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Rating: Born in the mid-80s in the Netherlands as a fairly technical thrash group from the start, primarily thanks to the two axe men Patrick Mameli and Patrick Uterwijk, Pestilence gradually transformed into a techno death act, alongside Atheist, Cynic, and the Death of the late Chuck Schuldiner. "Testimony ..." is surely their most solid, intense, and elaborate work, despite the subsequent "Spheres" being equally intricate and complex, but in this case we’re on different musical shores, which eventually led to the premature split of the band.
Released in 1991, "Testimony..." was very favorably received by the press, thanks also to a very complex structure (each song has a highly unusual and hallucinatory instrumental intro) and the massive inclusion of keyboards, giving the album a very horror-like mood, which for the time was surely the zenith of originality that death metal could express. Noteworthy is also the presence of Tony Choy from Cynic on bass and the wonderful production, which has not at all distorted the agility and dryness of the classic Pestilence sound, perfectly mixing the presence and body of all the instruments.
The album kicks off strongly with the opener "The Secrecies of Horror", with sharp and nervous thrash riffing, Obituary-style vocals, and a magnificent central opening with ghostly keyboards adding depth to it all. A great way to start.
Then one of the album’s jewels: "Twisted Truth", a song that highlights the technical soloing skills of the Mameli/Uterwijk duo over a background worthy of an AOR group, only to burst out again furiously and changing. Truly a great track.
Furious headbanging for the subsequent "Lost soul", a very elaborate, sulfurous death song, with the excellent work of Tony Choy on bass standing out and the now omnipresent keyboards making everything very horror-like.
"Land of Tears" is another bone-crushing track, with a really catchy and destructive-intense initial riff, then slowing down on the chorus which gives its name to the song, the atmosphere becomes dreamy similar to Dead Can Dance, leading to a blues solo over tears and various laments in the background. Chilling.
The album continues with the lascivious "Prophetic Revelations", a song that starts quietly, then accelerates and remains tense and nervous for almost its entire duration, except for the truly unsettling chorus with cathedral organ in the background and a finale with sampled female voices in sexual ecstasy.
"Testimony" is a really combative death-spirited song, but it finds the strength to stand out thanks to the really theatrical central mid-tempo with keyboards and samples in Gregorian chant style and yet another great solo from the Mameli/Uterwijk duo.
"Presence of the Death" is undoubtedly the most thrash-oriented track on the album, even bringing to mind some Voivod-like dissonance, with a great bass work, and then another radical style change with a dreamy interlude and the return to the main riff. As always, the work of the two axe men is excellent.
Another jewel: "Stigmatized", a song full of cascading riffs, very engaging in its ability to dose brutality and melody, with an atmosphere of inquisition and death metal tenacity.
"In Sorrow", a slow and magnificent instrumental suite with a truly depressive and sad mood, closes a truly imposing album for its originality and craftsmanship, a true swan song of the Dutch band that, in my opinion, enjoyed less fortune than their talent promised.
An album I highly recommend to everyone who was listening to something else in '91 and hasn’t yet been able to enjoy this jewel of power and emotional impact.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Secrecies of Horror (04:55)
["An unknown dimension revealed to man"]
Within the realms unseen
The missing have returned
Deformed beyond recognition
Remains of bodies burned
When all is lost
Swallowed by depths of darkness
The gates to the kingdom of horrors
You've passed, now dwell in madness
Flames of eternity
Burn in immortality
Skin melts so horribly
Revealed surreality
Breathing blackened air
Within the walls of gore
Behold the view of disgust
The secrecies of horror
Eyes of fear, torture is near
Tearful cries, you hear
Discovering beyond death
Secrets you will find
The horror you'll meet
Will capture your mind
Secrecies of horror
Secrecies of horror
03 Twisted Truth (04:02)
["Views from a twisted mind"]
A god before god
Summon the demons to enter your body
Ceremonies to attain the blessing
A faith in secrecy
No respect for the weak
The victim of hypocrisy
The philosophy chosen to live by
Has brought you your mortality
A reason to die
No remission of sins commited
When you were fighting the lie
Actions begged to be killed
A sacrifice chosen
Laughter at the sight of blood
That has spilled
Respond to the inclination within
A desire fulfilled
Pride, for the slaughter is done
While being thrilled
Praise who guards your soul
And for whom you have killed
Fools are the followers of masters they deify
Conversion does not save you from death, die
Twisted truth
Twisted truth
A juvenile mind mislead
In the name of your lord you lived
Serving, your death
A life full of sin, good is evil
Believing the unholy words you read
Commandmends are there to break them
Live by your own rules instead
Proclaim the salvation you met
07 Land of Tears (04:46)
["Fear of all evil that controls mankind"]
Dark sides of life
Unspoken by those in search of the light
Darkness they will find
Rejecting all evil, taken possession of mankind
Fighting what can't be fought
Minds penetrated, souls will be taken
Days turn into night
Bodies are falling, hear death calling
Throughout the centuries
Attempts for protection, prayers, religion
Signs make you aware
Of it's mass domination, a divine dispensation
Land of tears
Indulge in the tempation
Your mind will show you the way
Ghosts of the damned will guard you
In this journey into decay
Land of tears
Land of tears
11 Testimony (03:50)
["Seeking life-answers by using dark powers"]
The gates to my subconscious, open wide
Hear and remember, the incantations I recite
Reveal the power, no longer known by man
Possess, before the ancients rule the earth once again
Beneath the seas and skies of the human mind
The abyss yawns wide before me
Uncertain what truth of lies I will find
Appear and share my wisdom, for I know thee
Descend into the foul places of death
I fear for my flesh, for I have seen my epitaph
The price I pay on this lonely journey
Is softened and I hope the gods will have mercy
From a time before a time a cold voice has spoken
From a land beyond the stars I evoke thee
In exchange for wisdom, what evil have I woken
What terrible faith shall consume me?
I've seen the future
I've seen the past
I've seen the sight of whom causeth horror
I've seen my place of rest
I've travelled on spheres, I've seen things
Beyond imagination
The things I have learned are the most pure revelation
Obliterated are the lines of my life
My blood cries out as I make my last sacrifice
I cannot see, I cannot move, 'cause sight is failing me
Knowing that the beasts of the spaces claim my blood
My blood turns black but frightened I cannot be
The bargain is sealed, the price to pay is to rot
15 Stigmatized (05:22)
["Branded, for making the wrong choices in life"]
Open the book of life
To die a second death
Burn in the lake of fire
Next to the false prophet
Face the thrones of judgement
Decide who lives who dies
Glorify the priests of unholyness
Bring forth your lies
Die in your sin, weakling
End in sight by his might
No power over the sacred ones
Kings of a thousand years
Heavenly fires waste those
Who failed to see or hear
The words as old as time
Written and foretold
Marked will be their bodies
Their souls they have sold
There's no mercy, save me
From this purgatory
Stigmatized
Stigmatized
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By jigoro
This album truly turned out to be a gigantic leap in quality, with more listenable and slow melodies, songs filled with ultra-melodic solos.
Prog-death, never neglecting its thrash origins, with elements of fusion, impeccably played by four masters who have been able to innovate the genre without ever forgetting where they come from.
