Review by Ben for Testament - The Legacy (1987)

Testament were always one of my favourite bands back in the early 90s, but I must admit not appreciating this album as much as I should have. While I was totally into The New Order and Practice What You Preach, I didn't give this one much of a listen.

Going back to it over the last few weeks has been a reawakening. While thrash was in its infancy back in 1987, this album was amazingly mature. Perhaps some of the lyrics were not so, but musically this album was up there with Slayer and Metallica for raw talent. Over the Wall, The Haunting, Alone in the Dark and Apocalyptic City are all fantastic, but there really aren't any bad tracks on The Legacy. As usual, Skolnick and Peterson are awesome on guitar and Chuck Billy rocks out in his inimitable style.

This is not Testament's best album, but as a debut release and considering the year it came out, it's a damn fine album with some classic tracks and great performances.