Customer Rating:  
Summary: Triumphant Return Of Underappreciated Thrash Pioneers
Comment: Testament seemed poised on the brink of mainstream success in the '80s alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, but for some reason their mixture of progressive musical elements, epic songwriting, and heavy riffing never caught on.... After Alex Skolnick left the band to follow his mucial muse into jazz, the group went through various lineups and iterations, but never landed the success they deserved, and haven't released a new album in nearly a decade.
With "The Formation Of Damnation" the band returns with a nearly complete lineup (Paul Bostaph of ex-Slayer fame, sits in on the drums) and fires on all cylinders, putting out an intricate and heavy prog-tinged release that should hopefully gain them some new fans, and certainly please their old-school fan base. I have been spinning this disc since it's release, and I'm still very impressed. Testament manage to resurrect their signature "sound" on this disc, to great effect. Chuck Billy sounds absolutely fantastic...it's great to hear his unique vocal style again after all these years-and having Alex back playing snaky, unpredictable leads over Eric Peterson's chunky, hyper-speed rhythms is just as much fun as I remember. With Andy Sneap at the helm on production, the mastering is great, and doesn't suffer from the murkiness of some of Testanment's other releases. Very solid modern metal album with a lot of fan service...recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Metal Album fof the Year,,,2008
Comment: Sadly, I had forgotten about these guys, even having 6 Testament CD's in my collection and having had the pleasure of seeing them at a Mosters of Rock Festival in Germany in '93/'94.
From hearing some samples, I knew FORMATION was going to be a good CD however, when I popped it in I was blown away right from the beginning. This CD is a rush, turn it to 10 and hold on. Song for song it is as good if not better than The Gathering and is a much needed kick in the pants for today's metal were everyone sounds so similar and each band's songs sound the same throughout their the albums.
I am glad these guys are back and I cannot wait to see them on the METAL MASTERS Tour this summer. Hopefully they will finally get the recognition they deserve.
If anyone can tell me other new albums that are as good as this or better, please let me know as I always need to hear new music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brutal!!
Comment: This album is a headbangers gem!!! It features the return of Alex Skolnic and Greg Christian, whose guitar and bass work make this album soar with feroricity!! I've been a Testament fan since the 1989 Practice What You Preach album, and these guys never cease to amaze me. This band has been loyal to it's fans, and has never sold out!! If nothing else each album they come out with keeps getting heavier, and better!! Metallica should take some hints from these guys! This album reminds me of earlier work such as Pwyp and the New Order, and recent work such as The 1999 album The Gathering. Chuck Billy's voice never sounded better, and it's a good thing he won his battle with cancer. This is a brutal thrash metal album not for the faint of heart. The track that stands out for me is The Evil Has Landed, which tells of the horrifying events of 9\11. This album is highly recommended for fans of thrash metal. Thanks Teastament for keeping real metal alive!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Please break up
Comment: I like a lot of people out there have been a Testamant fan since The Legacy came out.
Every disc they did was great right up until Demonic.
This disc has no point of existing.
There is no variety among the songs. One reviewer stated, if you liked the sound of the first four albums, that sound is long gone. How true, and how sad.
What a pity that so many bands that were once great are STILL trying to reinvent themselves. Don't they get it? We started listening to you because of the way you USED to sound.
Nine years for this???
I listened to it once and into the garbage it went.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Whats old is new again.
Comment: I won't go into great detail except to say this disc is perfection. It is like seeing an old friend again from the first to last song. Fans know the story behind Chuck Billy and his ailments and it is amazing he still keeps on today. To have Skolnick back in the band makes this even more of a treat. Like Chucks other project, Dublin Death Patrol, this is pure Bay-area sound like it was and should be. The new cookie cutter metal bands of today (Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Killswitch and the other 10,000 that sound JUST LIKE THEM!) need to look at these icons and see how it is supposed to be done. Tried and true, the sound remains the same when it comes to Testament. Sample the title track and see for yourself...this IS the mandatory CD release for 2008 for any purveyor of metal.
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