Testament Albums Ranked!

Shredlord, Rin, Jammin' Jon and Necrotic Nick go through and rank all of studio albums from legendary bay area thrashers Testament!
DownFall NetWork!
/ @downfallnetwork

[@troydonwainwright6375]

Nobody said Electric Crown when discussing The Ritual. To me that is one of the best tracks on the album and best Testament songs.

[@pauliewalnuts2072]

Probably my favorite song by them

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I thought about bringing it up because it was a single but I generally like the deeper cuts like Agony and As the Seasons Grey more. While the album was more commercial those songs still were heavy as hell.

[@troydonwainwright6375]

@@thrallsofmetal To each their own. Thanks for the channel.

[@brutalmorality5885]

Ya I was very surprised they didn't mention Electric Crown because that was the single on the album.

[@Whythesun]

Electric Crown is one of the only metal songs that puts me in a good mood, it just pumps me up.

[@pleasuretokill]

The Gathering is and will always be my #1 Testament album. Saw them on this tour with the Haunted in 1999

[@aboutthemetal8783]

Did Dave lombardo do any touring with testament ?

[@pleasuretokill]

@@aboutthemetal8783 yes. One of my favorite show stories is that in 1999, they played Tucson AZ and Lombardo was on drums. I was in the front row. 2 songs from the end, Testament played "Over the Wall" and invited all of us in the front to come over the wall (this was of course before the Dime incident). About 80 of is obliged. I got to see the rest of their set on stage and of course I went right to the back and watched Lombardo destroy his kit for about 15 minutes before they kicked us all off. One of the best times Ive ever had out of the 300+ shows ive been to

[@comaofbowls84]

It is their best for sure and I think gets overlooked a lot because of when it came out.

[@davidburns6284]

The New Order is my #1, but The Gathering is a very close second. What a masterpiece that is!

[@johnkatsoudas4767]

Testament is one band that does not have a bad album at all in their catalog in my opinion. I love all of them including The Ritual and Demonic. If I had to do a ranking at this moment it would be. 12. Demonic 11. Brotherhood Of The Snake 10. Titans Of Creation 9. The Ritual 8. Dark Roots Of Earth 7. The Formation Of Damnation 6. Low 5. Souls Of Black 4. The Gathering 3. Practice What You Preach 2. The New Order 1. The Legacy

[@brittywright1]

Love these videos, really appreciate that you guys have actual discussions and don't just talk over each other the whole time. Hopefully this channel gets big one day 🤘

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We're slowly but surely getting there. Keep spreading the good word about us because we have no plans of quitting anytime soon!

[@dkmurphy6129]

I was a lonely 16 year old when I first heard The New Order and it gave me reason to wake up in the morning. I started to get into everything after that.

[@HeavyArtTalk]

Your channel is getting better and better dudes.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We really appreciate it!

[@tayhammer]

All I have are The Legacy and The New Order, so I can't wait for this!

[@LatexCult]

You already have their best albums

[@jaredlesperance6874]

@@LatexCult Yep!!!! Nothing they have done to this day is as good as their first two. However, Souls of Black and Low isn't bad if you must check out more.

[@mojuy11]

Loved the discussion! Thanks for taking the time to talk about each album thoroughly and give background. Makes it much more fun to watch than just a generic list. Keep up the great work guys!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We try to dig into each release as much as we can. For me, the history is as much fun to talk about as the music itself.

[@mloftus8618]

Glad I stumbled onto you guys. You remind me of my friends. Love hearing y’all talk about metal. You guys know your stuff. Horns up baby 🤘

[@dravenquinn264]

My ranking for the Testament albums would be🤘 12. Low 1994 11. Demonic 1997 10. The Ritual 1992 9. Brotherhood Of The Snake 2016 8. Souls Of Black 1990 7. Dark Roots Of Earth 2012 6. Titans Of Creation 2020 5. The Gathering 1999 4. The Formation Of Damnation 2008 3. The Legacy 1987 2. The New Order 1988 1. Practice What You Preach 1989

[@peterock4210]

Great show. Needed to know more about this discography. Can’t thank you enough. New Subscriber. Rock on!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Glad you dig it! We'll be doing Suffocation next so stay tuned!

[@stefantopuzov6140]

Testament is a weird one when it comes to recommendations. They just have so many different albums that are all good. A friend once asked me which album should he check out, and I had to give him a 30 minute speech like "these are the classics, but the recent stuff is great too, if you want solos go here, if you want groove go there, there is also a heavy metal album..." and he was like "yeah, where do I start though" 😆 First Strike Still Deadly probably because it has the classics with superior production. And The Gathering. But all their discography is essential. What an awesome band!

[@Madhouse_Media]

First Strike Still Deadly is a great primer for Testament now that you mention it. But yeah... There's a Testament album for almost every taste.

[@Wincincala86]

Awesome album rankings fellas, Testament is one of my favorite bands I really enjoyed listening to you discuss these albums. Take care 🤘🏽

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks! Testament is one of the main reasons I got into thrash along with Slayer, Sepultura and Megadeth so they'll always be special to me.

[@hagger0348]

The Gathering is my favorite Album from Testament.

[@mark58291]

Awesome ranking video. Was looking forward to this one. Glad to see Dark Roots of Earth get some love across the board from you guys. I feel like that one is pretty underrated... Not to mention epic album cover.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Dark Roots definitely has on of my favorite album covers from them. I may have ranked it lower but I still love the album. That's the problem with Testament: too many killer albums... which really isn't a problem, but it is when ranking stuff. lol

[@lawrenceterwilliger6787]

Great Video! One thing like I like about Testament they add different twists and turns to their style of thrash metal! Liked the opinions, gave me some insight !Thanks!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Yeah, they've rarely repeated themselves but are still instantly recognizable when a song of theirs comes on.

[@nickcollins9893]

The very old YT video of Dave Lombardo playing/rehearsing "The Fall Of Siple Dome" was the moment when I discovered the Testament. I was waiting for you to mention it during "The Gathering" ranking!!! :D

[@brandonbelt5055]

Like seeing the love for 'Low'! You guys seem to be the only ones!

[@aidandemaria4734]

Heck yeah! Another legendary ranking!

[@jamesscarselletta3446]

I'm a Testament fan. I have listened to their songs on music videos. The songwriting, band, and production is great.

[@BRXTTb]

dude nice

[@philipdeppen3644]

Over the wall has one of my favorite solos of all time. You can definitely hear some Adrian Smith influence in that solo. Very melodic and epic as fuck. The legacy is a hell of a debut album one of the best for sure and my favorite testament album with the new order coming in a very close second. Great job guys with your rankings it's awesome watching you guys doing this stuff.

[@docvader82]

Hold my beer!!! First video I’ve seen with this dude on it, hilarious.

[@alickandreades6314]

I saw Testament with Death Angel in 89 and in 2018 on Slayer run. Testament was excellent both times. Awesome thanks for the post much appreciated.

[@simonharding3109]

Really good format guys!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@ckvfamily]

Nooo, Practice What You Preach is like my #3 Testament album! 😭 I love every song but like Greenhouse Effect! Great vid though guys!

[@jboogedy]

The Mighty Testament!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome vid as always guys! Cheers!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@jboogedy]

​@@thrallsofmetal Always!!! Also, I'm going to take a wild guess at Shredlord being the main Testament fan out of you guys, he seems vehemently passionate about this band with the narration and dedication per album. Was curious what is his all-time fav Testament riff as a guitarist?

[@mattymatt1475]

Alex is a legend, love watching his instagram streams

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed. I loved the Rush jam his did with Charlie from Anthrax especially.

[@mattymatt1475]

@@thrallsofmetal absolutely nothing more Metal than some dudes getting together to play some tribute to other bands. Also I would pay to see Rin commentate over his least favorite albums, the 23 year old has the funniest commentary and analogies

[@robertsparling917]

I've seen Testament twice in concert in Vancouver! First time was a headline show in 2017 at the Commodore Ballroom with Sepultura and Prong and the second time was the following year, 2018, opening for Slayer on that band's final tour with Behemoth, Anthrax and Lamb of God!

[@danielflorio4739]

The definitive top 5 for peeps who don’t know Testament 1. The New Order 2. The Legacy 3. The Gathering 4. Low 5. The Formation Of Damnation Best of the 80s, 90s and 00s.

[@anthonyspano7139]

No one mentioned sins of omission!! It isn't the best song, but definitely the most underrated.

[@pop000690]

Probably my favourite song on Practise what you Preach alongside the title track.

[@Nadinetherescuehound]

The only other good song besides the title track.

[@Madhouse_Media]

Kind of ironic to forget a song called Sins Of Omission.

[@robertrecchia2642]

@@Madhouse_Media Good one!

[@stevenbaksh5545]

I love Electric Crown from The Ritual and the tittle track

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- The title track is killer. So Many Lies is sick too.

[@jiilaa_with_randomness]

"Even your farts reverbed in 1987." Yes, I remember those good ol' days! Bring back the reverby farts!!! Anyway, one of the best bands ever. Testament, the band who many reviewers hate, so I am more than pleased to see all the praise. Praise, that is not misplaced.

[@dylanbarnett6099]

My top 5 in order are 1.practice what you preach 2.the ritual 3.souls of black 4.the new order 5.dark roots of earth

[@jerryl2627]

After just recently checking out this channel, I'm honestly surprised by some of your rankings with various bands. Having Demonic dead last!?! Grant it, it was more of a hybrid of Testament and Death Metal, but it's a killer album. A more chunkier version of Low (ala Dog Faced Gods). Then having The Gathering ranked lower overall than some of their albums that only had a few solid tracks... mind boggling...lol.

[@philipdeppen2890]

The legacy and the new order are pretty much tied for me for first place. Superb thrash albums for sure.

[@richardthompson8961]

Great reviews guys The New Order is my favourite

[@Madhouse_Media]

Here's what I love about Testament. Think about the Big 4 in the late 90s, chasing a more commercial sound. Metallica did Load and Reload, Megadeth did Cryptic Writing (then a band masquerading as Megadeth did Risk), Slayer did Diabolus and tried to incorporate nu metal and groove elements, Anthrax just kinda shit themselves to near death on two albums... And in the midst of all that Testament was like "Maybe do what we've been doing, but heavier." Didn't always work but I do like the contrarian approach. Now that the big 4 are short Slayer, Im hoping thise promoters might approach Testament to fill Slayer's slot, if they plan to continue such things.

[@mattirealm]

Upvoted, great comment. The only thing I don't agree is, is about Slayer. I like all their albums. Yes they did some stuff that is similar to nu-metal, but holy shit, they have some great later career songs: World Painted Blood, Jihad, Repentless, Disciple. Great band, and Testament should ALWAYS have been in the Big 4. I like most of the Joey era stuff, and some of the John Bush stuff of Anthrax, but Testament is just so much more badass and still is. I never really liked the rap and metal mix; yeah Faith No More did that shit but Faith No More was never a thrash metal band, or really a metal band. They are good, but something else entirely. I hate rap I guess, as most metal heads do, but Scott Ian wanted to do that, so they did. Testament rules, and Slayer is missed.

[@Madhouse_Media]

@@mattirealm In Slayer's case the experiment with nu/groove elements actually work. D.I.M. I like better than the albums that followed, honestly. I know, unpopular opinion right? 😂 If they'd stuck with that sound Id have been fine with it. As far as Anthrax, I always gave them props for not reaching back to rap metal in the late 90s when that gente was REALLY starting to cook. Granted, maybe they should have because two full blown rap metal albums might have been better than 442 and Volume 8.

[@mattirealm]

@@Madhouse_Media I really like any Slayer album...well, except for the punk cover album and that other album from 1998. Favorite Slayer track right now is the last on South of Heaven called "Spill The Blood." Just evil and dark riffing and Tom bellowing on that track, just wow! They were great in the 80's into the 90's and I think they did some great stuff in the 00's. I don't dislike Anthrax, I just don't think they are badass sounding. Their heaviest song, IMO, was Among The Living and that was back in the late 80's. Joey is better than John in Anthrax and John is a actually a good fit for his first love, Armored Saint. I just love really heavy stuff these days and Testament just keeps bringing it, while Anthrax has gone more melodic and barely puts out any records anymore. It's okay, but not like their earlier stuff. I listen to a lot of death metal; more than thrash these days. Bands like Bloodbath (all 3 singers), Carcass, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, early In Flames, At The Gates (Slaughter of the Soul is EPIC), Gojira, Arch Enemy, etc. I am sure you get the point. BRUTAL does it now. And as each year passes, I get more and more tired of anything rap. It doesn't do anything for me. I just find rap is just distasteful. More than the sugary sweet music that is most popular these days. But I'm an old guy (45)........lol, not really. I liked rap when I was in college, but I graduated 20 years ago. UPDATE: I was a bit unfair to rap. I hate country music more than anything! Rap has some lyrics I don't like, but country music is the same: women, trucks, beer, buddies, BULLSHIT! Fuck that shit. It is far more repellant than anything rap has done.

[@nemesis8626]

What I will say is although I always loved thrash I was very late to Testament and first strike still deadly was my introduction to the band before going back through there catalogue... I actually really liked the rerecordings and hearing them with the more modern production really made some of those riffs even heavier... saying that my favourite is New order though that's just a special album, it also has a very dark eerie atmosphere to it that I don't think any other thrash album really replicates, eerie inhabitants is a perfect setting of the tone of how the rest of that album goes... Great ratings though 🤘🤘🤘

[@xtro6669]

Really surprised how low you guys ranked Practice What You Preach! I personally don’t think any of the newer albums are better than it. That section from (2:37 - 2:58) in “Perilous Nation” alone is so good it’ll get your catatonic grandmother to rise up and headbang. Anyway, enjoying the channel and how thoughtful the discussion is.

[@robertrecchia2642]

Agreed...Perilous Nation is a killer track.

[@thevomit5851]

I do agree with them that the vocal hooks are kind of weak on a lot of tracks but the guitar work is still awesome. Sins of Omission, Practice What you Preach, The Greenhouse Effect, Nightmare and Confusion Fusion are some great tracks.

[@cbeckwith172]

I actually really like the record but I’d put it a lot higher, but everything they said is kinda valid about it, I listened to it the other day and halfway through the record I found myself getting bored, I see why someone could not like it

[@johnnyzamaripa5293]

I agree with Graham I think practice what preach is fuckn killeriwould rank it 3

[@obscuridad]

These guys lost me with their dislike of PWYP. For me as a bass guitarist, that bass tone is unreal and fits in so good with the guitars. To each their own, but I’m in the camp of liking this album.

[@tjcaruthers5593]

Small little correction James Murphy and Dave Lombardo along with Chuck Billy and Erik Peterson plus a bass player(sorry can't remember who played on the bass)did tour. I met James, Chuck, and Dave after the gig they did in Reno, Nevada. The year was either 97 or 98. Almost positive it was 98. I did ask James Murphy about a follow up to Disincarnates Dreams of the Carrion Kind. He said it was coming down the pipe line and was hoping with in a year or two but here it is 2022 and still waiting.

[@joeyuzwa891]

“There’s the ballad and practice what your preach, and that’s it” bro WHAT!?

[@danielpolsinger7565]

I thought the same. Better listen again.

[@liametheridge9148]

I managed to see Testament in the UK with Death Angel and Exodus (the tour on which most of the band members and crew ended up getting Covid 🤣), around 2 and a half weeks before the pandemic ruined everything for us all and we went into lockdown. Holy fuck what a show, every band that night kicked so much ass! They played Children of Next Level for the first time that night aswell, it was the first time I'd heard it properly, I'd played it in various places such as at work and around the house, but was never able to properly take it in. I fucking love the song so much, it's one of my favourite album openers already. For me the last few albums they've done are some of the strongest they've ever done, it's amazing how they are so late in their career but still putting out such great music. The latest album is easily in my top 5 albums of 2020. A truly incredible band 🤘🤘

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Yeah, by the time their tour was coming here (with Municipal Waste and The Black Dahlia Murder) Covid was in full swing so we miss it. I've been a fan of this band since my teens and I still need to get them off my bucket list of bands to see live. I know I'll get my chance but I was so damn close. Titans of Creation is yet another amazing album from them and don't be surprised to see it on a lot of Thralls year end lists.

[@liametheridge9148]

Yeah at least there's gonna be plenty of opportunity to see them. They are so great live, they absolutely smashed it when I saw them. Watching Gene Hoglan and Alex was just mesmerising, couldn't take my eyes off either of them the entire time!

[@peterstrianus1790]

this channel is great.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, bro!

[@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063]

Formation of damnation is my 1# !!! And one of my top favourite metal albums!!.

[@mrmanju6989]

Wow ppl love Practice what you preach. I didnt expect to see it that low on here. Their whole discog is great man. Every album is pretty decent to amazing. The dude on the far left (stage right) has a great delivery and i love how he brings "tid bits" to the mix here. All four of yall are cool though. I approve!

[@khronos3755]

I see that Unibrou Megadeth A Tout Le Monde Saison Ale on that shelf back there.. awesome stuff.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I thought it was pretty solid. I liked it better than The Trooper ale from Iron Maiden.

[@nonipaulette4520]

Well qualified metalheads. Accurate assessments and nice personalities. Good channel. Souls of Black no1 Nick!?!? Ha to each his own. Keep up the great work!

[@joshdieckmann595]

Minor correction: the line-up for The Gathering album did tour together briefly, and I was lucky enough to see them early enough in the tour that it was that full band. I got to meet them at a signing in a local record store, and the booklet of my copy of The Gathering was signed by all 5 guys. I think it was just a few weeks after I saw them that Lombardo dropped off the tour. One of my favorite Testament records, for sure.

[@pleasuretokill]

I also saw this tour in Tucson AZ with The Haunted. Dave was still on the tour. During "Over the Wall" I was in the front row and Chuck invited everyone on stage. I hopped the barricade and went straight to the rear of the stage to watch Lombardo do like 2 songs.. standing right to the side of his kit. One of the most memorable shows out of the 300 or so Ive seen in the last 27 years

[@michaeluy114]

my favorite songs, electric crown, practice what you preach.... one of the greatest solos, sins of omission, return to serenity, low, the legacy, souls of black. I agree low is a good album maybe my favorite.

[@paulmares9815]

Since you did TestAmenT, would you consider doing Annihilator too? They've got a shitton of released albums by now ( some amazing, some great, many good and some bad imho ), so it would make for a decent lenght/size and interesting video, no? :D

[@VEGANzUmebies]

Sick Video!!!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@linkvagar2336]

Low is top 3 for me. Severely underrated album.

[@THEMEATMANOG]

Great vid, two questions 1: is there a thrills discord and 2: which band is better Entombed or Incantation?

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- 1) We primarily just hangout on the Downfall Network discord and 2) Dude... that's mean. Probably Incantation just for the consistency of their releases. I love Entombed though.

[@thegrimmfluencer]

Damn, you guys were harsh on Practice What You Preach.. I feel it's a worthy sequel to The New Order, I remember buying it on the day of release. I went off them for years after Dark Roots Of The Earth. Then randomly revisited them and straight off went and and bought the albums I had missed out! So back in trenches flying the Testament flag again! Now I'm revisiting Low and fucking digging it! Cheerz fuckerrz!!

[@angelarandall4004]

Nice one

[@briandunlap8534]

1.Low 2.The Gathering 3.The Legacy 4.The New Order 5.Dark Roots of Earth 6.The Formation of Damnation 7.Titans of Creation 8.Brotherhood of the Snake 9.Practice What You Preach 10.Souls of Black 11.The Ritual 12.Demonic

[@donmcglothlin841]

If I had to rank their albums it would be: 12 - Demonic, great album but as you all pointed out not a Testament album 11 - Low, I genuinely like this album but I hated a lot of the metal coming out in that time period (I was clinging to Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and Death at that time like a life raft) 10 - Brotherhood of the Snake, a face ripping shred fest that I thoroughly enjoyed but when put up against other albums it just happened to fall in at number 10 9 - Souls of Black, great album but this one i felt strayed from where the band needed to be headed 8 - Practice What You Preach, my introduction to the band and what a banger of an album but too preachy 7 - The Legacy, killer debut album with killer songs but they’ve grown since their birth 6 - The Gathering, what a banger. Alek Skolnick not soloing kept this out of the top 5 for me, love James Murphy but Alex would’ve tipped this higher 5 - Dark Roots of the Earth blew me away. Just a kickass album 4 - The Ritual, simply put Skolnick’s solos on this one just crushed it 3 - Formation of Damnation for me was THE comeback album. What a monster 2 - Titans of Creation, unexpected surprise from a nearly 40 year band especially when you look at what other bands of that age are doing now. A master class in maintaining legendary status 1 - The New Order. A perfect album as far as Testament can produce. It made them legends in my book

[@insertcreativenamehere9704]

overkill ranking would be sick

[@kylestevens4483]

I cant disagree with you guys more. Practice What You Preach is my number 1! Shows progression in songwriting and has an underlying groove to it! Sounds like a more mature and cohesive album than their first two.

[@davidburns6284]

Tough band to rank. Not really any bad albums, just a couple that are average. Glad to see Nick and Rin ranking "The Gathering" high up. I absolutely love that album. 1. The New Order 2. The Gathering 3. The Legacy 4. The Formation of Damnation 5. Titans of Creation 6. Brotherhood of the Snake 7. Low 8. Souls of Black 9. Dark Roots of Earth 10. Practice What You Preach 11. Demonic 12. The Ritual

[@comaofbowls84]

First Strike Still Deadly is one of the very few re-recording albums that is really good. Louie Clemente wasn’t the greatest drummer so to hear those classic songs with an updated production and John Tempesta drumming really made it worthwhile.

[@Duncarin]

my first testament album was 'souls of black' on its release 1990. l consider myself old school testament, but what would be my biggest surprise was 'the gathering' FLAWLESS.

[@tacesario847]

I would rate The Gathering way higher. That album made me love Testament again.

[@superunknown2812]

Man im late too the party,damn!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- The important part is that you arrived, bro!

[@strangeskills]

Practice What You Preach is amazing!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I think it's a good album, but a lot of it didn't mesh too well. Lots of cool ideas but they didn't come together as well as they had hoped. The title track and Blessed in Contempt are worth it alone for me.

[@strangeskills]

@@thrallsofmetal the lack in this album was the groove , the drum like in past that's' it, and the production anyway ceck Lars Urlich peace..i love my vinyl! stay metal

[@bristout01]

My top 5: 1. The Legacy (so fucking amazing!) 2. The New Order (used to be #1 for the longest time but I still hold this album in high regards...I guess you can say I OBEYYYY this album) 3. The Formation of Damnation (the best modern-era Testament album for me) 4. Brotherhood of the Snake (not far behind TFoD, I love the added speed and aggression but Canna-Business is stupid) 5. The Gathering (an awesome return to form after a misfire, loving the added aggression. Only thing I don't like is the album cover.)

[@sirspookybones1118]

1. Dark roots of earth 2. Titans of creation 3. The gathering 4. Brotherhood of the snake 5. The legacy 6. The new order 7. Souls of black 8. Low 9. Practice what you preach 10. Formation of damnation 11. Demonic 12. The ritual No bad albums, not even any ok albums, but its clear which era I prefer for the most part

[@filipdzero8739]

Surely I'm not the only one upset at Shredlord for downplaying all No-Skolnick albums, especially The Gathering, which had an amazing production that they polished on TFOD and copied it ever since. The Gathering is easily my no. 1!

[@Nadinetherescuehound]

One of my top 5 favorite bands. Seen them live more than any other band. Took a while to ponder this....here's what I think. #1- New World Order #2- Legacy #3- The Gathering #4- Low #5- Formation of Damnation #6- Titans of Creation #7- Brotherhood of the Snake #8- Souls of Black #9- Dark Roots of Earth #10- Practice What You Preach #11- Demonic #12- The Ritual Coming from someone who was going through High School in the early to mid 90s, having a bunch of posers wear Metallica and Megadeth t-shirts, metal was becoming main stream. And I hated it. Classic bands that I grew up with were selling out and cashing in. Metal was dying. After their sell out albums Metallica came out with Load, Megadeth with youthinasia, Slayer with nothing of relevance for a long time,...etc. After the Ritual, Testament came out with Low. What a statement. Dog face gods, PC, Hail Mary, and on and on....Testament went full 180. Out of all the big thrash bands, Testament was the only band carrying that torch from the bands I grew up loving. Their sound from Low was the foundation of what future Testament albums would sound like. Love that about these guys. Also, Titans may overtake Formation after more listens. Absolutely love their new album.

[@LeeJoRo]

First Strike Still Deadly, is really good. Not remaster, but a remake/modern recording of older songs. Souls of Black, and The New Order are my fav Testament albums EDIT I wrote that before watching the whole video. My bad

[@Torchbearer666]

Something to note. The demonic era is when they wanted to use the band moniker Dog Faced Gods, not the Low era. The writing of that record started with former Machine Head drummer Chris Kontos but fell apart for reasons I can't recall. So technically it wasn't even supposed to be a Testament record which is why there was such a drastic change vocally.

[@coltonsmith4395]

I thought they were killer, who wants to listen to the same type of album every release, that’s why I don’t care for anthrax,almost all their albums sound the same.

[@nonipaulette4520]

As a teenager in the early 90's you forgot Return to the Apolcalyptic City after The Ritual. Also agree with Low assessment. Murphy rips, songs are great and fresh (albeit album drags on).

[@Nadinetherescuehound]

At least when Testament sold out with the ritual, they did a COMPLETE 180 and went heavy af!! Low was a statement album about who they are as a band and what they stand for. It was their 2112. Testament is like wine, gets finer with age.

[@Christhegopher94]

Meshuggah hat must be at the dry cleaners.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I pointed him in the right direction of a new hat. 🤘

[@Christhegopher94]

@@thrallsofmetal solid replacement!

[@Goofballhero]

Sins of Omission is an excellent track off of PWYP imo. I think Nightmare and Blessed in Contempt are other good tracks from the album as well. It’s interesting because in my experience people do tend to rank Souls of Black as “the” weak album of their early years and I see PWYP mentioned as one of their best pretty frequently. Cool discussion

[@thrashmaniac99]

My ranking: 1. The Legacy 2. The Ritual 3. The New Order 4. The Formation of Damnation 5. Dark Roots of Earth 6. Brotherhood of the Snake 7. The Gathering 8. Practice What You Preach 9. Souls of Black 10. Titans of Creation 11. Low 12. Demonic

[@Kapricorn.Musick]

I have probable the most unpopular Testament ranking: 1. The Gathering 2: The Ritual 3: The New Order 4. Low 5. Practice What You Preach 6. Demonic 7. Formation of Damnation 8. Titans of Creation 9. Dark Roots of Earth 10. The Legacy 11. Brotherhood of the Snake 12. Souls of Black. The bottom 5 are more of less interchangeable for me, but no one EVER puts The Ritual as high as I do, but I fucking love that album haha

[@josephpierce264]

I do agree with Slayer shirt guy. Souls Of Black is totally killer. But it's also the 1st Testament album I ever heard.

[@cyborgeddie4585]

I thought I was the only one who thought practice what you preach was lackluster

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Yeah, it just feel disjointed and aimless. There's some killer songs on it but it hasn't aged well.

[@cyborgeddie4585]

@@thrallsofmetal Lol I just relistened to it and now I actually love it. Its a lot darker and more melodic than their other stuff, and it probably has chuck billys best vocal performance. Also has some of alex's best solos

[@francisdrake6510]

good job guys ! when will be Pantera?

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Well, after we're done with Suffocation and Darkthrone we'll have another poll up and I'm pretty sure Pantera will be on it so make sure to vote for it.

[@mason3872]

I heard someone describe the New Testament line up as, “Metal All Stars” and I have to agree lol

[@donmcglothlin841]

Nightmare (Coming Back to You)??????? What a banger Practice is overrated among Testament fans but it’s still a great album. The albums after they reformed are easily as good as anything they ever did Formation of Damnation, Titans of Creation and Dark Roots of the Earth easily compete with the classics I agree The New Order is their best classic album but this is a band that has consistently put out solid metal

[@Pokemonvspuddin101]

Ever consider a Pantera ranking?

[@Christhegopher94]

I’d like to see a GWAR album ranking

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Actually, Pantera was in our last poll but no one voted for it unfortunately. I’d love to do GWAR as well. 🤘

[@Pokemonvspuddin101]

@@thrallsofmetal aww i didn't even see the poll lol >.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- They'll be in future polls so don't worry. The next 2 are Suffocation and Darkthrone.

[@Pokemonvspuddin101]

@@thrallsofmetal Oh I can get behind Darkthrone! 🤘

[@opqrrg]

12 The Formation of Damnation 11 Titans of Creations 10 Souls of Black 9 Low 8 The Ritual 7 Dark Roots of Earth 6 Practice of What you Preach 5 Demonic 4 Brotherhood of the Snake 3 The Legacy 2 The New Order 1 The Gathering

[@CrustaceanCraigory]

I don’t care what anyone else says but dark roots of earth is my favorite album. Native blood is a killer song

[@jbracingnewsreviews3381]

My top 5 # 1 the legacy # 2 dark roots of earth # 3 the new order # 4 brotherhood of the snake # 5 the Gathering My worst is Demonic

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I wanted to find some new appreciation for Demonic while listening to all these again but it's still a big miss.

[@nickjones2340]

I agree with practice what you preach good judging on that album

[@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063]

Suggestion: please do a top ranking of “cult of luna” albums !!. ... i dont think they have ever made a bad one lol.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- That's one I'd love to do but I would want to cover Neurosis first before we covered any other post metal acts just because they kinda started the movement.

[@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063]

@@thrallsofmetal ah ok cool 😊👍

[@c4gam1ng12]

For some reason Testament never stuck with me as much as they have for a lot of other metal fans, outside of their first two albums that is. I love a few of their albums, but most of them are just kinda meh to me. I respect them a lot for their influence and musical skill, but they’re far from my favorite thrash band. I’d rank them as follows: 1) The New Order (9.5/10) 2) The Legacy (9/10) 3) The Formation of Damnation (7.5/10) 4) Souls of Black (7/10) 5) The Gathering (6.5/10) 6) Dark Roots of Earth (6/10) 7) Brotherhood of the Snake (6/10) 8) Titans of Creation (5/10) 9) Practice What You Preach (5/10) 10) The Ritual (4.5/10) 11) Low (4/10) 12) Demonic (3/10)

[@robertrecchia2642]

Accept & Saxon got their 2nd winds late in life as well. Very similar

[@johnkatsoudas4767]

Testament is one band that does not have a bad album at all in their catalog in my opinion. I love all of them including The Ritual and Demonic. If I had to do a ranking at this moment it would be. 12. Demonic 11. Brotherhood Of The Snake 10. Titans Of Creation 9. The Ritual 8. Dark Roots Of Earth 7. The Formation Of Damnation 6. Low 5. Souls Of Black 4. The Gathering 3. Practice What You Preach 2. The New Order 1. The Legacy Instead of putting Nobody's Fault on The New Order, they should have put Reign Of Terror. I like Nobody's Fault, but I love Reign Of Terror. Practice What You Preach is the first album I ever listened to by Testament back when it first came out at ten years old. It most likely why I have it so high on my list. One song that I think is a MASTERPIECE , and Testament has played it in the last 15 years is Sins Of Omission. That is one of my favorite Testament songs ever.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Dude, I totally agree that Reign of Terror should've been on The New Order instead of Nobody's Fault. That song is a banger. This whole ranking was tough as hell since I love pretty much every album and nostalgia hit hard because Souls of Black really held up for me.

[@MetalNeverDieswithMarkA]

I love Testament. The Gathering is my number one because it got me into Testament and it's a masterpiece. The Legacy and New Order are a great one, two punch. Unfortunately they didnt have their master of puppets or reign in blood until The Gathering. That's my 2 cents. Also I love Low, groove metal got me into death metal and other heavier material. So dont diss on groove metal. Lol

[@Never_Compromise]

Let’s gets a ‘Sperm Swamp’ discography ranking

[@josephpierce264]

Y'all are fucking nuts! Practice What You Preach is a goddamn juggernaut of an album. I usually agree with most of your rankings, but that album was and is just a thrashing beatdown that was better than almost anything at the time.

[@Jacobmovietalk]

12-Demonic 11-Low 10-The Formation of Damnation 9-Brotherhood of the Snake 8-Titans of Creation 7-The Ritual 6-Souls of Black 5-Dark Roots of the Earth 4-The Gathering 3-The New Order 2-Practice what You Preach 1-The Legacy

[@danielsharp3683]

Yep like your ranking ....these guys have no clue Practice what you Preach is a wonderful release seen them twice on that tour and once on the souls of black tour !!!!!!

[@paulwhite1109]

Just catching up withbsome of your videos. Good discussion and here are my rankings. 1. Souls of Black 2. Low 3. The Ritual 4. Practice What You Preach 5. The Gathering 6. Dark Roots of the Earth 7. Demonic 8. Brotherhood of the Snake 9 . Titans of Creation 10. The New Order 11. The Legacy 12. The Formation of Damnation. Formation... is the only one I can't get into and not a big fan of the first 2, production is ordinary.

[@MetalNeverDieswithMarkA]

Paul Bostaph is Dave Lambardo lite. Lol

[@gellargod]

I love the Ritual!!! Electric Crown is a fucking thrash jewel.

[@Daggilus]

Before I start watching, here is my list 1. The Legacy 2. The Gathering 3. Practice what you preach 4. Low 5. Demonic 6. Dark Roots of Earth 7. The Ritual 8. The new Order 9. Brotherhood of the Snake 10. The Formation of Damnation 11. Titans of Creation 12. Souls of Black