Testament: Great thrash or tinny dirge?

They released some good albums thoughout their career.  Very consistent output, though I don't know if they have any "essential" recordings.  Haven't put much thought into it.  My favorite album of theirs is probably Low.  I don't listen to them much these days, and I can't get into their latest album.  I just haven't been into thrash metal in general lately.

I've never liked Testament. I haven't heard all of their albums but from what I have heard they sound pretty weak to me.

Jesus . . .
How old are you "Kids" ?

Come on, they were HUGE back in the day. the 1st 3 albums are classics, but put yourself back in that time. Not till "Obituary" did some figure out how to "mic" double bass drums to get the cuncussion out of them!
Yes "Tinny" because Thrash was NEW and so was the engineering for it, who did they have to copy?
These were among the 1st Thrashers to be more than fast, they were technical and were very good musicians.
Like most of the originals, newer bands come along to "one-up" the previous bands and take the music to new hieghts, Production, Engineering and Technology finally catches up and even CRAPPY bands sound better (notice I say "sound" better).
I give a lot of credit to them, Billy has gone through alot himself, almost dieing, having a Benifit Concert/ Metal Fest for him, that doubled for Schuldiner (The 2 "Chucks"), Alex Skolnick leaving to persue his Fusion/Prog needs for creativity, the Band breaking up, reforming . . . and still at it. 
I can think of a TON of Bands that are doing it for "Lifestyle Maintenance" or just sounding as shitty as ever.  I do believe these guys are doing it for the Love of it.  I dont think they were really "Aggro", because they always did solos (if I'm not mistaken), a bit more technical, and Chuck made the change to "sing" cookie vocals because it was the time and probably easier to sing that way (as he gets older).
These among many others I need to get their catalogue, I think they are among the greats and many wouldnt be here if it wasnt for the "Big 20".

Its just my opinion though .


Edited by MAVIIIVAM - 23 Apr 2010 at 9:43pm

Still exploring the realms of Testament for now... but from what I've heard, thier older stuff is better. As for production, it's not something I care much about, it's the songs that matter to me.

Testament, IMO, was the truest thrash metal band to have ever been formed.  Although they did do some stuff with death metal, they never really strayed from their thrash roots, and I respect that a lot *coughmetallicacough*.

The only problem with Testament was that they were never really extraordinary to begin with.  They were consistent all across the board, yes, but to that extent, a lot of their music was just sorta... meh.  Good, but not great.  Their standoff moments were few and far between, unlike their contemporaries Megadeth and still-then-thrash-Metallica, who had hit after hit with their discography.
Granted, Testament still has their moments.  The Formation of Damnation is one of my favorite thrash metal albums, and albums like The Gathering and Practice What You Preach are both excellent as well.

I think Testament have released some great albums. I don't know if I think that their production sucks, but "First Strike Still Deadly" does show what a difference the up-to-date production technology can make.

I actually think that a lot of their stuff is great ;-)

The first album that i hear was The Legacy, and it's an excellent album, then i forward only to found that is one of the most brilliant bands that have rise in the metal  wave of the 80's , unfortunately eclipsed by the "Big Four"

Okay,

Fave songs in "order of appearence":
The Legacy-
Over the Wall (tell tale sign that a Band will be really good if the opener is a WIN).
The Haunting (The main riff that builds and begins to harmonize, awesome song).
Raging Waters (great riffage and I love that many Thrash Bands are facinated by "The Devils Triangle").
COTLOD (at the time, "one of" the most aggressive songs I ever heard).
Those are the memorable ones but I enjoy the entire album.

The New Order-
Eerie Inhabitance (Again, a great opener).
The New Order (probably my fave on this one, very catchy).
Trial by Fire (another catchy HEAVY but not Thrashy song).
Into the Pit (made for slamming and moshing! Should be an Anthem!).
Disciples of the Watch (hmmm, maybe this is a fave too, HEAVY and aggressive).
A Day of Reckoning (again, all the guys showing their chops, technicality and speed).
Musical Death (a Dirge) (Beautiful piece featuring Alex and Eric on guitars).
Another solid album too.

Practice what you Preach-
Practice what you Preach (gotta' know how to open your albums, apparently they do and the
lyrics to this song ALWAYS comes to mind when this "situation" occurs, seems some folks
should heed this . . . hint hint).
Perilous Nation (Testament getting more topical, which is why I like Thrash of this kind, and the
music solid).
Time is Coming (again, lyrics I can relate to, and a period when Thrash had something to say).
Blessed in Contempt (another HEAVY dose of something to think about and awesome riffage).
Greenhouse Effect (topical, and maybe ahead of thier time with a handful of other bands, set to
heavy music to rally with).
Sins of Omission (good words along with heavy tones, get your aggressions out but not to be
self destructive).
The Ballad (just what it says on the package, I think Chuck does a real good job trying out a Ballad
with some really great melodies).
Confusion Fusion (Alex shows off "whats to come" in his future, all hands sans Billy do a serious
Instrumental workover).

Souls of Black-
Beginning of the End (This Intro is quite beautiful with a Middle Eastern or "Turkish" feel to it).
Face in the Sky (We are starting to hear a Testament staying heavy but "slowing down" but still
writing decent songs. I like the riffs on this one, very catchy).
Souls of Black (I love the Groove of this title track).
Absence of Light (a real good headbanging song).
Love to Hate (I remember that this is the one that had the most memorable "Faster" riffs on the
album and liked its structure, as usual, very groove driven).
Malpractice (the Riffs get a bit technical on this one, more headbanging fun!).
One Mans Fate (again, a bit technical at the beginning...).
I dont remember the last 2 (or 3) songs.

The Ritual-
I was VERY dissapointed with this album, this is when I started to lose interest, though it was
curious again with "Demonic" because they were getting heavier, and that got me to listen to
"Low".  I never bought those 2 and my love for Prog and the many sub-genres of "Prog Metal"
then took over my collection for awhile.
Though all those songs above are from my memory only, most of my CD's including Thrash
albums are in the Garage in boxes because I'm in a temporary living situation so I dont
get to enjoy my collection as I used to.  So I didnt "cheat" and go through a "Quicky Review" .

I know we are here to express ourselves, that heavy metallers have strong "opinions", but I think
we all have to be careful what to "assume" and remember that "One mans meat is anothers poison".
I can think of, litterally a hundred "Lower Grade" Thrash bands other than Death Angel and Flotsam
& Jetsam.  As a matter of fact, for me, other than the 1st F&J album, I have liked just about every
album and song from them, I think they are SUPER underated, their 2nd "No Place for Discrace"
thru "Drift" are my particulr faves, I have only not heard their latest album.
"Doomsday for the Deceiver" was to me, just getting a feel for what they could do at the time.
The Guitars had no theory by way of Solos (lots of noodley solos), interesting riffs and Lyrics by
Newsted that needed maturing.  I would have loved to see what Newsted would have "become"
with his writing of "No Place for Discrace" if he had stayed, because that album was a shock how
awesome (Troy Gregory joins the band at this time) Michael Gilbert had become on Guitar.

Anthrax, the 1st one was what made me a fan, it was the 1st time hearing them when that album
was released and "Deathrider", "Death from Above", "Panic" and "Across the River" were my faves
on this album, and was one of the heaviest bands at that time (again "from that time").  Anthrax is
recognized to many (Critics and Armchair critics alike) to be one of the quintessential pioneers of
the genre, and Ian and Dan were featured in many "Guitar Magazines" for their abilities and musical
prowess (This before these Mags, unfortunately started to feature "popular" Bands guitarists on
their covers to sell more mags, as it spread like a disease . . . pun intended).
My following stopped when Belladonna left (or was it fired?), then Dan Spitz left, and the music
became too basic.  It wasnt Anthrax anymore for me, and I like John Bush, but only in Armoured
Saint (vocalist).  I'd meet folks that didnt like Belladonna's voice "He sings like he's in Journey",
some folks just think inside a box I guess.

By the way, "Of course, Anthrax were Metallica's support act on the MoP tour in 1986, and it couldn't have been the other way around, even given that Jaymez broke his arm." ...depends who you ask .
The rivalry was just as strong with Megadeth vs Metallica Fans, thats what I remember around
these parts anyway.  Anthrax used to give the boys in Metallica a place to stay in NY when they
1st toured.  If some of us dont, at-least they respect each other.

"I MUCH preferred Testament to Death Angel, Flotsam and Jetsam and the other "lower-grade" bands - they were more a kind of halfway house, like Dark Angel or Kreator - who were both somewhat better than Testament, but not really up with the big boys, like Tankard, Sacred Reich, Helloween, Death or Anthrax..."

Again, depends where you are I guess.  Tankard certainly was not one of the "Big Boys" here
in Ca. and maybe in the US.  I did not know very many people who knew who they were.
I knew folks (not me) that thought Helloween were annoying and Sacred Riech not fast enough. 
Now Kreator, they had legions of fans and I'm one of them.
But my fave era was for "Extreme Aggressions" and "Coma of Souls" because they got out of
the "Speed Metal" idea of just playing fast . . . now they were getting fast , brutal, but technical
(I can easily name all the songs I LOVE as well and why ).

Tastes run different in the Bay Area (Calif.), the Mid-west, South and East coast, so imagine what
its like in Europe and South America . . .

MAVIIIVAM wrote: I knew folks (not me) that thought Helloween were annoying and Sacred Riech not fast enough.

It's true that "The American Way" and, later "Independent" are not that fast. I mean, the latter isn't even really a thrash album. But "Ingorance" have some very fast stuff on it, so those people must have been craving for  something like grindcore to emerge :-)


Edited by Time Signature - 03 May 2010 at 6:47pm