Review by Daniel for Testament - Live at Eindhoven (1987)

As we entered the late 80's, the now dominant thrash metal scene had not only begun to spawn a new breed of young artists but it had also seen a noticeable increase in the quantity of inessential E.P. releases with most representing nothing more than a cash-grab in the overall scheme of things. Many of these releases chose the easy option of including live material too & given that extreme metal was still a relatively young beast with its producers & engineers still working out the best way to record it, these were not always presented with the highest quality of sound. Overkill's "!!!Fuck You!!!" E.P. is a prime example of this & here we see another in Testament's "Live At Eindhoven" E.P. 

Testament's debut studio album "The Legacy" had made some fairly major waves in the metal underground when it was released in April 1987. It possessed a class &  enthusiasm that separated it from the bulk of new thrash records being released at the time & it worked to build Testament's reputation as the potential heir to Metallica's throne very quickly. In the buzz leading up to its release, Megaforce Records wasted no time whatsoever in booking the band on a European tour with Anthrax; a tour highlighted by a triumphant show at the Dynamo Festival in the Netherlands on the  8th June 1987. Reportedly this show went down so well that Megaforce elected to rush out a recording of the show in order to capitalize on the band's newly found street cred. 

The "Live At Eindhoven" E.P. included just the five songs; four of which can be found on "The Legacy" with the closer "Reign Of Terror" being lifted from the band's first demo tape from 1985. There's a definite energy to the performance with the band clearly very excited about the future & giving the show everything they had. Vocalist Chuck Billy's voice sounds very powerful throughout & he proves himself to have an enormous presence for such a young chap; taking his voice to more guttural levels than he had on the album. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick shows that his tutelage under Joe Satriani had been well received as he doesn't miss a beat in showcasing a style that beautifully balances technique with an uncanny sense of melody. But the thing that maintains the listener's interest throughout the listening experience is certainly the quality of the song-writing & it's easy to see why the Dynamo crowd would have been converted into rabid Testament fans through this experience. 

But sadly there's a catch. Given all of the positives listed above, "Live At Eindhoven" had the potential to be a genuinely great release but falls well short due to an obvious shortcoming. There's no question that a live release was incredibly premature given that the Testament had only released the single studio album but the maturity of the band's songwriting & the clear musical talents of the musicians would have been enough to overcome any public concerns in this area. Unfortunately the roadblock would appear in the production as "Live At Eindhoven" sounds genuinely awful most of the time. There's some variation from track to track in this regard but I don't think I ever find myself able to completely commit despite my clear nostalgia towards a group of songs that were such a big part of my childhood. Don't get me wrong, most of the tracks are still quite enjoyable if you're a fan of "The Legacy" but none reach their potential with "Do Or Die" in particular falling into a murky hole. The classic "Apocalyptic City" comes the closest to overcoming its sonic limitations but the faster cuts see the dual guitar attack washed out in a blur of overpowering bass. Chuck's voice struggles to find its niche early on but soon towers over the band while Skolnick's leads cut through the murky riffage very comfortably but it's the riffs that suffer most here which is a real shame given that they're such a drawcard for any thrash metal outfit. 

So overall it's a little hard to recommend "Live At Eindhoven" despite my having scored it reasonably well. I can't deny my enjoyment of the song-writing & performances but the appeal of this record is definitely limited by its production flaws & it's hard to see the relevance of the release given the timing in the band's career. Testament fans will undoubtedly find it interesting but I wouldn't suggest it as a starting point for newcomers. Stick to the studio albums if you fall into that category.