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Practice What You Preach

Testament - Practice What You Preach Audio CD

A fair review of the Testament "Practice What You Preach" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Testament reviews here, or go back to the Testament tabs.

Band: Testament
Title: Practice What You Preach
Rating:

Release Date: 1989-08-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Practice What You Preach 2: Perilous Nation 3: Envy Life 4: Time Is Coming 5: Blessed in Contempt 6: Greenhouse Effect 7: Sins of Omission 8: Ballad 9: Nightmare (Coming Back to You) 10: Confusion Fusion [Instrumental]

Thrashy Goodness
To me this is one of the most accessible, perhaps almost commercial thrash albums there is. . in '89 perhaps it was, not sure but it was supposed to bring them into the group of Metallica/Megadeth/Anthrax league, and to me bands like Testament, Overkill, even Exodus deserved more respect but seemed to just fall short.

The overall feel of this album is very bright and straightforward for the most part, I love the bass sound of this CD. . . at high volume it can almost have a very live feel to it. . . very in your face, but at the same time the songs are interesting and catchy enough so as to hold your attention for song after song. Each song has it's own feel to so it's not just thrash after thrash song, it changes speeds and there are differnet tones thrown in, it's just a really interesting album to listen to for me anyway.

Favs include just about everything I love "Perilous Nation", "Envy Life", and of course the title track. "Sins Of Ommision" is probably the best of the bunch also. They do a ballad called "The Ballad" that is right up there with any Metallica ballad IMO also. Lot of great guitar work on here too of course which Testament is known for, a ballad, and some somewhat social and environmental issues that are kept on the light side, but represent the full force of this classic release. .

Heavy, Amazing, Thrashy, What More Can I Say
I think that this is testaments best album yet. This has to be one of the best thrash albums of all time. Even though all of there stuff is great. If you are a fan of thrash and you find this in your local record store I would pick this up FOR SURE. Every track rocks, but I thank the tital track is the best. Pick it up you will love it.

One of Testament's Best Releases.
While Testament's first two releases "The Legacy" from 1987 and "The New Order" from 1988 were both straight up headbanging thrash classics and they're both among some of my favorite 80's thrash albums, but "Practice What You Preach" (which was released in 1989) is more melodic and better production wise, but it still thrashes and dashes everything in it's path from start to finish, and that's exactly how a thrash metal album is supposed to sound. "Practice What You Preach" is definately one of Testament's best albums, and it's also in my opinion their best album from the late 80's, and a true thrash metal classic as well. Lead shredder Alex Skolnick really steals the show here, I mean his solos are simply fantastic and well complexed, they'll just tear your bare flesh off and have you air guitarring like crazy. He is definately one of the most underrated, yet respected and gifted lead guitarists not just in the thrash metal subgenre, but in METAL period. Eric Peterson is a very underrated rhythm guitarist, and an excellent one at that, as he provides great heavy riffing as well. Greg Christian's basslines are just sick, audible, and pulse pounding throughout here. Louie Clemente's drumming is fast, loud, energetic, and heavily pounding, and last but certainly not least, singer Chuck Billy delivers an awesome non stop performance on vocals. One minute he can sound aggressive and the next he can be melodic at times as well. Chuck is definately one of thrash metal's best singers and one of my favorites as well. As far as the songs go, well let's take a look at some of the favorites on here. The opening title track "Practice What You Preach" is one of Testament's best songs ever, as well as one of the best songs on here. It features thrashy chugging riffs, loud, thumping drum beats, great vocals from Chuck, and of course an excellent lengthy, wailing solo from Alex. Another heavy favorite of mine on here track six "Greenhouse Effect" is another one of Testament's most popular songs and their most lyrically accomplished song as well which of course is highlighted by more heavy chugging riffage, great vocals from Chuck, and of course another wicked solo by Alex. The verses and choruses in this song are awesome as well. "Perilous Nation" is another favorite that features more great perfectly executed soloing and of course we have some great fast, pounding drumwork from Louie. Track four "Time is Coming" is highlighted by more thrashy chugging riffs, and excellent thrashing tempos in the drums, and another shredding solo to boot. Track five "Blessed in Contempt" is a wicked in your face thrasher that features fast, savage, hammering drums from Louie, monster, thrashing riffs, energetic vocal work, and of course more great soloing as well. "Sins of Omission" is another favorite of mine that is highlighted by catchy, blowtorch riffing, and an excellently executed complexed yet crazy shredding solo from Alex that has several different parts to it which make it sound excellent of course. "Nightmare (Coming Back to You)" is a short but sweet catchy headbanger while the longest song on PWYP is none other than track eight "The Ballad" (which clocks in at 6:03) which of course starts out as a nice ballad with some nice acoustic plucking including an acoustic solo all in the beginning, but as the song goes on, it builds up momentum, and then around the 3:45 mark, the song turns into an all out thrash raid with pounding, straight ahead drumming, and thrashing riffage, and there's also another wailing, soaring solo to boot. For the entire song list, please read on.
Jeremy's song ratings:
1. Practice What You Preach (4:54) - 5/5
2. Perilous Nation (5:51) - 5/5
3. Envy Life (4:17) - 5/5
4. Time is Coming (5:26) - 5/5
5. Blessed in Contempt (4:14) - 5/5
6. Greenhouse Effect (4:53) - 5/5
7. Sins of Omission (5:00) - 5/5
8. The Ballad (6:03) - 5/5
9. Nightmare (Coming Back to You) (2:20) - 5/5
10. Confusion Fusion (instrumental) (3:07) - 5/5

Overall, this album is simply to put another classic headbanging thrash metal gem from these Bay Area thrash masters. True, Testament may not have invented thrash, but they've sure mastered it, and this album is indeed proof. So if you're a fan of Testament, thrash metal, bay area thrash, or just heavy metal period, then by all means, you must buy this album TESTAMENT RULES!!.

Another solid thrash album from Testament

This is another solid offering from Testament, and is good from the start to the end. Testament may not have invented thrash metal; nor be the most highly recognised name among thrash metal (perhaps depending if you count bands that don't play thrash metal anymore or not), but they are still the best thrash metal band, and even their worst albums put Metallica or most other bands' best to shame.

Testament at their best
Alex Skolnick was one of the best guitarists in metal at the time - very underrated in my opinion. This was among my favorite albums during my teen years. Great phrasing, passion, and technique that made not only his solos, but the most straight-forward rhythm work impressive. His riffs were quite an influence on my playing during that time period.

But it doesn't end with great guitar. Every one in Testament brought something worthwhile to the table. It was a collective act that really knew how to jam. I saw them twice in concert and they were excellent on both occasions. I'd definitely recommend this to any rock/metal fans!.

You can see a complete list of all Testament discography, or go back to the Testament tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.