Vocals: Chuck Billy
Lead Guitar: James Murphy
Rhythm Guitar: Erik Peterson
Bass: Greg Christian
Drums: John Tempesta
Testament had caught a little bit of flack on the album before this (The Ritual) before making this masterpiece, and it had a lot to do with ex-guitarist Alex Skolnich wanting to make the follow-up to that album sound like Metallica's self titled album (aka The Black Album). So then, what did that mean for the band? They fired Skolnick and brought in James Murphy (ex-Obituary, ex-Death), and made their most brutal album they had made up to that point. The style is still very Testament, as the thrash is definitely still there. But instead of the lead guitar/solo based sound of albums like The New Order, what we have on Low is a more low-E and thicker guitar sound, and less predictable drum blast beats.
The title track is the first track here, and there are some nice, thick intro riffs here, and as it works into the vocals, they are more growly this time around. The Cookie Monster style growl from Chuck Billy is only used a little bit on this album, but when placed correctly, they are very effective in making the songs sound even heavier and more brutal. "Legions In Hiding" has a nice strut to it in the verses, and "Hail Mary" is an excellent track with a catchy chorus. "Trail Of Tears" is a wonderfully done ballad that would make Megadeth's "A Tout Le Monde" or Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" look like something Celine Dion and Diane Warren would collaborate on. The song has it all, emotional vocals, caustic guitar work, and a great chorus pickup. "Shades Of War" and "P.C." are two more strut-style thrash songs, with some great riffing from James Murphy. And the highlight of the album is next - in the form of "Dog Faced Gods". The song starts out with a very good riff at about the 3-second mark, and works into some frantically paced drumming before you hear Chuck Billy start growling away. When he goes into his clean voice after the second verse, he sounds like he's ready to rip off your throat.
"All I Could Bleed" is only an average song, good but not great, but not very memorable. "Urotsukidoji" is an instrumental, but what are with those vocals during it? Are those samples they're using? "Chasing Fear" begins with some nice stutter riffs, then there is some nice bass tooling going on after the intro lead. Agressive Billy vocals follow, as this song features more of a groove to it. And the chorus sounds pretty cool. The drumming on "Ride" is ungodly (courtesy of John Tempesta), and there is some excellent riffing in the chorus as well. "Last Call" ends the album as an instrumental, giving the listener a rest after a good 50 or so minutes of nonstop headbanging and moshing on this album.
All in all, this is a splendid thrash release. It's not The New Order... it's even better, and it's much better at that. And if you don't think they could possibly not improve from here, guess who's sitting behind the drumkit on the release five years after this one? You won't believe your ears....
Testament - The New Order (78%)
Vocals: Chuck Billy
Lead Guitar: Alex Skolnick
Rhythm Guitar: Erik Peterson
Bass: Greg Christian
Drums: Louie Clemente
Okay... maybe not the incredibly brutal sound of Low and The Gathering, but this album is still solid thrash metal. And The New Order is definitely not their best as far as I'm concerned. I prefer James Murphy's lead guitar over Alex Skolnick's, not because of ability, but rather style. Alex Skolnick doesn't have that low-E-based sound, but he makes good use of other skills on The New Order. But I'm just saying that the band's full potential wouldn't be realized until the Low album, as I just want to get that out of the way first.
Well... on to the music. The production, for the most part, is very good, and does not sound muddy at all. The guitars and drums sound pretty clear for the most part, as do the vocals. "Eerie Inhabitants" is the first track, which begins with some razor-sharp lead guitar playing, before speeding up after the intro and inducing some good headbanging. Chuck Billy on this song (and the rest of the album) sings in a voice that is deep, but is not even close to "the growl" he would experiment with later in his career. The title track is the next song, and begins with some solid lead playing that sounds a little like Marty Friedman's lead guitar work with Megadeth. Then it works into a rhythm that is fairly standard for full-crowd moshing, but to be honest with you, this song sounds like second-rate Anthrax or Years Of Decay-era Overkill. "Trial By Fire" is the next song, and it is the album's highlight. There is a good head-moving rhythm established through the length of the song, and a very nice riff at about the 1:14 mark that leads into a nice bass run and predatory Chuck Billy vocals. The chorus features some excellent riffing from Eric Peterson, and the song also benefitted from a cool-looking video. "Into The Pit" is a song about moshpits (pun intended), which starts with a nice strut created by the rhythm guitar, and then the rhythm of the rhythm section and the guitars make this song standard pit fare for the rest of the way through.
"Hypnosis" is an instrumental lead guitar intro into "Disciples Of The Watch". Once again, this song is only average in my opinion, and once again sounds a little too heavy on the Among The Living-era Anthrax influence. Not a bad song, but not a great one either. But it is one of the catchiest tunes here. "The Preacher" has a nice groove in the verses, plus we get some screams from Chuck Billy. Also, there is a nice guitar solo from Alex Skolnick from 1:53 to about the 2:49 mark. Gawd, I wish Kirk Hammett would still play solos like that. "Nobody's Fault" is a nicely done cover of the classic Aerosmith song, with a very nice strut in the verses and some nice high-hat drum work throughout. Another highlight on the album. "A Day Of Reckoning" has more head-moving grooves, and some nice leadwork as well. "Musical Death (A Dirge)" closes the album as an instrumental, but is not as good of an instrumental as "Hypnosis". It does close out the album on a fairly upbeat note, though.
If you don't have any Testament in your collection, this may be a good place to start, if you also like great lead guitar work. However, if you like your thrash no-nonsence, no-holds-barred-style, you're better off starting your collection with something like Low or The Gathering.
Type O Negative - October Rust (100%)
Vocals/Bass: Peter Steele
Guitars: Kenny Hickey
Keyboards: Josh Silver
Drums: Johnny Kelly
This was my introduction to Type O Negative, and I must say, I am very pleased with the results of this masterpiece. This disc has everything a goth/doom fan could want - a great atmosphere, dark lyrics, and the deep vocals (and bass, for that matter) of Peter Steele.
There is also plenty of variety on this disc, such as a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", a rather humorous song about a lesbian affair that singer Peter Steele gets involved in ("My Girlfriend's Girlfriend"), and plenty of goth-tinged tracks that have made the impression on Type O's sound. The keyboards from Josh Silver, guitars from Kenny Hickey, drums from Johnny Kelly (who replaced original drummer Sal Abruscato in 1994), all play a significant role in the album's sound. One listen to the aforementioned cover of "Cinnamon Girl", and you would not be even able to tell that it is a cover! The cover is done Type O style, although it is sped up quite a bit, rather than trying to copy Neil Young. I highly commend them for playing the cover this way, because some of their covers on other albums have been disappointing, in my opinion. This is not one of them, though. "Love You To Death", "Burnt Flowers Fallen", and "In Praise Of Bacchus" are some of the finest tracks ever recorded by this band, and they set the tone of October Rust very well. The guitars and Peter Steele's bass playing are very slow and deep sounding on these songs, and like I said, it makes for a very good listening experience.
These songs, just about all of them, in fact, show why Type O Negative is one of the best-loved goth metal bands on the planet today.