REVIEWS:
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(reviewed by Pat D.)
Well, we now have an new heir to the throne of 'all time most annoying metal singer'. Actually, I think Testament's Chuck Billy (what a NAME!) might actually have that award all wrapped up. Although Megadeth's Dave Mustaine can get really whiny at times, in some cases he does an excellent job, and at least he has that cool growl to go back on. Chuck cannot lay claim to either of those traits. His voice just doesn't get rough, he don't have any range, and he cannot scream very well either. And oh man, he really is laughable when he tries to sing. There is one time when Mr. Billy does astound me however. During "Dog Faced Gods" off of the death metal album Low he does the standard black metal screams quite well, which leads me to suspect that he used some voice modifier for that album. Why? Cause for the chorus of that very same song, he goes back to the lame singing and ruins the song.
Also of note for this band is that they obviously never had a decent production job for any of their albums. I cannot think of an album that says "Remastered" that sounds as bad as this one. The guy who produced all of Testament's releases is SO BAD that he makes Flemming Rasmussen look like the 'God of engineering'. I cannot say enough about how lousy this album sounds, even on a good stereo. Never mind my cheap WalMart car stereo.
So, all this factors considered, it was quite odd that I found a few tracks quite enjoyable. Usually if an album SOUNDS bad, it will immediately turn me off, and I'll put some lousy rating for it. But a lot o' riffs on here are darn catchy. Currently my faves are "Electric Crown", "The New Order", and "Alone In The Dark". As you might have guessed, these songs also have cool ass riffs that transcend the horrific murkiness that they were recorded in. "The Ballad" and "Return to Serenity" are pretty decent ballads, but not worthy of the classic status that so many Testamentheads would have us believe. "Practice What You Preach" would be a cool song if Chuck Billy wasn't singing. The production and Billy's voice ruins just about every other track for me. Overall, I would not recommend this band to anybody due to those factors. If yer interested in the band, I would still not recommend this album cause it falls short of just about every other greatest hits album in existence in sound quality and consistency.
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