Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

When it comes to down to delivery high quality thrash metal few do it better than Testament. Albums like “Practise What You Preach”, “Souls Of Black” and “The Gathering” are mandatory staples for everyone with a preference for thrash metal from the Bay Area. The band last album, “The Formation Of Damnation” is a tough act to follow by any standard, so let’s see what Chuck Billy and his musical partners managed to accomplish on “Dark Roots Of Earth”, their latest offering.

Rest assured, because Testament has delivered the good once again on “Dark Roots Of Earth”. The melodic character of the previous album is maintained, however this time around things are little bit heavier and darker, but most of all more aggressive and energetic. This is partly due to Gene’s Hoglan’s trademark high speed drumming, but also with the dark overtones of tracks like “Rise Up”, “Native Blood”, “True American Hate” and “Last Stand For Independence”. In that way this album reminds me of bit of “Demonic”, one of the more underrated and overlooked Testament gems in my opinion.

Read full review here.

Raymond Westland 

Band info: www.testamentlegions.com 

Label info: www.nuclearblast.de