Testament – Classic Gig Revisited
/ Uncategorized / 03/02/2009 16:08pm
With Testament’s special Metal Hammer-sponsored ‘One Night Only’ show coming up on March 25th at Islington Academy, we dip into the Hammer archives and bring you this report on Testament’s 1990 show at the Hammersmith Odeon. Get your tickets to see Testament perform ‘The Legacy’ and ‘The New Order’ in their entirety!
HAMMERSMITH ODEON, LONDON
JANUARY 13, 1990
Memories: Dave Ling
Throughout the years many bands have fallen foul of the ‘difficult third album’ syndrome, but it wasn’t about to happen to Testament. Practise What You Preach saw the San Franciscans tempering the dark, occult themes and bone-rattling heaviness that had dominated their first two albums with a marginally more melodic approach. Equally challenging, the song Greenhouse Effect bravely attempted to ignite the public’s awareness of global warming issues; politics and everyday life subjects also being considered fair game.
With the benefit of hindsight we know that Testament were onto a winner with Practise What You Preach, indeed some even regard it as superior to their celebrated 1987 debut, The Legacy. But back in 1990, the band still had everything to prove. So it spoke volumes that they elected to play eight of the album’s 10 cuts in London.
Along with the fact that MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball had embraced the record’s title song, their choice of venue, the prestigious Hammersmith Odeon (now Apollo) was a further indication of their new-found upwards mobility.
Quite simply, Testament seemed to have arrived with Practise What You Preach, an album that confirmed they could compete with a band like Megadeth on a level playing field. One devastating solo from Alex Skolnick during the album’s title song – which also opened the show – was all it took to confirm their musicianly chops. Chuck Billy, meanwhile, was also without doubt among the premier thrash-metal frontmen. Besides galvanising the audience, at several opportune moments he unleashed a series of belch-like roars that were sustained for what felt like an eternity. Had Chuck mistakenly ‘followed through’ with his mock-regurgitation, the first dozen or so rows would have found themselves covered in several pints of beer and a ploughman’s lunch. At least that’s how it sounded!
So much for the new, ‘lightweight’ Testament, then. In fact, the likes of Envy Life and Perilous Nation were welcomed as warmly as old favourites The Haunting and Into The Pit, though a second encore of Burnt Offerings was the one the Odeon /eally appeared to have been waiting for.
In 1990, Testament genuinely appeared to have put their Little League origins behind them, Chuck pooh-poohing the domination of thrash-metal’s so-called ‘Big Four’ (Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer) with the declaration: “There’s room for a hundred more bands, so long as they have their own special sound and some good songs.”
But Chuck had figured without Testament’s next album, 1990’s Souls In Black, receiving mixed reviews, and, perhaps more significantly, the departures of Alex Skolnick and drummer Louie Clemente. The grunge revolution didn’t help matters, either.
At least Testament – reunited once more with the immaculate Aex Skolnick – are firing on all cylinders again in 2009.
Setlist:
Practise What You Preach/Sins Of Omission/The Haunting/The New Order/Envy Life/Greenhouse Effect/Perilous Nation/Into The Pit/The Ballad/Trial By Fire/Blessed In Contempt/Burnt Offerings/Disciples Of The Watch/The Time Is Coming
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