Testament - Souls of Black

Ult did not give this a very good review, and even stated the band felt like they were rushed into this...I don't see a problem, think it's great!

It was my first Testament album. It has a dark vibe and nice solos. With a proper remix/remaster, it could sound a lot better.

Favorite songs on Souls of Black:

Falling Fast
Souls of Black
The Legacy
One Man's Fate

candlemass wrote:

Ult did not give this a very good review, and even stated the band felt like they were rushed into this...I don't see a problem, think it's great!

Oh, BTW...

It's "Souls of Black", not Souls of the Black...

I really like this album. I bought it on cassette when it first came out and still have it. I remember watching "The Legacy" video on Headbanger's Ball. I have a lot of the tracks off this album on rotation on an mp3 player, so I hear them a lot. My favorites are "Face in the Sky," "Falling Fast," and "Seven Days of May."

This was my first Testament as well and I think it's terrific. Lots of really good tunes on it, Seven Days Of May being the standout.

I think it's really good. Almost as good as the first three. Testament had an incredible run and it didn't stop with this album.

Troublezone wrote:

candlemass wrote:

Ult did not give this a very good review, and even stated the band felt like they were rushed into this...I don't see a problem, think it's great!

Oh, BTW...

It's "Souls of Black", not Souls of the Black...

Well, it should be!

It's one of my favorite albums of theirs.

Damn that's spooky. I fired up this album a few minutes for the first time in a while and was thinking maybe I'd start a thread about it because I love it and it always seemed like others didn't.

I definitely think it's obvious it's an album that came out in a post-And Justice For All world, which is probably why I like it so much.

I haven't listened to Souls of Black in a while, but I seem to remember it started off with a couple of really strong cuts and then kinda sputtered to a halt around the halfway mark. I suppose if we were still in the cassette era I would've said "side one was really good, but side 2 was weak."

I've read interviews with the band that say even they weren't crazy about this record - but since the preceding Practice What You Preach had done very well for them, the label was rushing them to crank out a new one and get back out on the road as quickly as possible, and they didn't have time to bring their "A" game.

I saw Testament live for the first time when they were supporting the Souls album, opening for Judas Priest's Painkiller tour. They seemed totally out of their element on a huge arena stage. Having to go on right before Rust in Peace era Megadeth didn't help either, because Deth totallly smoked everybody that night, including JP.

Testament was much better a few years later when I saw them again in a small club supporting the LOW album.

candlemass wrote:

Ult did not give this a very good review, and even stated the band felt like they were rushed into this...I don't see a problem, think it's great!

The band has freely admitted this effort was rushed. They were wanting to be a part of the bill for the European Clash of the Titans tour in the fall of 1990. The album is fine, but it just doesn't rank anywhere close to the first three.

For what it's worth, I can immediately name and hum the melody of quite a few songs from Testament's first 3 albums.

The only song I can remember from Souls of Black without looking at the track list is the actual song 'Souls of Black'. I'd need a refresher to see if anything else jumps out at me. Cool cover art though.

I remember enjoying the only spin i gave it over 2 years ago. Will pull it out again for a fresh spin over the weekend.

I like it ok. I still like Practice and the New Order over this one though. It has a darker vibe than practice did.

I like the album but the songs are not very memorable

I find them memorable. And very good.

Yet I agree Practise What You Preach and New Order are better.

Souls of Black is different enough and yet similar enough. I think "Practise" was already so good at what it was trying to be, you couldn't really go further in that direction.

Good album. I really like the song "The Legacy".

Funny thing is that, every time one of our favourite bands is about to release new material, most of us end up revisiting its earlier catalogue in anticipation. I've played 3 testament cds so far.

I like this one better than "Practice", just behind "The New Order", then "Legacy." Not a very big Testament fan, I have those four and "Ritual."

TBH I haven't heard this one in a while. The only tune I remember is "The Legacy."

The singer sounds like a young James Hetfield. The release sounds close to a Metallica release.
I don’t mind that, by the way. The lead guitar solos are scrumptious ! So clear and clean.
Aggressive and wild and disdainful ! At the height of a party, have this in the background !

Testament are one of the few thrash bands I listen to at least semi-regularly - I own Practice What You Preach, Souls of Black, The Ritual and Formation of Damnation and really like all of them.


Funny FF mentioned how Megadeth blew Priest and Testament off the stage - I've seen them twice, first at Priest Feast (with Testament) and I thought they were by far the weakest, Testament blew them away - I saw them last summer opening for Priest and this time 'round they were just awful - just a big, muddy wall of noise and an even more non-existent vocal-performance from Dave than back in '09, which was also bad.

Souls of Black is still one of my favorite Testament albums. It may have been slightly rushed in production, but it is a great follow up to Practice What You Preach.