Testament - The Legacy review
| Band: | Testament |
| Album: | The Legacy |
| Style: | Bay Area thrash metal |
| Release date: | July 07, 1987 |
| Guest review by: | Maasai Mara |
01. Over The Wall
02. The Haunting
03. Burnt Offerings
04. Raging Waters
05. C.O.T.L.O.D.
06. First Strike Is Deadly
07. Do Or Die
08. Alone In The Dark
09. Apocalyptic City
The first time I listened to this, I thought this was Metallica and James Hetfield had finally improved his vocals (although they worked pretty well on Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning). To this day, while listening to this I still cannot shake off the idea that this is Metallica or some kind of Metallica tribute band. The vocals sound Metallica-ish, the riffing and guitar solos sound like something Kirk Hammett wrote, and the fact that Testament are from the Bay Area does not help their case. They even copied the laugh at the end of "Master Of Puppets" in "C.O.T.L.O.D.", which, in true Testament fashion, still sounds weaker than that in "Master Of Puppets". Metallica is the hunter and Testament the prey, as they loudly proclaim on "Do Or Die."
Borrowing from Jay-Z while dissing Nas on the track "Takeover," "So yeah, I sampled your voice because you were using it wrong. You made it a hot line, I made it into a hot song." This is exactly what Testament do with The Legacy; sure, they copy Metallica, but they sound almost as good as Metallica on RTL. This is the album that Metallica should have released after RTL: same old fun, thrashy, melodic Bay Area thrash with fun, memorable solos and sweet-sounding riffs. I mainly like this album not because of Testament's effort as musicians but because it represents what Metallica should have kept releasing: passable and good thrash that could have made them the greatest band in the whole world.
This is a good thrash album, though not an essential one; you will be forgiven by thrash fans for claiming you have never heard of Testament or listened to this album. The album is tolerable, and "Over The Wall" and "Do Or Die" are straight-out thrash bangers. "Alone In The Dark" is another standout track. The Legacy is like a mistress who is less pretty than your wife but her saving grace is the fact that she is 10 years younger than your wife and reminds you of her in her younger days and the reasons you fell in love with her.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Maasai Mara | 16.03.2019
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
8.8
8.8
|
Rating: 8.8 |
For me Testament are one of those bands which peaked way too early. In my eyes they never ever topped their debut The Legacy and although they released many great subsequent releases, I do not think any of them match this. Musically, Testament were never as direct and ferocious as on The Legacy, delivering harder, darker, and more energetic songs than on their subsequent albums and what the album lacks in variety it makes up for in intensity. Don't let that statement confuse you however: Testament still manage to pack in a surprisingly diverse collection of musically interesting songs on this album. What has been put together here is a collection of songs that rival the intensity of Slayer, the polish of Megadeth, and the sleaze drenched mayhem of Overkill. In each song there is an unmistakeable seal of virtuosity and intelligence, mixed with the permanent insanity and brutality in lyrics and music, which unfortunately never would be so intense in any later Testament releases. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 11
Visited by: 79 users
| Novas Posts: 234  |
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| UPDIRNS Posts: 366 |
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| Athropos Burning inside Posts: 161  |
Quote: Yeah sure, Metallica shouldn't have released Master of Puppets, everyone knows that.
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| Big-Al Posts: 548  |
Metallica, Metallica, Metallica, Jay-Z, Metallica... ...
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| Redel Moderator Posts: 2250  |
Written by Big-Al on 16.03.2019 at 19:53 Well, actually it is: Metallica, Metallica, Metallica, Metallica, Testament, Testament, Metallica, Testament, Jay-Z, Testament, Metallica, Metallica,Metallica, Testament, Metallica, Testament.  While I do agree that this is quite a lot of reference to Metallica for a Testament review, I have to admit that I do agree on the degree of similarity here. In particular: "The first time I listened to this, I thought this was Metallica and James Hetfield had finally improved his vocals (...). To this day, while listening to this I still cannot shake off the idea that this is Metallica or some kind of Metallica tribute band." +1 That said, this album is essential Thrash.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7351  |
Of course they were greatly influenced by Metallica because Metallica influenced myriad thrash bands back in the day. However, not that many of those stood out and managed to make a remarkable career the way Testament did. Of course this album is essential thrash because it's full of astonishing thrash songs.
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| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2573  |
Agreed, my favorite Metallica album.
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Maasai Mara Posts: 159  |
Written by UPDIRNS on 16.03.2019 at 17:46 You and your friends simply do not know what thrash is if you feel that Testament belong to the ALL TIME GREATS of thrash. Simply a Metallica tribute band that had this as their best effort.
---- You are not metal enough until you visit Kenya. The cradle of mankind, where man learnt first to work with stones and first enjoyed the sounds produced by banging stones which later influenced metal in all its sounds and genres.
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| Maasai Mara Posts: 159 |
Written by Athropos on 16.03.2019 at 18:12 Amen brother, Master of Puppets is one of the most overrated albums to ever be released and the template which went on to inspire half assed and low energy thrash that would come after it .
---- You are not metal enough until you visit Kenya. The cradle of mankind, where man learnt first to work with stones and first enjoyed the sounds produced by banging stones which later influenced metal in all its sounds and genres.
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| UPDIRNS Posts: 366 |
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62020  |
Man this vocals are equal as James, its all how singer sings in front of music and voice dont sound like his at all
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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