Testament had a nine-year break between albums after 1999's thrash masterpiece "The Gathering", but came back in 2008 with "The Formation of Damnation", which I still believe to be one of the greatest metal comeback albums ever. With one of their strongest line-ups they've ever had, Testament have been going strong since "Formation", and the time had finally come for them to follow up that album. Could they continue the momentum they had from "Formation" with their new album "Dark Roots of Earth"?
TRACK-BY-TRACK FOLLOWS
While "The Formation of Damnation" began with a short instrumental intro track, "For the Glory Of...", "Dark Roots of Earth" jumps right in to a very thrashy first riff. This riff transitions into a heavy intro that builds on itself until the song comes full-force with double-bass drumming from Gene Hoglan and another thrashy riff. The first verse comes in, and Chuck Billy's vocals sound very good here. At around 1:35, the song starts to build up again, with Chuck Billy telling you, "When I say rise up/You say war/When I say rise up/YOU! SAY! WAR!", and then the song explodes with more aggressive, fast double bass drumming and the repeated command of "Rise up!" followed by a shout of "WAR!". Personally I hope that Testament play this song live; I can imagine this part being an amazing crowd-song. At 2:46, after a build-up, is the first guitar solo on the album, this one by Alex Skolnick (Eric Peterson plays just about as many solos as Skolnick on this album). The solo fits the feel of the song very well, although it isn't quite as epic as some of Skolnick's other solos. The furious "RISE UP/WAR!" part comes back at about 40 seconds left before the song comes to a very fitting close. This is a very strong, very thrashy, and quite heavy album opener, in a different, thrashier vein than "Formation"'s first full song "More Than Meets the Eye". Again, I hope to hear this song live! 9.25/10
Following the opener "Rise Up" is "Native Blood". This song was released as a single before the album came out; my impression of it when I first heard it was that it felt like a heavier version of "Practice What You Preach"'s more straightforward melodic metal style. There are a few things setting this song apart from that style, though, including more emphasis on heavy riffs, and a blast beat in the chorus. Cool stuff. About halfway through the song there's a build-up to a pretty cool Skolnick guitar solo followed by a bridge to a solo by Peterson. I'm not sure if I was at all accurate with my first thoughts of the song's style, but this is relatively heavy. The vocal melodies are pretty nice, while the riffs and drumming give this well-balanced song its overall heaviness. I can see why they chose this song to be a single, as it's pretty accessible. 8.25/10
The title track of "Dark Roots of Earth" is after "Native Blood". The chorus of this song feels very much like Testament's style from "Formation", although as a whole the song is mostly a bit heavier. The solos in this song have great feeling for the song. 8/10
The first song released from the album, "True American Hate", follows the title track. When I first heard this song, it gave a great first hint at the album that raised my hopes even higher. This song is very thrashy and heavy, while remaining melodic. Chuck Billy's vocals in this song have a hint of his death-style in them while mostly being melodic. The guitar solos - first Skolnick's then Peterson's - in this song, though, are what gave me the highest hope for this album when I first heard the song. There's a part in Peterson's solo with a memorable harmony that sounds and feels great. Along with "Rise Up" this is one of the thrashiest songs on the album, and, again, gave me great hope for the album when I first heard "True American Hate". 9.25/10
"A Day In The Death" is after "True American Hate". This song is pretty damn heavy. The guitar solos, especially Skolnick's, are pretty cool. Aside from the solos and the overall heaviness, I don't have much to say about "A Day In The Death", but it's not bad, it just doesn't stand out as much as some of the other tracks. 7.75/10
"Cold Embrace" follows "A Day In The Death". It starts with acoustic and clean guitars. This one is mostly like a Testament ballad I guess. It's also the longest song on the album at 7:46. It uses heavy parts interchangeably with clean parts quite well and dynamically. Skolnick's solo in this song is very fitting. Pretty cool stuff, not thrashy but strong enough. 8/10
After "Cold Embrace" is "Man Kills Mankind". Here we return to thrashy riffs. This too is pretty heavy. The chorus is pretty cool. The song transitions to a pretty cool riff halfway through before coming to another Skolnick solo. The outro is very strong as well. This is an all-around pretty cool song, not sure what else to say about it. 8.25/10
The next track is "Throne of Thorns". This is another pretty heavy song. About halfway through the song is a really cool lead line leading up to what is probably Skolnick's coolest solo on the album in my opinion. Aside from the awesome solo, the riffs in this song are cool as well. The song ends with a clean rhythm which Peterson plays a fitting outro solo over. This would have already been a pretty cool song on its own, but Skolnick's solo adds even more to it for me. 8.5/10
The final original track on "Dark Roots of Earth" is "Last Stand for Independence". The riffs in this song have that distinctive thrashy Testament feel. It's another pretty cool song, but I don't have much to say about this one either aside from that while it's not bad it's not a standout. That said, it would be a decent album closer if it weren't for the bonus covers. 7.75/10
The first of these aforementioned covers is "Dragon Attack" by Queen. I will admit that, while I respect Queen, I've never actually heard their original recording of this song, but I can say for sure that Testament's take on this song is pretty heavy. The solos in this song are cool. Overall this is an awesome cover on its own, though I can't compare it to an original that I've never heard. 8.5/10
The next cover is "Animal Magnetism" by Scorpions. I have the same issue here that I had with "Dragon Attack"; while I respect Scorpions, I just haven't listened much and have never heard the original recording. That said, Testament's take on "Animal Magnetism" is crushingly heavy, somewhat broodingly, doomishly so. This may even be the heaviest song on the deluxe edition of the album, although that's not saying anything bad about the rest of the original songs on the album. At 3:34 leads begin; they're cool-sounding and fitting. By the end of this song I'm thinking that this is definitely among the heaviest songs Testament have ever recorded despite it being a cover. 8.75/10
The last cover on the expanded edition of "Dark Roots of Earth" is one of Iron Maiden's "Powerslave". I was very excited to hear this cover, since "Powerslave" is one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs and has some of my favorite trade-off guitar solos of all time. Testament definitely do this song justice. I have to say that the vocals feel a little bit weird; not out of key or anything, maybe I'm just used to the original, but I feel the vocal melodies could have been arranged a little bit better. That said, they aren't unpleasant to listen to at all. However, what I was really looking forward to hearing in this cover was, of course, the guitar solos. They are recreated somewhat faithfully, but not without the Testament guitarists' own touches. The first solo over clean rhythm, as it does in the original, builds up to a roaring emotional fast solo. Adrian Smith's original fast solo in this song gave me chills on every listen, and Testament succeeds at giving me similar chills with their take on these epic solos. A cool touch in this song as well is double-bass drumming under the beautiful harmony in between the fast solos. Overall, as I said, Testament did Iron Maiden justice here. 9/10
The final track on the deluxe edition of "Dark Roots of Earth" is an extended version of "Throne of Thorns". I won't review it since it is mostly the same song, although it is a pretty cool song...
END TRACK-BY-TRACK
"Dark Roots of Earth" definitely lives up to Testament's comeback with "The Formation of Damnation". I'm not sure if it surpasses it - it's probably about even, both albums have great highlights and no real bad tracks. The leads are very cool and there are a few great ones but aren't as consistently amazing as those on "The Legacy" or "The New Order", but at this point that was a different age.
This album is full of very heavy material, and in my opinion the production works perfectly. While I know some people don't like modern production for music like this, I am a fan of Andy Sneap's production, and I find the guitar and drum sounds crushing and overall good-sounding. "Dark Roots of Earth" also displays a variety of styles of songs from Testament, from thrash-fests to ballad-types, but every song retains the album's heavy feel.
I've been anticipating this album for a long time, and it hasn't disappointed me at all. It isn't another "The Legacy" or "The New Order" but it's just as good as "The Formation of Damnation", which in my opinion was 2008's album of the year. The only competition I think Testament may have for my 2012 album of the year at this point may be Katatonia, despite their totally different sub-genre, if only because Katatonia are probably the most consistent band I can think of, at least on par with Opeth. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Testament end up being my pick after all with "Dark Roots of Earth".
TL;DR
Rating: 8.75/10
Highlights: Rise Up, True American Hate, Throne of Thorns, all three of the bonus covers
Recommend: Buy if Testament or thrash fan, otherwise try
