Hey guys… TESTAMENT has come out with their first new album in nine years! End of review!

Sorry… always wanted to do that. In actuality, there's a whole hell of a lot more to this story. These Bay Area veterans have had to battle all sorts of elements to make this album a reality, from line-up shake-ups to cancer to the re-growing of hair. Fortunately, they've overcome all the drama not only with new material, but with most of their original line-up, most importantly guitar deity Alex Skolnick. And as we all know, metal fans LOVE to argue over line-up changes: "METAL CHURCH isn't METAL CHURCH without David Wayne," "CELTIC FROST isn't CELTIC FROST without Martin Ain," etc. However, considering the hit-and-miss of this band's work throughout the 90s, it's hard to argue against the notion that TESTAMENT isn't TESTAMENT without Alex Skolnick.

So that means that they've picked right up where "The Ritual" left off, right? Well, yes and no. The band has tuned back up to E flat (as opposed to D flat), and the harmony and flashiness that was nonexistent on albums like "Demonic" is back in spades, most notably on such tracks as "Dangers of the Faithless". On the other side of the coin, Chuck Billy's death metal growl, which by now has become a TESTAMENT staple, is still being employed fairly liberally, especially on the title track. Put both the old- and new-school elements together, and we have a fucking beast of an album that stays heavy from the grinding gallop of "More Than Meets the Eye" all the way through the personal rage of "Leave Me Forever".

The problem, however, is that during the nine years that it's taken this album to come out, much of the material has lost its bite. Take, for instance, "The Evil has Landed", a 9/11-based rant that would have been far more effective and relevant had it come out years sooner (also, the main riff sounds far too much like "Death Squad" by SACRED REICH). Also, a bit more song variety couldn't hurt. Remember the glory days of the TESTAMENT ballad? This reviewer does, and something along the lines of "Return to Serenity" or "The Ritual" could have catapulted this album to near-perfect proportions.

As a whole, "The Formation of Damnation" may be pretty safe, but it's still got a potent punch to it, and the band's legacy (no pun intended) comes through untarnished. Most importantly, in an age where we've got all sorts of young and hungry thrash bands to choose from, it's refreshing to know that the originals can still get the job done. NOW the review is over, so "Into the Pit" with you!

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.testament-legions.com

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