Artist: Testament
Label: Spitfire
Release Date: 6/8/99
Average Rating: 4.38
Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Title: The Gathering Artist: Testament Label: Spitfire Release Date: 6/8/99 |
There are currently 16 Reader Reviews of this album.
Average Rating: 4.38 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album |
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Submitted by batara_zahidi (10/21/02):
I owned this awesome album 2 years ago. Damn it! The music is still fresh in my mind. The combination of legendary musicians had created great music. This is a DEATHTHRASH classic album. Hopefully, Testament will create another awesome album in the future.
Submitted by Memo (9/27/02):
Testament, a band that through the thrash metal era was still not a big band made it through with outstanding albums. This album, although not like some of the others, was very death metal sounding. It is a good mixture of hard riffs and complicated melodies. It is a bit of a change from the older stuff, but it still has the same feeling that all of their songs have. The album has a very menacing feel to it which makes it really stand out. Among the songs include "D.N.R." and "True Believer," which in my eyes are the best works on the album. Overall, the album is very good and it shows that the band is still putting out good albums.
Submitted by Rick Boucher (8/29/01):
Now this is Testament. I was not one of the many who found Demonic to be a great album. If Machine Head are considered sell-outs for their "Korn-like" sound then what are Testament for changing into a death-metal outfit? Demonic may have been a good death metal album, but it was a poor Testament record. The Gathering sees Testament return to form, especially Chuck Billy. Chuck is one of the greatest heavy metal singers (and I mean "singers") of all time. The vocal display on Demonic was a poor demonstration of the range of styles Chuck can exhibit. The Gathering not only displays Chuck's versatility, but the band's as well. They stick to their thrash roots while still staying fresh with today's power metal sound. This album returns Testament to the top of the Heavy Metal Hierarchy where they rightfully belong. Now if only they can write another classic "power-ballad" all will be right with the metal world.
Submitted by jp (3/29/01):
Can you say "Holy Fucking Metal Batman!!!!" This is one hell of an album. Testament are an anomaly. Look at the old thrash mainstays; Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, even Anthrax. They are all producing albums it seems that get progressively weaker, they are running out of steam it seems. But Testament upped the ante starting with the album Low, and they've gotten heavier ever since. From the opening bars of "DRI" you know you're in for one hell of a metal ride. I mean hey, they imported Davey "My Feet are on Crack" Lombardo to bash the skins; How metal is that?!?!??! Energy, intensity, and the good ol' fashioned sense of fun that metal used to invoke is here. Praise the metal gods for Testament.
Submitted by Fracture (11/20/00):
Testament, formerly known as the "Metallica Clone", and written off in the eighties and early nineties as being the supporting cast for one Alex Skolnick. Who would believe that they just put out one of the hardest, true to form, most balanced metal attacks to ever exist!!!!??? This album is unbelievable, from start to finish, The Gathering is quite the masterpiece, from a band who has not been in good standing with critics, who can criticize going back to your roots, and taking some more hardcore 21st century edge with you!!! "3 Days Of Darkness," "DNR," ALL OF EM!!! If you have not purchased this album yet, then you're an idiot, because it is killer!
Submitted by Metal Mike on 8/19/00:
First off let me state that Testament is one of my all time favorite bands. The Legacy and The New Order are both amazing albums. The only problem with those early Testament albums was the very poor drumming of Louie Clemente. On the last few releases Testament have had the services of some very capable drummers, namely John Tempesta of White Zombie and drum god Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad, Death, Dark Angel, and a slew of others. Low was a great return to form after the career low point of The Ritual, which was, to my ears, an Alex Skolnick album not a Testament album. Many old fans were turned off by the death metal sound of Demonic. Well, good news is The Gathering is a perfect mix of old and new. Chuck's vocal's are all over the place, old style singing mixes great with the lower end death vox. Very quick streamlined riffs with Steve's fretless bass, which he plays almost as a third guitar. I could write a book on Dave Lombardo's drum performance. My favorite songs on the album are the one two punch of "DNR" and "Down For Life", the groovy "Riding The Snake", and the death assualt of "Fall Of Sipeldome". The only reason this isn't a perfect 5 out 5 is because of the strange lack of solos. But, overall essential Testament, fans won't be disappointed.
Submitted by James Hornbeck on 6/30/00:
The Gathering; rarely has an album title been so fitting. What we have here is one of the greatest assemblages of talent in metal history. Including the incomparable Chuck Billy, whose unique vocal style has gotten better with time, the riff-man Eric Peterson, the guitar god James Murphy, who seemingly has the golden touch as nearly every album he touches is special, the great bass-man Steve DiGiorgio, who has earned his reputation with bands such as Sadus and Death, and finally the Drum God Dave Lombardo, who seemingly has as many arms as a hindu god. With such talent, anything less than a masterpiece would be a waste of talent, but fear not, this album somehow exceeds expectations and deserves a place among the greatest metal albums of all time. Every track has a hook, every track thrashes better than anything I have heard from the 80's, perhaps due to better production. Either way, this is a spectacular album from a band that, like fine wine, has gotten better with age.
Submitted by Demonic on 6/3/00:
Sheer artistic majesty, but very much in the metal vein. This album is definitely as advertised, "the gathering" of some great musicians.Besides Chuck and Eric, true mainstays from Testament's past, Steve "Goddamn" DiGiorgio finesses the hell out of his bass as always, James "Screamin'" Murphy exorcises demons from his axe, and Dave "$#%&*@!" Lombardo has never sounded better on the skins.
This album is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts. An entire lifetime could be spent reviewing the individuals listed above and their undeniable talent, but performing as an ensemble, this group is, to use an old hackneyed phrase from the early 80's, "God."
Without reviewing individual tracks as all are excellent and will not disappoint, Testament has remained true to their original vision of uncompromising metal. After the release of The Ritual, some members were axed and Testament returned to real metal.
So grab this album if you don't already possess it, sit back with your favorite libation, crank it up to eleven and be amazed. Period.
Submitted by Oren Corem on 3/17/00:
The new Testament group is better. Is that so? Well, hell yeah. This has become a supergroup. Then why not 5 skulls? Because of the Gestalt thing. Chuck sings death style which sounds better than his earlier effort, and I'll buy any album with him singing like this even if it's Polish folk. Petterson is good and so is Murphy, and there are also 2 metal gods: Digorgio who can be compared only to Steve Harris (Maiden), and Dave Lombardo, who indirecly caused the skinnings of many deers by his unbelivable style. In here Lombardo plays like hell, but Degorgio is hardly felt. The better songs are "DNR," "Down for Life" and the Deicide-ish "Legions of the Dead," while the shame is on the closer, "Fall of Sipledome," which has good lyrics but just can't mix the instruments and the vocals well. 2 Suggestions to the Testament guys: 1) incorporate Digorgio more into the music. 2) Now , Put out another album!
Submitted by Jen on 12/16/99:
I'd have to say that this is the best metal cd I purchased in 1999. One person who has been grossly overlooked in these readers reviews is STEVE DIGIORGIO! Yes, Lombardo rocks. . .yes, the riffs rip your ass up, but the basslines also SHRED! I know this isn't a very detailed review, but I just felt the need to give some props and give my take on the album. I've had this cd for months and it remains in my car (most get booted after a couple of weeks).
Submitted by Eric on 11/11/99:
I have to admit that I have only listened to this album once so far, but I was very disappointed. At least there was not much of that Death crap like on their last album Demonic. I have every Testament album there is and I don't think this is a very strong effort. The overall sound is good and very heavy, like previous efforts, but almost every song sounded like it was leading up to a climactic guitar solo in the middle - but nothing happened! The whole album left me hanging and feeling frustrated. One of Testament's strengths used to be their great guitar work and it's just not there on this album. In fact, I've noticed a lot of metal bands seem to have lost the art of the guitar solo (e.g. Overkill); to me, heavy metal is just not very interesting without creative, exciting and skillfull instrumentation/ guitar solos.
Submitted by Tony on 11/4/99:
Whoa! Testament has pulled together a raucous set of tunes that deliver some good ol' fashioned metal punch that rarely comes up for air. Testament pretty well lets the listener have it without sparing room for orchestral parts, female vocalists, or pretty interludes. I haven't heard much of Demonic, so I can't make any comparisons there, but The Gathering is comparable to Low in its heavy, meaty approach while still maintaining ties to the band's early history. Some of the guitar harmonies in "Riding The Snake" and total barn-burners like "Legions of the Dead" harken back to the days of The Legacy. However, the album's greatest moments are found in the slower, groovier songs, my favorite being "3 Days In Darkness." The outro to "Eyes of Wrath" features some killer drum/guitar syncopations. Alex Skolnick's departure may have left a bit of a musical void in the Testament camp, but Eric and James Murphy hold their own as competent soloists, even though serious guitar wanking is kept under control throughout the record. Chuck Billy's throat-from-hell is in fine form, while Dave Lombardo's drumming is the technical highlight of the record (just listen to the double bass kicking in "DNR"). If you like your metal big and juicy, The Gathering delivers.
Submitted by Jeff on 10/23/99:
I can't help but always focus on the drummer the first time I listen to something. Because I like drums. I think they are talented sons of bitches. I've had friends that were good drummers so I can't help but compare people I listen to to my favorite friend drummers. This guy's [ed. Dave Lombardo] one of the best. I've always heard his name mentioned as that good before, this definitely proves it.Two tight guitar players -- they make the guitar sound like one thick wall of sound. The new guitar player they have is a great addition. He plays excellent leads, and he knows a lot of killer scales. And knows how to use them.
This CD is just as strong as Testament ever was.
Submitted by Krusher on 10/19/99:
Thank god Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson came around. They are finally making some great Thrash music again. I like The Gathering better than recent releases Demonic and Low, but not more than The Legacy or my favorite The New Order. I am glad that Chuck went back to mixing the normal vocals with the deeper, I think that is a better mix for him than the all deep. The riffs on here are great and up tempo...great stuff.
Submitted by Cyn on 10/17/99:
Having been a huge Testament fan since their first album in 1987, The Legacy, I have bought every subsequent release with anticipation and excitement of fresh and raw new tunes. These poor guys have been plagued by so much turnover of different record labels and different band members, with the exception of Chuck Billy’s distinctive and memorable voice, and Eric Peterson’s brutal guitar riffs (which makes Testament, to me). Their aggressive thrash metal sound has remained consistently strong and addictive to metal heads everywhere, and impressively blows the metal community away over and over again. The nice thing about it is that Testament have had a loyal fan base for over a decade. I’m proud to be a member of that club. Their new album, The Gathering, is by far, one of the best in a while, especially since they haven’t released a new album since 1997. What ever happened to those bands that put out at least one record a year? We all have learned to await new songs and new albums from our favorite bands with patience these days. Maybe the longer the wait, the better! The Gathering oozes with melodic rhythm and deep sophisticated beats that you can bang your head to. Cool cover design too! It turns on a dime from hard-core spitting force "Seven Shut Eyes" to sing-along catchy lyrics, "True Believer", vaguely reminiscent of The Ritual which I know was their most mainstream album to date but still packs the punch that The New Order and Souls of Black did. The Gathering is tough, clean (quality recording makes a world of difference), and kicks ass! It is easy to swallow but worth chewing on for a while. It is one of those albums that you’ll have to put on shuffle in your CD player because you’ll end up listening to it so many times over.
Submitted by Musashi on 10/15/99:
What a great fucking album! This album comes after you like a rabid dog trying to tear out your jugular! First of all the album is HEAVY. It has what we call in the business the "Third Testicle!" Some bands have it in them to play with both balls switched on. Some bands don't a have nut between them. Testament gives you the Third Testicle. The guitars are nice and punchy. Really good tone is essential. I like to hear the guitar player's fingers. It has to sound like I'm right there in the same room with the guitar player and the amps. The drums are in-your-face. The mix is right. The songs kick ass! Go and buy this fucking album, blow out your speakers and piss off your neighbors!
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