Testament - Dark Roots Of The Earth (2012)

I'm not gonna beat about the bush, Testament over the years have been a pretty faultless band, and that same rule applies here. It's pure Testament - dark, heavy, brooding and sublimely packaged. The bonus cd features three covers - the best being The Scorpions' 'Animal Magnetism'. 2012 has been a mighty year for thrash, Overkill, Kreator and now this bombastic noise which maries melody with anthemic power. No real Testament fan can be disappointed with any of their records because this is one of the greatest thrash acts when it comes to evolution. In the past fans moaned about the layers of melody that were present in their mid to late '90s recordings, but here's a band that always put in a huge shift for their fans, and the mighty 'Rise Up' seems to be symbolic of the band's belief system, a gargantuan groove bolstered by Chuck Billy's snarl of "When I say rise up you say war" which will no doubt go down well at gigs. Obviously Skolnock's guitar mastery is plain to see particularly on the supreme 'Throne Of Thorns' and hats off to, to the drum gods Chris Adler and Gene Hoglan who reduce the ears to musha s the band chug, mosh and batter. Admittedly, 'Dark Roots...' is not my favourite Testament album, but hey, it'll take a real work of genius to beat the band's early works and the massive 'The Ritual' but as I always say, when commenting on Testament, they are a true metal force, a band that has exceeded all expectation over the years, keeping thrash alive and dragging it into the 2000's and making it sound as fresh as the day it was first vomited. 8/10