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Testament - Souls of Black Audio CD

A fair review of the Testament "Souls of Black" 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.

Testament Band: Testament
Title: Souls of Black
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Beginning of the End 2: Face in the Sky 3: Falling Fast 4: Souls of Black 5: Absence of Light 6: Love to Hate 7: Malpractice 8: One Man's Fate 9: Legacy 10: Seven Days of May

why is there no track list for most of testaments albums on this site
why. i would like to see a track list but this sit dont include a song list for a ton of its cd;s .


I love this Band, but not this CD
This is not their best work, in fact, it may be their worst. Testament is one of my favorite bands, and has been since 1990. The album starts off ok, particularly Face in the Sky, and Souls of Black, but after that it mostly feels like filler. It is not nearly as powerful of a work as Practice What You Preach, or The New Order, or even The Legacy. The guitar work of Alex Skolnick is good as always, and the vocals of Chuck deliver, but many of the songs feel rushed, like they would not have made most of the other Testament Albums. If you are going to buy one Testament CD, make it either, The New Order, or their new one, The Formation of Damnation. If you buy this one, and it is the criteria you judge them upon, you may end up liking this band less than they deserve. .


a could have been great cd went south by rushing it and poor production!
this song could have been great but they just fall flat(I'v heard them live at the time and they are very good heavier than on cd)this cd was to put them up with the top 4 thrash bands but stalled them even after clash of the titans and opening for slayer. this cd was very rushed for the fact of wanting to get on the clash of the titans tour in 90 and for some damn reason this cd was recorded badly and have awful production.


Another good offering from Testament ... but certainly not their best


Second, this was their first album that was not solid from start to finish. First, the production was pretty bad (as it was on most early Testament albums, but this was thhe worst), meaning it's hard to feel the energy of the songs. You could play The Legacy, The New Order, or Practice What You Preach from start to finish and there was not a weak song or filler on the album, where Souls of Black is plagued by fillers.

Souls of Black, Face In The Sky and The Legacy are all top-notch songs from the band worthy of their first three albums. The problem is the rest of the album isn't as memoriable.

Still not a bad album by any means.


the pressure of touring
Topping Practice What You Preach would have required months of work and great, band-wide inspiration. Souls of Black was doomed.

I'm sure there is a more complete story out on the interweb, but the basic story here is that Testament wanted to tour with Monsters of Rock, but their label support them for it without a new album top promote. Under a TIGHT deadline (i think it was less then 6 months, but it could be even less), the band threw together this album, which has some great moments, but lacks any real greatness, particularly in the normally brilliant solos. I recall interviews with the band after the Ritual came out where everyone admitted to the lack of inspiration being a result of having no time to really explore the songs. Sadly, there are some foundations for great songs here. .


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.

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