Testament
The Very Best Of

THE REVIEW

"The Very Best Of" is a great collection from Testament that encompasses many hits spanning from their first album "The Legacy" to the powerful "Low" of 1994, although it excludes the track "Souls Of Black" and the later albums like "Demonic" and the beautiful "The Gathering." The pieces we can listen to are those that brought Chuck Billy & Co. to the top of the charts and made it one of the most important thrash metal bands, alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica.

The CD begins with the pounding "The Haunting", introduced by a perfectly thrash riff and violent drumming by Louie Clemente, leading into Chuck's shouting and screaming with his great voice. "Burnt Offerings" is another gem from Testament, a fabulous track thanks to a great performance by the band that shows great skill in time changes, with Peterson and Skolnick churning out very fast riffs and solos executed in a masterly manner. The next three songs, "First Strike Is Deadly", "The New Order" and "Into The Pit", are compositions played with extreme ruthlessness and violence, with Chuck reaching very high peaks on the earth-shaking "First Strike Is Deadly", while the rest of the group demonstrates their skill and talent in the instrumental tails of the other two tracks, which have now become Testament's battle horses. The following "Disciple Of The Watch" begins with a very melodic and beautiful guitar part, almost Malmsteen-like, as if they wanted us to believe that the violence of the previous tracks had passed, but after a minute the usual heavy riff kicks back in, with Louie Clemente continuing to pound the drums with lightning-fast tempos, and Chuck making everything much more aggressive with his masterful screaming voice. A truly powerful and beautiful track, in perfect Testament style.

It continues with the famous "Practice What You Preach", where we can appreciate good bass work by the talented Greg Christian and a beautiful solo by Peterson that once again showcases his skills, alongside the other brilliant guitarist Skolnick. "Greenhouse Effect" starts with a fairly heavy riff, but the remainder of the song proceeds with less "pounding" rhythms (compared to the blasts of "Into The Pit" or "Disciple Of The Watch") yet still manages to be a very beautiful and enjoyable piece to listen to. The ninth song, "Sign Of Chaos", is a short piece played excellently by the two guitarists, while the following "Electric Crown" shows a bit different sound, marking the period when Testament strayed from classic thrash, recording the criticized "The Ritual". The song has a slower pace but still heavy at the same time, with slight grunge influences like Alice In Chains or Soundgarden, perhaps in the slightly more catchy choruses, yet the band continues to play in the usual excellent manner. "So Many Lies" is a slightly harder piece compared to the previous one, maybe in the initial part, with slight Led Zeppelin influences like "Dazed And Confused" or even something from "Kashmir", with Chuck insisting with his great voice, while the two guitarists deliver a good performance with complicated riffs and solos.

The twelfth song is "The Ritual" which showcases some nearly jazz passages in the solo and the initial part, with sudden heavy restarts and very beautiful but "catchy" choruses, while the next "Return To Serenity" is a fantastic ballad that's almost impossible to describe in words, so much so that I consider it the "Stairway To Heaven" of Testament. After this moment of tranquility, it reaches the stratospheric live version of the beautiful "Over The Wall", where from the recording you can hear and imagine a charismatic performance by the band, but especially by the incredible Chuck Billy who incites the crowd, shouts, and sings in an impressive manner. This best-of ends with the wild "Dog Faced Gods", belonging to "Low", but which I don't like as much due to the frantic rhythms and Chuck Billy varying his voice sometimes with growl and sometimes with the classic "scream", which in my opinion, loses impact, making it too chaotic.

Nevertheless, this is a very beautiful collection from Testament that lets us relive the band's early period thanks to the successes that marked the magical Bay Area Eighties.