Testament
The New Order

THE REVIEW

California isn't just about daytime drama starlets, upscale call girls, big-budget movies, pompousness, and a thousand other clichés. California also means the cradle and home of good music. It was in this state, so far from the dreariness of New York, that two fundamental genres like hardcore punk and Bay Area thrash metal were born.

In the early '80s, middle-class kids like Milo Auckerman, Jello Biafra, and Henry Rollins picked up guitars and started playing almost as a game, managing to represent and portray a society that was more or less sick through their lyrics.

It was indeed from various bands like Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and company that a few years later, thanks to people like Metallica, thrash metal emerged and developed—a swarm of bands from around San Francisco began to speed up and intensify the classic Maiden-like sound.

And so we come to Testament. They formed in 1983 under the moniker The Legacy, but later on, due to various issues, the name was changed shortly afterward to its current one. After an initial demo, they released their first full-length album "The Legacy" and a year later, it was 1988, this bomb of pure thrash metal known as "The New Order".

Nobody likes coming in second. Successful losers have never been well-liked. But it doesn't matter if Testament is not part of the iron trio of Metallica-Slayer-Megadeth, and it doesn't matter if they didn't invent the genre. As many would say: it's easy to claim to be a thrasher and then just know Metallica and a few songs by Mustaine and company. Here Billy's band and associates fall into that small number of bands in the musical style previously mentioned that any true scholar of the genre cannot overlook and must listen to.

Only barely touched by the success of 'Tallica, the four from San Francisco definitely have a valid attitude that almost anyone can confirm. Now let’s talk about the album.

Here's the platter's synthesis: drumming at a thousand miles per hour throughout the entire album, sharp guitars in great form, bass eagerly prominent, and the tribal chief charisma of Native American Mr. Chuck Billy behind the microphone. The band most comparable to them in terms of aggression and vocal style is undoubtedly Slayer, vintage 1986. To be honest, we are very close to Araya and company, rather than to the more melodic Metallica and Megadeth. So forget about mid-album ballads and slow tempos.

An eerie atmosphere, thunderstorm and thunder, acoustic guitars, an intro reminiscent of "Raining in blood" sets the scene for the opener "Eerie Inhabitans" with a simple chorus.

Orgasm levels are reached with the next three tracks. The blistering title track that doesn't give you a moment of respite, not even in the short refrain. And then gentlemen, two masterpieces follow, two thrash gems with a double H: the spectacular "Trial By Fire", one of the best Testament tracks ever, opening with a delicate arpeggio and a small clean solo, followed by an excellent refined bass line by Christian that towers over the guitars, before Chuck takes command and makes the track literally explode.

But the most aggressive track on the album, lasting only 2 minutes and 46 seconds, is the surprising "Into The Pit", proving that when Testament goes for ferocity, they are not second even to Slayer. This latter track is the perfect example of a song of the genre and personally how I wish every song of the band was. That means no niceties, no good manners, no warnings, just pure adrenaline. This one seems to pick up where the splendid and furious "Over The Wall" left off, arguably the best thrash song of all time in my opinion.

On the same level is the blown-up and angry "Disciples Of The Watch". The two instrumentals demonstrate the great class of the two axemen Peterson and Skolnick, evoking magical and enchanting atmospheres where acoustic guitars are used, serving also to give a moment of respite. The interplays between the two six-string guitars are appreciable, but with all the sympathy I can have for Billy and company, a certain constellation in the distance continues to shine with its own light and reigns supreme (cit. Orion).

It's a shame that a few tracks, like "A Day Of Reckoning" and "The Preacher", fall flat. Meanwhile, overall the cover of Aerosmith's "Nobody's Fault" is good, marking the only stylistic change on the album since it's a solid hard-rock piece where rhythmic intensity drops.

If you want to listen to a record full of pathos and pure energy or simply delve into the band with one of its flagship albums, "The New Order" comes highly recommended for metalheads and non-metalheads alike.

Testament do it better.