Testament Album: “The Gathering (Prosthetic)”

It may be because I've owned it longer than any other Testament album, but "The Gathering" is my personal favorite C.D. by this band. Every band member is at the top of his game, here. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo does an excellent job filling in for Louie, Chuck's vocals are snarlier and stronger than usual (sounding a little bit like Machine Head with a hint of black metal), and the guitarists are the key to the attack; James Murphy and Eric Peterson play booming riff after blowtorch riff. The final sound sort of reminds me of old school Sepultura meets Metallica.

Plus, "The Gathering" might be the best produced Testament record. The production is crystal clear and very apparent, but it's not a case of the "everything but the kitchen sink production;" this album isn't overproduced to hide a lack of musical talent.

It's also different from most other Testament releases because "The Gathering" is quite a bit heavier (it's probably their heaviest album.) It's still plenty fast, but some death metal influence is also incorporated into their patented thrash.

Album opener, "D.N.R." begins with a few acoustic strums, but they are quickly eliminated when the pounding electric guitars storm onto the scene. Next, "Down For Life" has fast and heavy churning riffs. Track five, "3 Days in Darkness," has fiery chug and churn riffs and great, machine gun drumming. Elsewhere, "Legions of the Dead" has more blistering, almost careening guitar work, and "Riding the Snake" has explosive guitar riffs, propulsive drumming, and great bass lines by Steve. But this album doesn't get by on just volume, because most of the songs--especially "Eyes of Wrath" and "Careful What You Wish For"--are very catchy. And some songs (i.e. tracks six and eleven) sound downright awesome, with a great give and take between the propulsive guitars and rapid, double bass drumming.

So, what we have here is another great Testament disc. It might be their best yet, and it's a modern classic, if you ask me. This album always makes for a great listen, and it's especially refreshing with all of the wannabe thrash bands out there today. The bottom line is this is a must own for all thrash and death metal fans. And if you like thundering rhythms, great riffs and drumming, and all-around kick ass metal, you will love "The Gathering." I know I do!

Binding together years of angst and under-recognition with the threads of musicianship is one thing, but gathering up all those bits and pieces into masterful work of artistic aggression is something completely different. After fifteen years of toiling in the shadows of the bay-area thrash scene and the fickle responce of the public to metal, Testament leave its greatest mark. The latest recorded incarnation of Testament stitches together pieces of its own past into a regenerated form on The Gathering. Just as the title of the album implies, it is a coming together of musical masterminds from the most impressive of metal backgrounds. Joining founders Chuck Billy (voices) and Eric Peterson (guitar) are Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Grip Inc., Fantomas) on drums, Doug DiGornio (Death, Control Denied, session player) on bass, James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Low-era Testa, soloist) on guitar. Mustering up every bit of musical diversity found on Low with the threatening presence of

Demonic while harkening back to it's early days of The Legacy, Testament bring together power, percision and intensitity on eleven ear-pounding compositions. Incorperating his signature growl with the variety of vocal inflections he has used throughout his enduring career, Chuck Billy's emotional response to the bands new direction screams forth. Layer in the percussive guitar onslaught of Pererson and Murphy with their harmonized lead approach and the dynamic drumming of Lombardo and it is easy to hear how Testament have attempted to write a new book for American thrash, speed and death metal to follow. Blistering speed is countered with finess, overpowering climaxes are built out of subtle melodies, compositional depth born from musical ability and persistance translates to success. Even the production on "The Gathering" finds the band focused and poised to conquer with a crushing, weighty depth. If there had been any doubt about Testament's abilities or endurance they have surly been laid to rest now as the quintet has put into practice what it always preached: strong musicianship, insense song writing and an uncompromising metallic scowl on The Gathering.

I always listened to Testament over the years but was slowly losing interest (especially with Demonic). This album put me to shame. It is wicked. It is very heavy but never solely just for the sake of being heavy.

Chuck Billy has toned down the death in his singing but at the same time he hasn't lost any of his ferocity or growling ability. It's the new and improved Testament. While a lot of people might not even consider his singing to be death metal, I consider his performance on this album to be as close to perfection as any death metal (or related genre) could hope to be. The same band you love but twice the melody.

Dave Lombardo really helped with the drumming on this album (although Gene Hoglan could've stayed on and handled his duties equally well. SYL is probably better for him anyway). Lombardo adds a touch of added respect to a band that deserves it, but up until recently has not received it.

Now that I have mentioned the incredible drumming found on this cd, I must mention the work of one of the most underated guitarists in metal. Eric Peterson complements Dave Lombardo perfectly and vice versa. The guitar work is worth the price of the cd alone. I am a big fan of good guitar work but so are (I assume) most metal fans. Eric continues to pound out thrash that remains new and fresh yet original, heavy, and absolutely addictive.

The long and short of it is that this CD is amazing. Whether you are driving, walking, running, talking, yelling, drinking, eating...this is the cd that suits all accasions. In other words, the perfect thrash cd.

This is one of the most perfect metal albums I've ever heard, up there with Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes" and Slayer's "Reign in Blood". In fact, I'd dare to call it a hybrid of the two. My first Testament album was "The New Order", which is good, but not really unbelievable. It's kind of slightly above average thrash, and it gets a little old after a while. Plus, straight up thrash doesn't really do it for me like it used to. This album is something else entirely. There is still a great deal of thrash here (a few songs reach speeds rivaling that of the aforementioned "Reign in Blood"), but it's mainly a heavier, more sophisticated approach, something like progressive death metal. It's not as epic as I hoped it'd be, but much like "Reign in Blood", that hardly matters when the music's this good.

As you may know, there is quite the all-star lineup here. James Murphy (formerly of Obituary and Konkhra) puts on what is likely his greatest performance yet. Eric Peterson contributes leads this time. On the other album I have, he only does rhythm, so I don't know how long he's been doing leads. But anyway, that only makes it better, creating Slayer-esque guitar interplay. Sadly, there aren't as many solos as Slayer, but maybe that's good. They managed to make a technical album that's not too indulgent. Two great changes have been made to the lineup. After years of average drum/bass, they have added bass god Steve DiGiorgio (now in Iced Earth), and the great and powerful Dave Lombardo on drums, making for a killer rhythm section. Dave almost outdoes his work in Slayer, and Steve refuses to fade into the background (even though he does a lot of the time). And, fronting all this madness is the mighty Chuck Billy, one of the greatest metal vocalists on the planet. He puts on his greatest and most aggressive performance to date, mixing his normal Hetfield-on-steroids vocal style with the occasional death growl. He's not the greatest death growler, but he does an okay job, and he doesn't overdo it here (like on "Deomonic"). He doesn't really do any singing here, but oh well. It wouldn't really fit the album anyway.

This album is a dizzying metal onslaught that's great from start to finish. If I had to pick favorites, I'd probably say "Down for Life", "3 Days in Darkness", and "Riding the Snake", but I'd probably be lying, because they're all great. The weird thing is that on the label on the disc, it lists a 12th song (part of it's chopped off, but it looks like it says "Hammer of the Gods"), but there's no such song on the album. What's that about?

If you love metal, this album is a must-have. If you always hoped someone would someday recreate "Reign in Blood", run out and get this, because it's probably the closest anyone will ever come. Metallica and Slayer may be finished, but Testament reigns supreme. I think Chuck has some kind of illness, but let's all hope he pulls through, and continues to make some great music. They may never make a better album than this one, but let's hope it isn't their last.

Two words: Dave Lombardo. The man is a genius. It doesn't hurt that his talents happen to be showcased along with a group of brilliant musicians on one of the best albums ever released. It's almost as good as Reign in Blood, if such a thing is possible. And Dave's drumming on it is even better than it was during his Slayer days. Get this album. Now.