Testament - Formation of Damnation
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Free Music Notes for Formation of Damnation
Free Music Review: I'll Be Damned...
Hit: 5 Stars
Testament. Somehow left out of the Big 4 of Thrash, they released a handful of classic albums in the late 80's and early 90's, creating a trademark sound of fast riffing and complex, beautiful solos at the hands of axeman Alex Skolnick. After the decent but different The Ritual in '92, Skolnick leaves the band and they fall off the map. After making a slight comeback in '99 with the groove/thrash/death masterpiece The Gathering, Testament once again fell off the map.
9 years later.
After hearing the news that Alex Skolnick was once again joining his old band after expirimenting with jazz and other genres, it was clear Testament was back for real. The Live in London CD/DVD from '05 (with Skolnick on lead axe) gave hope, and finally in '08, hope was no longer needed. This new effort features not only Skolnick back on lead guitars, but Testament mainstays Chuck Billy on vocals and Eric Peterson on rhythm guitars, original bass player Greg Christian and ex-Slayer drummer, Paul Bostaph.
Every song on this album is fairly unique and I think it creates a decent blend of Testament's whole catalouge. We've got The Gathering-esque tracks (TFoD), Low-esque tracks (The Evil Has Landed, Killing Season), the closest thing to a The Ritual-esque track (Afterlife) and of course, The Legacy/The New Order/Practice What You Preach/Souls of Black-esque tracks (More Than Meets The Eye, Henchmen Ride, The Persecuted Won't Forget, F.E.A.R.) In fact, the bridge riff from Henchmen Ride sounds like it's been torn straight out of the mid '80's. Every member of the band sounds great as well, some more than others however. Obviously, Skolnick sounds great. For those of us diehard Testament fans, his solos are instantly recognizable and definitely welcome after 3 albums without. He also wrote the song F.E.A.R. entirely on his own. Peterson inputs some great songwriting as usual as well as his spectacular rhythm playing and even a few leads. Chuck Billy... This man deserves special mention. Not only does he possess a beast-like size and appearance, he's got a beast-like voice to back it up. After a battle with cancer in the early '00's, Billy sounds better than ever here. That's right. Chuck Billy is so beastly, he beat cancer. He mostly sticks to the classic '80's melodic singing style that made him great, but occasionally blends in the '90's death growls and does it well. (Listen to the end of F.E.A.R.) Christian and Bostaph don't shine on this one, but they aren't supposed to. There are some nice drum fills and the bass can be heard rumbling in the background occasionally, but nothing standout. Even the rhythm-heavy closer, Leave Me Forever, is just good, not great.
In the end, Testament have created a great album, tapping their old thrash metal roots in the process. Nowhere near as groovish as Low (probably due to a return to E tunings on the guitars, unlike many other "thrash comebacks" ie. Slayer's Christ Illusion or Exodus's last few albums) or as deathish as The Gathering, The Formation of Damnation blends everything Testament has ever done. Even though the production is crystal clear, it's the low point of the album. (A testament to how great the album is overall... no pun intended) The bass could definitely be louder and some solos are too quiet, but otherwise, it's all good. Past, present and future are all looking good for the mighty Testament.
Free Music Review: The best metal album of 2008!.
Hit: 5 Stars
The Formation of Damnation was an excellent album from Testament, this being their 9th album so far and they have been getting better throughout the years considering what singer Chuck Billy went through (he successfully recovered from throat cancer and is doing great) they only got heavier as the years progressed, it seems like Testament are still going strong and two old members have returned along with former Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph. The classic Testament thrash sound still lives on in such tracks as the title track and The persecuted won't forget and not to mention the brilliant More than meets the eye which has surprisingly thrashy tempos and blistering leads, it definitely sounds like a mix of the old thrash style found on Practice What You Preach along with the newer sound on The Gathering. I honestly couldn't find a single bad track on this album, it was flawless and it was definetely a great comeback album. The album retains some speed when it gets going it has some of the best frantic,savage riffing I've ever heard along with some fantastic drumming and great soaring melodies while retaining that metal basis, the band is instrumentally proficient with Alex Skolnick providing some great solos check out the great solo on Henchmen Ride which is another favorite song of mine. The songs also have more of a political theme and deals with alot of current events like 9/11 on The evil has landed, Killing season and Fear which is about the dishonest and untrustworthy Bush administration both are great tracks off course, theres also the great song Afterlife which deals with alot of personal stuff that Chuck went through and has some great lyrics, when I first listened to this album I didn't think that they would be as good as before since they were absent for so long but I was completely wrong, it was just amazing. Testament is one of the most respected groups in thrash metal and this album was their best next to Practice, The New Order and Low. Formation is a masterpiece and should be a part of any serious headbanger's collection period so get this album now WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!! \m/.Free Music Review: Delightfully Brutal Thrash Metal from One of the Masters
Hit: 5 Stars
I had the pleasure of seeing Testament perform many songs off this CD about a month before it was released, and I was completely blown away!
Chuck Billy is a formidable force of nature, Paul Bostaph (who many already know from Slayer, Forbidden, and Exodus) is in top form on drums, and it's great to have Alex Skolnick and Greg Christian back on lead guitar and bass, respectively, as well as to hear the blistering rhythm riffs from Eric Peterson. Testament has come alive again, stronger than ever.
Personally, I absolutely love "The Evil Has Landed" (about the 9/11 attacks), "Henchmen Ride," (Hey, I'm a biker!), and the title track, but the entire CD is SOLID thrash metal, and as others have said, it is (or certainly should be) in contention as one of the best thrash metal CDs of 2008. I highly recommend it to any Testament fan, fans of Bay Area thrash metal, and thrash metal fans in general. "The Formation of Damnation" contributes significantly to the resurgence of the thrash metal sound, an honor shared by Slayer's "Christ Illusion," Death Angel's "Killing Season" and previously "The Art of Dying," Exodus' "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" and "Tempo of the Damned" before that, as well as several other bands from the US and abroad...Kreator being a particularly notable European thrash band. Testament holds their own with all the thrash masters.
"The Formation of Damnation" is further proof that thrash metal is back with a vengeance! I'd say to not only buy this CD, but to see Testament live if at all possible, as they're touring extensively this year (hopefully longer), and are impressively brutal live.
Free Music Review: To those of you too young to know
Hit: 5 Stars
This is Testament. Formed in 1983 with Steve Souza singing originally known as The Legacy. Since the birth of American thrash back in the 80's Testament has been cranking out metal that was fast, intense and heavy yet melodic. 25 years later We are blessed with this masterpiece of an album. From the very get-go this album gets in the mood to rock. With crushing metal anthems like "More Than Meets the Eye" we see a brand new old band resurge with awesome crafted guitar riffs that seem to punch the ear drums as if to say, "Don't call it a comeback!" Alex Scholnick and Eric Petereson's chops cannot be matched by many. They shine on this album as if they never missed a beat. "The Evil Has Landed' displays a sort of Practice What you Preach era. One of my favorite solos is on this song. The title track is probably the most intense song I've heard since "Of Dog Faced Gods" off Low. Killer breakdown and double-bass by Bostaph(a far better drummer than Tempesta). Do yourself a favor and don't drive listening to "The Persecuted Won't Forget". Your bound to want to get a speeding ticket and possibly a bad case of road rage. "F.E.A.R. is one the most old-school songs I've heard them do in years. Sounds like maybe something off of The New Order. Very 80's type rock chorus with a fat solo break and dueling leads. All in all kiddies this band help influence and pave the way for bands like Shadows Fall, Avenged Sevenfold, The Absence,Trivium. So put this record and school yourself with some old-school metalFree Music Review: The thrash pioneers show the bands these days how to do it
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll keep this one short and sweet. I had the pleasure of seeing testament live during 1 of thier 4 american tour dates last year. Nick Barker had been deported and Paul Bostaph(my favorite all time drummer btw) filled in on 48 hours notice. They played a blistering 21 song set with The Afterlife off of this as a taste of what this would be like. Well, it was a good taste but this album is unbelievable on all accounts. The Afterlife is a killer song and holds up well but there are many strong tracks on this release. I'm glad they kept Bostaph as thier permanent drummer also. He brings alot to the band. All you can really say is it's a Testament album, That's all the compliment it needs. For the glory of just is the build up for the damn bursting. The next 3 tracks(more than meets the eye,the evil has landed, the formation of damnation) all run at a blistering pace with excellent playing by all involved and chuck billy's powerful vocals standing above all. In short, this album is a heavy metal lovers dream, a band who never sold out or gave in to any trends release another master piece on thier own terms and it is incredible. The other standout tracks for me are the persecuted won't forget, henchmen ride, killing season, afterlife, leave me forever(with some of greg christians great bass playing holding it together). Do yourself a favor if you haven't already, pick it up. You won't be disappointed. Can't wait to see them on the metal masters tour. Gonna rule.