TESTAMENT - The Spitfire Collection

Posted: 02/27/07

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Thrash Metal

Released: 02/13/07

Label URL: www.spitfirerecords.com

Artist URL: www.testamentlegions.com

Testament is one of the few thrash bands that are still around today.  They certainly deserve to be, having paid their dues during the pathetic 90s, despite losing members, switching labels, dipping record sales, and sometimes playing to empty crowds in dilapidated clubs.  I’ve got to give it to Chuck Billy (vocals) and Eric Peterson (guitar), as their hearts were completely in what they were doing.  I do think Chuck went overboard with the death metal snarl on Demonic though (they nailed the perfect sound on Low and should have stuck with it), but I don’t think it mattered because 80s metal fans were MIA across the board no matter what the release sounded like.

The Spitfire Collection pulls together material from the band’s releases on the Spitfire label – the two studio records (Demonic and The Gathering), two live albums (Live At The Fillmore and Live In London), and the compilation album of re-recorded classics (First Strike Is Deadly).  The material spans 1996 – 2005, covering the time when Chuck and Eric led the band with a variety of supporting musicians until the reformation and tour with the classic lineup in 2005.  Despite the lineup alterations, changes in musical climate, and that big label attention wasn’t present, Testament fire on all cylinders (again, even though I disapprove of the death metal direction of Demonic) throughout The Spitfire Collection.  It’s interesting to hear how much deeper Chuck sings on the 2001 re-recording of “Over The Wall” for First Strike and Alex Skolnick back on lead guitar on the 2005 live version of “Trial By Fire.”

The Bloody Truth:  Culling eight studio tracks (two of which are re-recordings of Testament favorites) and six live classics, The Spitfire Collection serves as a nice re-introduction for all the fans that lost track of the band during the past decade but got back into Testament on the reunion tour.  Obviously not a necessity for those that have all their recordings, this collection does act as a good hold-over album though, until the new studio album with Chuck, Eric, Alex and Greg Christian arrives.  I’m looking forward to the band delivering a monster of a record (spotlighting Chuck’s amazing thrash metal pipes but devoid of cookie monster vocals) that will put them back at the top of the metal heap.