TESTAMENT – Dark Roots of the Earth


I was hoping that this Testament album would be either one of two things: either a horrible mess that I could easily tear into or a terrific return to form for these thrash legends. Sadly, it is neither. The riffs are there. “Rise Up,” the albums’ opener is catchy enough, though maybe it’s just my love of wrestling montage music. You know the big build up videos before that big main event. “Goood Gawd Stone Cold! Stone Cold!” would be yelled as Chuck Billy tells me “When I say rise up… You say War!!” Actually this entire album could be used to score your entire pay per view. Chuck Billy’s return to Testament has been great for some but on this album his vocals are merely meh. Which could pretty much sum up this album. Some tracks have decent enough parts (see solo on “Native Blood”) but again, Billy’s vocals brought my excitement level down. Also, why are these songs so long? My favorite thrash metal songs are always pretty short (Hirax anyone?). I lost interest halfway through this album and started watching King Of The Ring ’93. The main event where Bret Hart farts on Bam Bam’s head. Classic. (Nuclear Blast, nuclearblast.de) James Korba

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