TESTAMENT - THE LEGACY - ATLANTIC
Testament’s debut is titled The Legacy because the band’s first name was Legacy. After all, a legacy and a testament are pretty much the same things.
Right from the start, Testament was compared to Metallica, given the fact that they were both from the Bay Area, they both had a guitarist who had been a student of Joe Satriani’s (Kirk Hammett and Alex Skolnick), and the singers (James Hetfield and Chuck Billy) had similar voices. Yet still, Testament is different from Metallica in more than one way, especially on this album. Chuck’s vocals are a bit more fierce and less sloppy I don’t know how else to put it. Alex Skolnick clearly is the better guitar player, and the songs feature more breaks and tempo changes than Metallica’s debut album.
The whole album is great, but a few songs stand out. Over The Wall is the musical _expression of determination, C.O.T.L.O.D. is pure speed, and Do Or Die with its dragging chorus sounds unlike any other thrash metal band of the time. The Legacy is closed by the longest song, Apocalyptic city probably a pyromaniac’s fantasy ("Burn apocalyptic city"). Other Testament releases may have better compositions (at least the ones with Alex Skolnick), but none of them own the aggressive, yet skillful style of The Legacy. - Andreas Herzog