and conviction. Normally badass tracks like "Into the Pit", "Trial by Fire", and "The Haunting" sound so tame and domesticated that it´s almost painful listening to them. Skolnick is also given too much freedom and some of his guitar solos are given a slight jazz/fusion spin which really doesn´t fit the compositions. The sound production doesn´t save anything either, as it´s dry, lacking dynamics, and well...sounds cheap. So I´m afraid this one goes down in the books as a bad quality re-recording. It´s completely unneccesary too for fans of the band and I´m left wondering what the hell happened in the decision making process. It´s definitely the low point of Testament´s otherwise great discography. A 2.5 star (50%) is me being very generous.

UMUR "The Gathering" is the eighth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Spitfire/ Burnt Offerings in June 1999. It´s the successor to "Demonic" from 1997. "The Gathering" features an all-star lineup, which in addition to the usual suspects in lead vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarist Eric Peterson, also contains James Murphy who returns on guitar, Steve DiGiorgio on bass, and Dave Lombardo on drums. Each of them prolific and skilled musicians associated with artists like Grip Inc., Death, Slayer, Sadus, and Obituary.

The music on "The Gathering" is powerful and technically well performed thrash metal. Testament brought with them the good powerful elements from "Demonic", which means the raw power and drive of that album, and then added a more melodic touch, which points back to their sound of the 80s ("True Believer" could for example well have been featured on one of the late 80s/early 90 releases by the band). The slightly more melodic touch and the fact that Billy also delivers a more diverse vocal performance (although at times still pretty brutal and raw) give the songs a more memorable sound than the tracks on "Demonic". The addition of Dave Lombardo on the drums especially provides the music with a great organic touch. He is on fire on this album. The songs are generally high quality thrash metal compositions and "The Gathering" is overall a good quality Testament album (they´ve released both better and worse).

The album features a sound production which is powerful, raw, and heavy, and it suits the music perfectly. It´s courtesy of Andy Sneap, who would return to produce quite a few of Testament´s subsequent releases. Upon conclusion "The Gathering" was the right album to release after "Demonic" alienated some fans with it´s relentless aggression and brutality. Coming from a death metal background I never felt "Demonic" more than leaned towards death metal, and to my ears it´s still a Testament thrash metal album, just a little heavier and darker than their usual style. "Demonic" however lacked a couple of other things to make it a complete release. What I missed on "Demonic" was guitar solos and the more melodic and memorable moments of earlier Testament albums, and although there aren´t that many guitar solos on "The Gathering" either, the melodic element is more prevalent here than it was on "Demonic". So on "The Gathering" the brutality and heavy riffs are just more well balanced with the tried and true Testament elements. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Demonic" is the 7th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Burnt Offerings in June 1997. It´s the successor to "Low" from 1994. The album was recorded as a four-piece. The usual suspects and the only remaining founding members are Chuck Billy on vocals and Eric Peterson on guitars while Gene Hoglan on drums and Derrick Ramirez on bass are new in the lineup (replacing Chris Kontos and Greg Christian respectively). Gene Hoglan had just finished his stint with Death and was about to start his time with Strapping Young Lad and was asked to help out, while bassist Derrick Ramirez played guitar in The Legacy which was the band that later changed their name to Testament (by then Derrick Ramirez was no longer a member), so there is some credibility to the lineup.

Compared to the groove oriented and melodic thrash metal style of "Low (1994)", the music on Demonic is generally quite different in style and sound. The departure of lead guitarist James Murphy had a big impact on how Testament approached the songwriting for "Demonic". This was arguably the most raw and heavy release by Testament up until that point (and probably still is), who on occassion even venture into death metal territory. Chuck Billy spice up his trademark vocal delivery with some semi-death grunts and the riffing could at times also be mistaken for death metal riffing albeit of the thrashier kind. When that is said "Demonic" is still a thrash metal album and Testament are still Testament. There is also a good portion of groove featured on the album, and at times I´m reminded of an artist like Lamb of God. If anything the inspiration flowed the other way, so it´s just a reference made to describe the style of music on "Demonic".

"Demonic" features a powerful, raw, and heavy sounding production, which suits the rawness and heavy nature of the material perfectly. Hoglan always deserves praise for his outstanding drumming skills and playing style and this time is no exception. Anything that man plays on is instantly made better by his contributions. Peterson is rock solid delivering loads and loads of heavy thrashy riffs and while Billy´s semi-growling vocal style isn´t always pretty and his more regular raw shouting vocal parts are a nice variation from the grunting, the vocals overall work pretty well too. As there aren´t many guitar solos to be found ("Jun-Jun" is one of the few tracks featuring prominent lead guitar work), "Demonic" is quite different from the albums preceding it, as guitar solos and lead guitar themes were always a major part of Testament´s sound. Just not on this album...

...so upon conclusion "Demonic" is one of the odd one out albums in the band´s discography, but that doesn´t mean it´s a bad quality release by any means. In fact it´s a strong groove oriented thrash metal release, featuring high level musicianship, a well sounding production job, and relatively memorable songwriting. I do miss the lead guitars, and sometimes it does feel like Testament sacrifice memorability and melody over brutality, but overall it´s a quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Low" is the 6th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash/heavy metal act Testament. The album was released through Atlantic Records in September 1994. It´s the successor to "The Ritual" from 1992 and features a couple of lineup changes compared to the lineup who recorded the predecessor. Drummer Louise Clemente was replaced by John Tempesta and guitarist Alex Skolnick was replaced by James Murphy. Tempesta was known for his work with Exodus while Murphy had played on albums by Death, Obituary, Cancer, and Disincarnate. Both are skilled and worthy replacements (although I personally prefer Skolnick over Murphy).

"The Ritual (1992)" introduced a new and more accessible heavy metal sound with only occasional thrash metal leanings, but with "Low", Testament are back in thrash metal mode. This time around with more focus on groove, which is audible already from the opening title track. It´s not as such groove metal, but there certainly is a strong emphasis on groove throughout the album. The music features hard edged and sharp thrash metal riffs, powerful rhythms, well played leads, and Chuck Billy´s powerful vocals in front. His singing on the album is relatively varied, and he sings both semi-clean, raw, and even occasionally brutal growling vocals.

The material on the 12 track, 47:19 minutes long album are generally well written, although not all tracks are equally remarkable. Some of the highlights include the title track and "Hail Mary", while a track like the fusion influenced instrumental "Urotsukidôji" may be a standout track, but not in a positive sense. It´s the kind of track which disrupts the album flow, and overall sounds more like the band had fun in the studio playing something different, than a track which was written specifically for the album.

"Low" features a powerful and detailed sound production and strong musical performances, but it´s not the strongest Testament album in their discography. So while it signals a (for many) welcome return to a more thrash metal oriented sound after the "softer" "The Ritual (1992)", I dare say it´s a slightly less interesting release compared to the predecessor. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Live in London" is a live album release by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Spitfire Records in November 2005. The album features a recording of one full show from May 2005 in London. The show was also released on DVD. It marks the first time since 1992 that the "classic" lineup of Chuck Billy (Vocals), Alex Skolnick (Lead Guitar), Eric Peterson (Rhythm Guitar), Greg Christian (Bass), and Louie Clemente (Drums) played together. The latter only performs on about half of the 14 tracks on the 71:13 minutes long album though. John Tempesta, who originally replaced Clemente when the latter left Testament in 1992, plays on the remaining tracks. The show in London was a one-off and while both Skolnick and Christian stayed with the band for a number of years after the reunion show (Christian left Testament again in early 2014), Clemente has not played with Testament since.

Not surprisingly all tracks on the tracklist are culled from the first five albums by Testament. Predominantly (8 out of 14 tracks) from the first two albums "The Legacy (1987)" and "The New Order (1988)", while the remaining three albums are represented by two tracks each. There really aren´t that many surprises on the tracklist and we´re pretty much treated to the "hit-parade" of the early years of Testament. "Over the Wall", "Disciples of the Watch", "Practice What You Preach", and other classic Testament tracks.

The band are well playing and deliver the tracks with great passion and conviction. The audience sound a bit restrained, but it´s probably a matter of where they are placed in the mix. Other than that the sound production is of a good quality considering that this is a live album. So upon conclusion "Live in London" is a quality live release by Testament documenting a very special event in the band´s career. For fans of the band´s early material this is more or less a mandatory listen and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog Testament’s excellent 2005 Live In London DVD is simply one of the best live DVDs that a metal band has ever put out, and even now both sounds and looks terrific.

In terms of visuals the digital camera look presents a great true to life image which makes the footage seem higher definition than it actually is. Elsewhere, the camera work and editing is all top notch and the whole concert is just fantastic to watch.

This combined with the audio mix, which suits the material and the gig perfectly results in a all round great viewer experience.

As for the concert itself, it simply couldn’t be better. The band reunite the classic 1980s line up of Chuck Billy on vocals, Greg Christian on bass, Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick on guitar with Louie Clemente on drums (for half the set, with the first half being handled by Low-era drummer John Tempesta)

The band play a set list devoted entirely to their classic thrash-era material, with all the songs coming from the band’s first five albums. The band play many of their best songs like ‘Disciples Of The Watch,’ ‘Practice What You Preach,’ and ‘The Legacy.’

Even with all the fan service that the line up and set list represents, a concert is only as strong as the band’s performance and could still be terrible if the band are sloppy or their hearts aren’t in it. Luckily, the band are absolutely on fire and deliver one of the most energetic performances I’ve ever seen in a live DVD.

They seem so pleased to on stage and genuinely in to what they are doing and it subsequently comes across in the music, what you get is the electrifying sound of a band genuinely playing the absolute hell out of their instruments, with Chuck Billy engaging with the crowd at every opportunity, commanding the stage like an absolute master, so into the performance that he is playing air guitar (in a cynicism free way) and headbanging like a fan. This is the sort of performance that will win over non fans.

To conclude, Live In London is one of the best metal DVDs on the market, and I say that without hyperbole, even after all this time has passed since its release. Superb Audio Visual quality, Superb idea in the first place and finally a beyond-superb performance.