Testament - The Formation of Damnation (2008)^{Release ID: 1510}

When I hear about "ultimate" comeback albums, in all honesty I am usually underwhelmed.  Former glory is often one moment in history that is nigh on impossible to achieve again, even for the most established and talented musicians out there.  With line up changes and the health of Chuck Billy thankfully only temporarily taking a downturn, Testament were still away from new material for nearly a decade.  After The Gathering (which I am not a fan of) we saw compilations and live albums aplenty before the reunited line-up that saw Skolnick and Christian back in the fold finally put out a studio album, and for once this comeback opus was actually pretty impressive.

Capturing a younger and instantly captivating energy from the opening bars of the intro, The Formation of Damnation truly does display a band who have found their funk again.  Seemingly having lost none of their vigour for vicious thrashing metal here we find a hungry sounding band really working out any kinks with a show of stylish muscianship borne out of renewed friendships and a period of unease.  The partnership of Peterson and Skolnick has arguably never sounded as strong as it does here and most certainly this is not only a great return to form, it is possibly also Testament's last great album outright.  Consistency really is the champion of the day here as whilst there is no real variation in style across the eleven tracks on show here, there is also no drop in quality or infection of the dreaded filler either.

I would like more solos (I am old school like that) but what few I do hear are more than competent enough.  Similarly I would like a little less mud on the drum mix, especially considering the recruitment of the excellent Paul Bostaph for this album, I feel he is somewhat short-changed despite putting in his usual level of wonder on the skins.  Chuck as ever sounds strong as an ox and carries much of this sense of youthful energy in his vocals for me which (as always) are the piece of the album I remember the most.  If I was a "list" person as so many of the other regulars at Metal Academy and I had a "Top Ten Comeback Records", this record would be in there most definitely.  However, in the absence of a consistent inner nerd I will simply say that this a great thrash metal album and a superb comeback release to boot.

I just realized another thrash band I haven't reviewed an album from yet, Testament. And reviewing this album The Formation of Damnation is a good leap from Slayer's Repentless since drummer Paul Bostaph stepped in to play drums for this Testament album at a time when Dave Lombardo (who also recently rejoined Testament) continued his time with Slayer. I also remember guitarist Alex Skolnick performing with Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Testament is known as one of the SECONDARY Big 4 of thrash, alongside Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel. As famous as this band is, there's some truth that needs to be known. The greater fans of thrash stay with this band's music for their debut The Legacy, and I can kind of understand why. The quality here in this album, The Formation of Damnation, varies in lukewarm ways. Some songs are brilliant, others are just uninspired. It's a bit frustrating when one half of the album is great and the other is more average. But hey, it's not as sucky as what occurred in Slayer's Repentless...

The intro "For the Glory of..." starts the album with pompous guitar energy similar to that of Repentless. "More than Meets the Eye" crashes in with headbanging guitars. It's more mid-paced compared to the faster side of thrash, but it has strong melody and a catchy chorus. Fans of the band's debut will love this! The thrash isn't too infernal and instead more mature while sounding a bit menacing. Great start! "The Evil Has Landed" has a similar sound but slightly darker, especially in the lyrics, which deal with the most catastrophic day in the US, 9/11. The title track sets aside the earlier midtempo, replacing it with fast harsh aggression. It's a brilliant highlight if you're like me and wanna spice things up with speed.

Such a shame that "Dangers of the Faithless" lose the skill the band had in that earlier part of the album. "The Persecuted Won't Forget" is an exciting thrash storm, though as it goes on, it becomes much less exciting. The better "Henchmen Ride" drives through with slight speed in the bass and drums, and what makes the song memorable is the smashing chorus. It really makes up for the two previous tracks while still not regaining their earlier skill. "Killing Season" has longer guitar soloing, but it just lacks anything memorable and comes out as pretty much aimless.

"Afterlife" is more melodic while staying in heavy aggression. While a couple of the other songs in the album attempt that mix and fail, it sounds much more original in this one. It's cool and straight with being a total face-basher. "F.E.A.R." (False Evidence Appearing Real) doesn't fall flat on its face, just driving through with a bit of gloom in the pre-chorus. Not as triumphant as the first few tracks, but a solid highlight. "Leave Me Forever" is pretty much a ridiculous stinker, especially in the floppy verses.

All in all, The Formation of Damnation has a few soulless tracks while the rest is really good. The flawless highlights are certainly worth listening to, especially for thrash fans. Yet a few poor tracks leave me ending another encore to my Ultimate Pit Test with a slight foul taste in my metal mouth....

Favorites: "More than Meets the Eye", "The Formation of Damnation", "Henchmen Ride", "Afterlife", "F.E.A.R." (False Evidence Appearing Real)