SOUND BITES

What can I say about Testament at this point that hasn't been talked about for the majority of their 30+ year career? Even those with a passing familiarity with metal probably know some of their story; coming up in the Bay Area thrash scene of the mid-80s, they were just one of scores of fledgling bands to be influenced by the juggernaut that was Metallica. For some, that's where the story begins and ends, in their minds the band that tried to mimic Metallica so hard they still do it to this day. The thing is, Testament's story is a little more aligned with Slayer in my mind, so as to say they refined their core sound to a point and have stuck with it more or less the entire way. A few detours happened as part of their journey (and they were largely ill-received, proving my belief that metal fans are the most fickle of any genre), but in 2020 Testament are regarded more than perhaps any of the Big Four (especially in the wake of Slayer's retirement) as the dependable...

Next year marks thirty years since Testament's recorded debut, the heavily lauded The Legacy . The metal environment they entered back in 1987 was exploding in popularity, and they arrived as their contemporaries were making the most important and enduring music of their genre. They've been no slouches either, but they've been comparably overshadowed over the decades by the "Big 4", bands who've stayed popular but not always stable. Through it all, a couple of slight missteps aside, Testament has simply gone about the business of making the best records they can; eleventh album Brotherhood of the Snake is no exception. While it's can't boast the same consistency of their last two (2008's The Formation of Damnation and 2012's Dark Roots of Earth , both very solid records) and the scope has been scaled back somewhat, there's still plenty to enjoy here. In an era where metal bands are fighting more and more desperately to maintain relevanc...

TESTAMENT Dark Roots Of Earth From: Dark Roots of Earth Released: July 31 All the talk about “The Big Four” of metal focuses on the failures and shortcomings of what many metalheads consider the last of the old guard; Metallica's downward spiral into self-parody, Megadeth's detours into lunacy, Slayer's constant rehash and Anthrax's personnel troubles. Not to say that these bands are all bad or anything; indeed, they're all still very successful bands with devoted fans. But, what of Testament, the band that was always just there? They made great records, but never caught the public's attention like The Big Four; maybe that's why they were never really taken all that seriously when it came down to who sucked and who was awesome. Now, with all four of those other bands distracted with their various issues, Testament just up and released another indisputable beast of an album in Dark Roots Of Earth . While the other four were seemingly fighting over ...

When you think of the much-lauded and scrutinized Big Four of metal, you think of a group of bands who have solidified themselves as the cornerstones on which all heavy metal is built.  You've got Metallica, whose influence on the genre is well documented.  However, most of their output, and especially all of their albums from the last 20 years or so, have been divisive and/or frustrating affairs for metalheads.  Then, there's Megadeth who, though doing well by their devoted fans these days, went through a borderline embarrassing five-year period that started in the late 90's with the epic genre-hopping fail Risk . When you think of Anthrax, you think of the lovable outsiders who never took themselves as seriously as their peers, but could bludgeon you with a nuke of a riff when need be.  But, they've had their share of drama, not the least of which being the six-year ordeal of releasing their last album.  And as for Slayer?  Well, they've arguably held...