The Formation of Damnation: Testament

The new Testament drops next week, but they have (graciously, awesomely) put up the whole album for free streaming on MySpace this week. They totally convinced me through this awesomeness to buy the CD on the spot directly from them. And you know, I'm through about half of the songs and this album RIPS. I am really excited to get my copy and play this thing to death. It sounds like a very good mix of their old style and the newer, more aggressive stuff they'd been playing since.

Testament are the best of the best. No one else has this much talent and ability to change tempo so effectively. I think having a real singer on the mic, instead of just a screamer/Danzig wanna-be, makes all the difference. And Alex Skolnick writes leads that fit. I really hope I can catch them after the bar this summer, if I don't go away. They're on tour with Priest, Motorhead, and Dio-Sabbath.

If you listen to metal, buy this album.

5/02/08 Update: So I put in my order the day that I put up this post, and I actually got my CD in the mail on 4/30, which was a day after it was available in stores. That means the Testament crew popped it in the mail on 4/28. On top of that, they gave me the original CD in full shrink wrap plus an extra copy of the booklet that was signed by the band (the signatures were the pre-sale promotion through the website, but I didn't expect the extra booklet). Damn cool. Wish I could say that the album was my favorite, but it just isn't. I'll do more of a breakdown once I'm through finals, but I realized a few things about the band through looking at the booklet (I think I haven't owned a real Testament CD in a long time, so I haven't really looked at the lyrics). It isn't the slam dunk I was hoping for, but you should still buy it.