Testament--First Strike Still Deadly (2001/Burnt Offerings)
Rating--9.3
The New Order--RealAudio The Preacher--RealAudio
Tracks have been taken from the band's first two releases (1987's 'The Legacy' & 1988's 'The New Order') and re-recorded using the group's brutal, post-'94
distortion. All of Chuck Billy's vocals have been redone as well, and he is at his predatory best. The result is a thrashing, menacing slab of Bay Area staples. Longtime
guitarist Alex Skolnick was asked back for this project, and provides the lead work alongside the ever-solid Eric Peterson. All the while the sound is in the undeniable
vein of 'Low', 'Demonic', and 'The Gathering'. Testament is one of the top power/thrash acts of the past 10 years; hopefully Billy can fully recover from his recent throat
cancer treatments and the band can continue to ravage the metal world.
The intensity is staggering, as the improvements in the energy levels of the tracks are spectacular. Purely piledriving choruses mark "Into the Pit" and "Disciples of the
Watch," "Trial By Fire" is full of rip-thrash grooving, and "The New Order" is a punishing slab.
The steady-galloping, moving verse pace of "The Preacher" stands
out, and other solid cuts include "First Strike Is Deadly," "Burnt Offerings," and the post-chorus raging of "Over the Wall".
Original singer Steve Souza (who moved on
to Exodus) appears on the chunky tracks "Alone in the Dark" and "Reign of Terror," and while he does a fair job, it becomes apparent that the band made a wise choice
in eventually changing singers. Chuck Billy is definitely one of a kind--as is the present-day sound of Testament.
TRACK LIST: First Strike Is Deadly/Into the Pit/Trial By Fire/Disciples of the Watch/The Preacher/Burnt Offerings/Over the Wall/The New Order/The Haunting/Alone in
the Dark/Reign of Terror
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