review Testament: Dark Roots of Earth

Fuglymaniacs www.fuglymaniacs.com has reviewed the new album by Testament:

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Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

 Bay Area titans released their 10th Album. We were glad to see the guys back together again for another full fontal assault on your senses. After "The Formation of Damnation" we couldn't wait. So when we got our hands on this release we were excited. After a few spins, this album didn't blow us away as expected.

"Rise up", "True American Hate"- are vicious facemelting efforts and more in line with what we wanted and expected. But after "A Day in the Death" comes the unexpected: an eight-minute soft-rock ballad. It could be argued that "Cold Embrace"adds balance and variety to this album; But we think in this case variety is overrated. Thrash albums are meant to thrash & maybe even make you jump into the pit. ...MOSH!!

Ultimately, the band has not succeeded in creating an album on par with The Formation of Damnation; but that doesn’t meanDark Roots of Earth is a failure, not by a long shot. All the vital components that make Testament excellent are there: Chuck Billy’s roar, Alex & Eric virtuoso guitar licks, Gene "The Atomic Clock" on drums need i say more (just fillin' in thou). Greg on bass. They deliver some awesome thrash metal motifs. Just not in the same overwhelmingly good quantity as in the past.

Overall more of the same is all we wanted from them. Despite Testament’s commendable attempt to spice their sound with something a little different, We can’t help feeling that Dark Roots of Earth is one or two track short of achieving overall excellence!!8/10