Testament - Low
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Speaking of Testament, D.X. Ferris (author of the 33 1/3 book on Slayer's Reign in Blood) has written a fine article on Testament for the Village Voice Media group of weeklies. Of interest is the discussion of Native American shamanic medicine in Chuck Billy's fight against cancer. To my delight, Ferris mentions "Trail of Tears" from Low. The Alex Skolnick years of Testament are rightly considered the classic ones. But for sound quality and sheer power, I prefer what came afterwards, starting with Low (Atlantic, 1994).
Two key personnel changes occurred between 1992's The Ritual and Low. James Murphy and John Tempesta replaced Skolnick and Louie Clemente on lead guitar and drums, respectively (not counting a brief lineup shuffle for 1993's Return to the Apocalyptic City live EP). Murphy was a tasty shredder like Skolnick, but less elegant and more visceral. Tempesta, who would drum on White Zombie's Astro Creep: 2000 a year later, was a clean, rock-solid timekeeper.
The memorably heavy result straddled thrash and death metal. Songs charged through catchy riffs, with solos only when necessary. (Ironically, "Trail of Tears" is a very Skolnick-esque ballad.) Billy's vocals on "Low" are perhaps his finest performance to date. The crisp, balanced production is arguably the best Testament has ever had, in a career plagued with wildly inconsistent production. From personal experience, Low is by far the best Testament record to blast in a car. It's not canonical, but it's a must-have.
Labels: clee, death metal, thrash metal, usa
1 Comments:
"Trail of Tears" was the only song that made me want to keep this CD when I was younger, but I still sold it. I don't really care for anything they did after "The Ritual", sans the new one, but even the new one is WAY overrated.
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