TESTAMENT — Dark Roots of Thrash (review)

TESTAMENT — Dark Roots of Thrash album cover Live album · 2013 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Kev Rowland
When one thinks of what this band have been through over the years it is something of a surprise to know that they are still going. But not only are they still going, they are producing some of the most incredible tight frenetic metal one could ever wish to hear. First off, whenever Gene Hoglan is behind the kit the guys in front of him have to lift their game as otherwise he will leave them for dead – easily one of the most influential and important drummers of the whole metal scene – so Greg Christian locks in and keeps his head down while Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson do what they do best, namely play guitar as if their lives depend on it. Then secondly at the helm is the man who refused to let a little thing like cancer stop him, Chuck Billy is a legend and this performance shows why that is.

Released with as a DVD/CD set I only have the one hour and forty minutes of music to listen to, but that is plenty to take in, as this is as brutal a set as one could wish for. The passion in “American Hate” is palpable while the fans at the Paramount in Huntington, NY back in February obviously had a blast. If you had been at the show that night this is what you would have got rammed down your ears. Apart from their most recent album I haven’t played much testament over the years but after hearing this I see that I am going to have to revisit my opinion of them as this is immense. All power to the production of this, as every nuance is captured as well as the sheer over the top metalness of it all.

Thrash rarely, if ever, gets better than this. Here is a live album that belongs in every metalheads collection.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

… And the Universe Keeps Silent Death Metal
MAERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Le bannissement Atmospheric Black Metal
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
God Damned You To Hell Traditional Doom Metal
FRIENDS OF HELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Absence Melodic Death Metal
THE ABSENCE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 8 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 8 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 8 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 11 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 11 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed