Testament - Practice What You Preach (1989)^{Release ID: 1503}

Along with Metallica's "And Justice for All" album, Practice What You Preach is what got me into metal in the first place. It's therefore quite hard for me to listen to it now without getting all nostalgic. If I ignore those feelings, I must admit that it’s not one of the greatest metal albums ever released, no matter what I thought of it when I was 13 years old. It's not even the best Testament album. Objectively, Practice What You Preach is a lightweight thrash album, not coming close to the Kreator / Slayer end of the thrash spectrum. It is entertaining though, with a whole bunch of memorable tracks, especially the title track and The Ballad.

Once again Alex Skolnick's guitar is nothing short of breathtaking and Chuck's in fine form on the vocals front. The lyrics, if a bit contrived at times, are relevant and intelligent, and all up Practice What You Preach is a perfectly good introduction for anyone that enjoys some heavy music but doesn't want things to get too chaotic. Which is probably why I found it so appealing when I was a young lad. I've moved onto much more extreme pastures since then, but I'm sure this album will continue to make me smile and nod my head for years to come.

Legendary San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Testament represent quite a pivotal band in my life in many ways. My first encounters with thrash metal back in late 1988 were a clear example of love at first sight & I’d subsequently throw myself head over heals into the Big Four with a vigour that I’ve rarely repeated in all the years since. Where Testament fit in is that they, along with fellow Bay Area heavy-weights Exodus, were the first artists to prove to me that there was a thriving underground thrash scene outside of the four senior players & we shouldn’t underestimate that event because it was the key moment that took me from being one of those people that only likes the big, well-known bands to becoming a complete extreme metal obsessive. I’d find myself purchasing Testament’s 1989 third album “Practice What You Preach” blind, based primarily on the feedback I’d received from metal magazines of the time that indicated that they sounded a lot like my beloved Metallica & that ended up being pretty accurate in the end. I wouldn’t adore “Practice What You Preach” to the same extent as the classics from the Big Four or Exodus’ jaw-dropping “Bonded By Blood” but it would certainly become a staple record in not only my own bedroom but also my younger brother Ben’s. In fact, I think Testament probably played an even bigger role in Ben’s life & it was “Practice What You Preach” that kick-started it all. It's been interesting to see Testament’s third album receiving mixed reviews in recent years though as that certainly wasn’t the case back in the day when it became a minor hit for the band. It’s been literally decades since I revisited it though & I’d been wondering if I might find my childhood feelings being tarnished in a similar way to what my recent revisit of Anthrax’s “State of Euphoria” album did to be honest so it’s been interesting to see how big a role nostalgia has played in my long-time position that “Practice What You Preach” is yet another very high-quality thrash record to follow on from their first two full-lengths which are generally held up as pivotal moments for the genre.

The first obstacle that I thought I might need to overcome would be the production as I’ve seen quite a few online murmurings about it being weak in recent times but that’s not the case with producer Alex Perialas doing a pretty reasonable job. He was an experienced campaigner by that point having already produced a slew of classic thrash records like S.O.D.’s “Speak English or Die”, Overkill’s “Taking Over”, Carnivore’s “Retaliation” as well as Testament’s “The Legacy” & “The New Order” so it would have been a surprise to find that he’d cocked this album up but I needn’t have worried too much as it’s certainly an improvement on the weak, thin guitar tone that plagued “The New Order”. The real stumbling blocks are two-fold; firstly, front man Chuck Billy’s tendency to sing out of key during the more commercially accessible moments &, secondly, Testament’s newly found love affair with chuggy, mid-paced & generally fairly unintimidating thrash metal riffs. That’s right, there’s a reason that “Practice What You Preach” was the biggest selling Testament record to date & it comes down to accessibility. My first listen saw me very quickly being reminded of it too & after the first few tracks I was worried that I might find myself needing to realign my feelings on the album fairly drastically with even the legendary title track sounding pretty tame by today’s standards. Thankfully though, things picked up significantly after that.

Having given the album a few full & active revisits now I can honestly say that I’ve gotten used to Chuck’s vocal issues. I remember initially struggling with them a bit back in the day too if I’m being honest but it seems like I just need some time with him. The more lethargic riffs are another story though. I’ve never rated drummer Louie Clemente & feel that he’s one of the main reasons that I’ve never considered Testament’s highly praised 1980’s releases to be tier one thrash records. He simply loves a rocky & accessible beat which may contribute to Testament’s widespread appeal but it doesn’t rock my boat personally. Future Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra lead guitarist Alex Skolnick’s solos are nothing short of fucking sensational though & I’ve very quickly remembered why I worshipped him so much as a budding young shredder. His sense of melody is second to none & he compliments Dragonlord guitarist Eric Peterson’s riffs perfectly. Despite the focus of mid-paced tempos, the duo still present some belter riffs here on occasion which makes tracks like “Time Is Coming”, “Blessed In Contempt”, “Sins of Omission” & instrumental closer “Confusion Fusion” highly captivating. Strangely though, it’s the most obvious attempt at commercialism in “The Ballad” that is the real highlight of the record in my opinion, thanks largely to some stunning lead work from Skolnick. Billy is at his pitchiest here but the doubling of his vocal lines gives them an eery atmosphere that I find quite endearing. The song structure is beautifully constructed too & by the end of the record I find that these moments of brilliance do just enough to overcome a couple of clear duds in the lethargic chugger “Envy Life” & unintelligent thrasher “Nightmare (Coming Back To You)”.

While “Practice What You Preach” is clearly the weaker of Testament’s first three albums, it’s also their most ambitious as it sees the band incorporating some additional elements & expanding their repertoire as musicians. The more progressive touches, the stronger focus on song-writing & their most obvious attempt at a radio hit are all interesting additions but I do crave a little more energy in my thrash which leaves “Practice What You Preach” feeling a little light-weight. This has been offset by the class with which Testament are able to go about their work & the ridiculous skills of their dual guitar attack though which results in a final product that will surely please fans of peers like Metallica, Exodus or Death Angel.