Testament

metaldude wrote:I always thought that the bad boys in that Bay area thrash scene was Exodus. Those guys were absolute riff monsters.

I was always a huge fan of Exodus too! Heck, I liked all those bands!!!



Anyone remember Defiance? Another great one! Also loved Forbidden!!!

Wow, to hear some of you guys talk. Kind of makes me feel I was born just a little bit too late, and in the wrong area too. 

But anyways, I like Testament a lot, probably my favorite album is Dark Roots of the Earth, followed by Low, but all of their material is killer.

Testament replaced Slayer for me in the 'big four' (Slayer being too evil).  Skolnick is in a league of his own and their rhythm also had something distinctive for thrash.  Souls of Black and The Ritual are my favourites (and the ballads from both - The Legacy and Return to Serenity - mostly for the solos).  I lost interest with Low, which was okay but I didn't like the death vocals or the worse soloing

I was lucky enough to see them in Chile around 1997 or 1998, when I was in Santiago for a rare work trip. 
- Got frisked with my camera (pre-mobile era) but they took pity and let me keep it due to the language barrier.
- A girl sitting on the edging of one of the upper levels caught some attention then deliberately flashed her legs, drawing a cheer.  I think she immediately (and rightly) regretted it.
- Chuck spoke to the crowd in slow English with hand gestures, was sort of funny.
- I couldn't hear properly the next day despite wearing earplugs for most of the show.