Review by Ben for Testament - Live at the Fillmore (1995)
Flawless performance, good track selection and powerful production. Live at the Fillmore is how all good live albums should be.
It's not often I check out live albums. I generally prefer the more complete and "as it was meant to be" experience of studio albums. All this said, there are certainly some bands that really know how to perform when it counts, and Testament would have to be one of those bands. The other reason why Live at the Fillmore is a more interesting proposition to me personally is because I enjoy almost everything they've ever done to some degree. Even the albums that others don't particularly rate such as Souls of Black and The Ritual had roles to play in my teenage years, with many nostalgic feelings associated with them. The line-up here may not be the classic Testament blueprint, with Louie Clemente and Alex Skolnick missing, but their replacements do a fine job indeed. James Murphy is probably one of the only guitarists in metal that could possibly fit snugly into the shoes of someone as talented as Skolnick.
The track listing is good and it's not surprising that they decided to focus on their earlier material rather than on the more recent hit and miss work. In fact, 12 of the 14 live tracks are taken from The Legacy, The New Order and Low, meaning there are only 2 tracks (Souls of Black and Practice What You Preach) representing their other 3 albums, with nothing at all coming from The Ritual. This is a little disappointing for someone who likes all their albums but completely understandable considering the general preferences of most of their fans. Probably the only Testament track I can think of that's very obviously missing is Disciples of the Watch (probably my favourite Testament moment), but I can't complain too much as there are simply no bad tracks to be found amongst the ones they chose.
The crowd is clearly into the band and the performance is very close to flawless. Testament have always been tight, and they were right on the money during this recording. The sound is crystal clear and there's enough power to make you feel part of the concert. If anything, Chuck Billy's vocals are even better live, and he raises the aggression levels to new heights. Tracks such as Apocalyptic City are so much more intense with this recording than in their original state making Live at the Fillmore more than just a "best of" collection. To finish things off, as if 14 well performed and crushing live tracks weren't enough, the band also included 3 acoustic studio recorded tracks. Return to Serenity, The Legacy and Trail of Tears were all partly acoustic to begin with, but these versions are entirely so, with female backup vocals added for extra ballady (there's a new word for you boys and girls) effect. They're all enjoyable but probably not entirely essential when one considers the hour of live destruction that precedes them.