  | Blog author: Alex Stojanovic First of all, I meant to post this blog this past Friday, the actual anniversary of the album, but damn internet problems prevented me from doing so, but hey, it's only a few days later, so there's no problem with that. With that said, this past Friday (April 21st, 2017), Testament celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of their legendary debut album The Legacy. Not only is it one of the best debut albums of all time, but it's one of the best thrash albums of all time, up there with Master Of Puppets, Peace Sells, Reign In Blood, Among The Living, Kill 'Em All, Rust In Peace, Hell Awaits, Alice In Hell, Coma Of Souls, The Ultra-Violence and Bonded By Blood. |
I first became a Testament fan at the start of 2009 when I was 16, a few months after the release of The Formation Of Damnation. It was when I heard that record that I was saying "Where have you [Testament] been all my life?", but it wasn't until a year later in 2010 that I started going back into the band's catalog and discovering the old records. During my final months of high school in 2010 and that summer, I listened to The Legacy a lot. Every time I listen to tracks like "Apocalyptic City", "Over The Wall", "Do Or Die" and "Raging Waters", they take me back to that time in my life. Every time someone who is trying to get into thrash asks me for some recommendations for thrash albums, one of the first ones I always recommend is The Legacy.
I can only imagine what it must've been like in 1987 when the record came out and you heard the awesome thrash voice of Chuck Billy and the incredible guitar work between Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick from the crushing riffs to the chaotic but imaginative solos for the very first time. Every track is memorable, from "The Haunting" to "Burnt Offerings" to "C.O.T.L.O.D." to "Alone In The Dark".
I was reading in Skolnick's book: Geek To Guitar Hero that the clean intro in "Apocalyptic City" was a difficult part to execute during the recording of the album. According to Skolnick, it contained crazy, stretchy chord voicings that were taught to him by Joe Satriani. Eric was having trouble doing it at first, and even Skolnick, who wrote the part, was having a bit of a hard time executing the part, and then producer Alex Perialas suggested they bring in this guitarist that was considered one of the best session guitarists in Upstate New York at the time, who is just known as Chad (his last name was never revealed), but Skolnick just refused to have that happen (as he should have). As a result, he practiced the part religiously until he got it right and now, he can do the part in his sleep.
I'm really glad that I got to hear Testament play The Legacy (along with The New Order) in its entirety live because for a long time, I've been dying to hear them play tracks like "Raging Waters", "First Strike Is Deadly", "Alone In The Dark", "Apocalyptic City", "Do Or Die" and "Burnt Offerings", rather than just hearing "Over The Wall" all the time. Don't get me wrong, the song is a classic thrash anthem and I love it to pieces, but you know what I mean.
As a huge Testament fan, it's hard for me to pick a favourite record, but there's no denying that The Legacy is one of the band's best albums, and like I said, one of the greatest debut and thrash albums of all time. It has stood the test of time and it continues to inspire to this very day. Happy 30th anniversary!
Note: Testament plays Toronto this Thursday, April 27th at the Phoenix Concert Theatre as part of their Brotherhood Of The Snake headline tour, and Metal Master Kingdom will be there to cover the show, so if you see us in the crowd, don't be afraid to come up and say hi. It will undoubtedly be an awesome show! We're really looking forward to it.
I can only imagine what it must've been like in 1987 when the record came out and you heard the awesome thrash voice of Chuck Billy and the incredible guitar work between Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick from the crushing riffs to the chaotic but imaginative solos for the very first time. Every track is memorable, from "The Haunting" to "Burnt Offerings" to "C.O.T.L.O.D." to "Alone In The Dark".
I was reading in Skolnick's book: Geek To Guitar Hero that the clean intro in "Apocalyptic City" was a difficult part to execute during the recording of the album. According to Skolnick, it contained crazy, stretchy chord voicings that were taught to him by Joe Satriani. Eric was having trouble doing it at first, and even Skolnick, who wrote the part, was having a bit of a hard time executing the part, and then producer Alex Perialas suggested they bring in this guitarist that was considered one of the best session guitarists in Upstate New York at the time, who is just known as Chad (his last name was never revealed), but Skolnick just refused to have that happen (as he should have). As a result, he practiced the part religiously until he got it right and now, he can do the part in his sleep.
I'm really glad that I got to hear Testament play The Legacy (along with The New Order) in its entirety live because for a long time, I've been dying to hear them play tracks like "Raging Waters", "First Strike Is Deadly", "Alone In The Dark", "Apocalyptic City", "Do Or Die" and "Burnt Offerings", rather than just hearing "Over The Wall" all the time. Don't get me wrong, the song is a classic thrash anthem and I love it to pieces, but you know what I mean.
As a huge Testament fan, it's hard for me to pick a favourite record, but there's no denying that The Legacy is one of the band's best albums, and like I said, one of the greatest debut and thrash albums of all time. It has stood the test of time and it continues to inspire to this very day. Happy 30th anniversary!
Note: Testament plays Toronto this Thursday, April 27th at the Phoenix Concert Theatre as part of their Brotherhood Of The Snake headline tour, and Metal Master Kingdom will be there to cover the show, so if you see us in the crowd, don't be afraid to come up and say hi. It will undoubtedly be an awesome show! We're really looking forward to it.
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