Audio CD review:
Testament - Days of Darkness

Testament - Days of Darkness

Band: Testament Title: Days of Darkness Rating: Release Date: 2004-08-24 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Hatred's Rise 2: John Doe 3: Riding the Snake 4: Down for Life 5: Demonic Refusal 6: The Burning Times 7: Ten Thousand Thrones 8: D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate) 9: 3 Days in Darkness 10: Together As One 11: Legions of the Dead 12: Fall of Sipledome 13: First Strike Is Deadly - Testament, Peterson 14: Into the Pit - Testament, Skolnick 15: Trial By Fire 16: Disciples of the Watch - Testament, Peterson 17: The Preacher - Testament, Skolnick 18: Burnt Offerings - Testament, Peterson 19: Over the Wall - Testament, Peterson 20: The New Order - Testament, Skolnick 21: The Haunting - Testament, Peterson 22: Alone in the Dark - Testament, Peterson 23: Reign of Terror - Testament, Ramirez

NOT A BEST-OF N. This is not a best-of, it's more of a collection, I'll explain the first disc, it's a bunch of tracks from Demonic and The Gathering, which are nothing short of awesome albums, what you get from Demonic are "Demonic Refusal" "The Burning Times" "Ten Thousand Thrones" "John Doe" "Hatred's Arise" "Together as One" which are killer tracks from Demonic, now the ones from The Gathering "D. R [Do Not Resuscitate" "Down for Life" "Riding The Snake" "3 Days in Darkness" "Legions of the Dead" and "Fall of Sipledome" which once again, are all killer tracks, Demonic was released in 1997, The Gathering was released in 1999. The second disc is actually the album "First Strike Still Deadly" which is a bunch of old songs from The Legacy and The New Order, RE-RECORDED, not RE-Mixed, it's really nice to hear these old tracks with good production, although the originals went well with the production, it still sounds nice to have them done in todays sound production, Chuck Billys vocals are nothing short of killer, these tracks are ever heavier with the re-recording than the originals, also on the track "Alone in the Dark" Steve "Zetro" Souza does some vocals, also "Reign of Terror" which was recorded when Testament were known as "The Legacy" in which Souza was the original vocalist, and Souza has an awesome voice, I don't see why some people don't like his vocals, he's got an original way of doing vocals, influenced heavily by Bon Scott and Brian Johnson (AC/DC), and of course Chuck Billy is a killer vocalist, if you're a fan of old Testament, and want to hear the old songs with better production, get this, you won't be dissapointed. good stuff ' However, I was very happy with the purchase anyways. I ran out and bought this because I thought it was a live album, but as it turned out, it was yet another 'best of. The first disc is the best tracks off 'The Gathering' and 'Demonic,' their hardest stuff to date, and the second disc is the 'First Strike Still Deadly' album in it's entirety, making it's original release obsolete. The ONLY bad thing about this collection is that there isn't a single song off the 'Low' album, but the fact that they didn't include any of their cheesy old stuff kinda makes up for it. . A Great salute to a Legendary band If you don't know a lot about the band, this album goes a long way to doing just that. There are many words to describe Testament, but their evolution from their debut album "The Legacy" right up to the last studio album "The Gathering" makes it impossible to sum up what they are about. Testament were a pioneering thrash metal band who came about around the same time as the likes of Slayer, Metallica and Anthrax, but didn't share the same commercial attention. This did not, however, take anything away from their status as an incredible thrash band. Despite this, the band steadily became heavier throughout their career, having darker and heavier qualities towards the latter albums. "Days Of Darkness" presents the best of both Testament eras; the first disk is comprised completely of songs from the 1997 album "Demonic" and the follow-up album in 1999, "The Gathering", showcasing the heavier side of Testament. It includes the death-metal songs such as Demonic Refusal and Legions Of The Dead, among others. It also has Down For Life, which I rate as one of the greatest modern metal songs written. This disk gives a perfect presentation of how heavy Testament can be. Disk II, however, highlights some of the classics by Testament. The interesting thing about this cd is (and for all Testament fans who have "First Strike Is Still Deadly", take note) it IS in fact "First Strike Is Still Deadly"!! That's right, the second disk is the band's 2001 re-recording of old songs. It includes such classics as Burnt Offerings and The Haunting, but somewhat heavier and darker with better production. That is why I haven't given it the full 5 stars; I think a Testament collection such as this should have the classics in their original form, to introduce new fans and to highlight the contrast between the early albums and the latter albums. This cd is not a greatest hits; it is a celebration of a reunion. The writer of the editorial notes remarks on how the band split up with frustrations of commercial failures and "record industry bullsh*t. " Not to mention lead man Chuck Billy's battle with throat cancer. This double-disk collection IS Testament. Play 'em loud. You can see a complete list of all Testament discography, or go back to the Testament tabs