Testament vs. Metallica

Neither bands are anywhere near my radar, but I'll go with Testament. Their debut crushes anything and everything that Metallica ever put out.

Troublezone wrote:

I love the 80's era Metallica (first 4 albums), but Testament is better overall.

Yes, but the first 4 Metallica albums slays everything others have done in the same genre.

And here, my vote goes to Testament, for consistency.

Metallica's Kill 'em All is a real good album, I'd say 10/10. I also like Master of Puppets, though it's not as awesome as some claim, but at least it's consistent and fast and powerful. I'm not too crazy about the other Metallica albums. Ride the Lightning has memorable tracks, and there's some good thrash too, but it's a step down. Justice is 'meh'.

Testament's first three are all 10/10. Production isn't as thick as with Metallica, but it's technical thrash played just the way I like it. Great riffs, great solos, powerful and relentless. Any one of these three could be my #1 thrash metal album of all time. And I even love Souls of Black and the Ritual.

Both bands have made some sort of comebacks, but Testament wins here too because the last two have been really good, especially Formation of Damnation. I have Death Magnetic, but I really don't play it at all anymore.

The bands have similarities, so it's not impossible to compare. Metallica are way more popular and famous, and there's nothing wrong with that. They make pretty good music. Testament is just better. For my taste, at least.

Hey, Painkiller's back!

I actually find New Order to be an overrated album. They're good songs, but there's a lot of recycling from Legacy going on, plus there's too many throwaway tracks with two instrumentals and a cover. All enjoyable but nothing like the debut.

For me, Testament's strongest asset is Chuck Billy, who's AWESOME and helps them achieve some memorable melodies. However, I don't find their riff work to be quite as compelling as Metallica (although The Gathering has some amazing riffs).

I really like the Black Album and I also like Death Magnetic, but they can't top their first 4 (especially Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All). AJFA is EASILY my favorite Metallica album and one of my favorite albums PERIOD. The riffs on that album are some of the best ever written, IMHO.

I will say that both bands have some well-written lyrics for metal.

Lari wrote:

The bands have similarities, so it's not impossible to compare.

Interestingly, the first time I heard Testament (Souls Of Black), I thought it was a Metallica song I hadn't heard (despite already being familiar with all their albums). This was only after a few years I discovered metal, so I'm sure I could be forgiven for the faux pas.

All the comments are for Testament, and all the votes are or Metallica!

Hmm... Testament or Metallica? *has the two names in my hands and weighs them up and down like a scale, an indecisive look in my eyes*

Testament. It's hard as hell to choose cause Metallica has more songs I enjoy overall than Testament. And let's not forget the first four Metallica albums that were and still are to this day benchmarks to what great thrash metal was in the 80's. I would have to say that 80's Metallica I happen to love more than anything, but I still love Testament just a hair more than them because Testament have managed to be more consistent than their legendary Big 4 headstrong contemporaries. Plus, The Gathering is still considered one of my all-time favorite thrash albums by them, same with The Formation of Damnation.

Plus I like Testament's lyrical style and approach much better than Metallica's.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Metallica will forever reign supreme in my book, for creating 4 of the absolute best metal albums (or any genre, really) of all time, including the BEST metal album of all time (Justice), in my opinion.

Testament have more albums that are good/great than Metallica...but for me, there is no comparison. Every Testament album could vanish from the face of the earth, and I'd barely notice. If a single one of Metallica's first four went missing, it'd be a really bad day.

I'd have to agree with this.

Metallica by far.

I would vote Metallica for originality and importance. But I love both bands.