| The Legacy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 21, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | January 1987 | |||
| Studio | Pyramid Sound Studios, Ithaca, New York | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 38:45 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Alex Perialas | |||
| Testament chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Legacy | ||||
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The Legacy is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on April 21, 1987.
Prior to the album's recording in January 1987, Testament was known as Legacy. Their lineup consisted of singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, bassist Greg Christian and drummer Louie Clemente. Singer Chuck Billy was a member of another local band named Guilt. [1] He had performed with Legacy on a few occasions and was asked to become the new singer after Souza left to join Exodus.
About a month prior to the release of The Legacy, the band changed their name to Testament after finding out that there was an RnB hotel cover band named Legacy. [2] The Testament name was suggested by Billy Milano (from S.O.D. and M.O.D.), who was a friend of the band in the early days. [3]
This was the only Testament album to feature songwriting contributions from Souza, who was credited as the co-writer of all the songs, except for "C.O.T.L.O.D." and "Do or Die", which were co-written by original Legacy singer Derrick Ramirez and Billy respectively. The closing track, "Apocalyptic City", was written by Skolnick and Peterson.
The album was recorded and mixed at Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, New York, and mastered at Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs in New York City.
It was announced in June 2024 that the album and The New Order were being remastered and would be released on July 12. [4]
In support of The Legacy, Testament went on a worldwide tour from June 1987 to April 1988. [5] During the American leg of their tour, they were the opening act for Anthrax on the Among the Living tour, toured through the South and the East Coast with Overkill and played two shows in Northern California with Megadeth. After an appearance at Dynamo Open Air in June 1987 (recorded for the live EP Live at Eindhoven ), Testament embarked on their first tour of Europe as the opening act for Anthrax. Touring for The Legacy ended in April 1988, shortly before the release of The New Order . [5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
The Legacy received favorable reviews by music critics. AllMusic's Alex Henderson rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, and said that it saw Testament earn respect in "thrash circles" and called it "a relentlessly heavy and promising effort focusing on such subjects as the occult, witchcraft, nuclear war, and global destruction." Henderson also praised Alex Perialas' production on The Legacy as "superb -- well respected in metal circles", and added that Perialas had "obviously encouraged Testament to play hard and let it rip." [6] Adam McCann of Metal Digest wrote, "If you're going to get out there and make a statement, then The Legacy is a way to establish your erm… legacy. This was thrash metal right to its core, it was full of passion and integrity that was starting to drift away from those bands which had become more established and signed to major labels. Even now, The Legacy sounds great with tracks like 'Apocalyptic City', 'The Haunting' and 'Burnt Offerings' leading the charge and although the production wasn't fantastic, thrash never needed that to create some spectacular." [7]
Within three years after its release in 1987, The Legacy had sold over 150,000 copies in the U.S. [8]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Over the Wall" | Souza | Peterson, Skolnick, Christian | 4:07 |
| 2. | "The Haunting" | Souza, Peterson | Skolnick, Peterson | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Burnt Offerings" | Souza, Peterson | Skolnick, Peterson | 5:07 |
| 4. | "Raging Waters" | Souza, Peterson | Peterson | 4:32 |
| 5. | "C.O.T.L.O.D." (Curse of the Legions of Death) | Ramirez, Peterson | Ramirez, Peterson | 2:32 |
| 6. | "First Strike Is Deadly" | Souza, Christian | Peterson, Skolnick | 3:43 |
| 7. | "Do or Die" | Skolnick, Peterson, Billy | Skolnick, Peterson, Clemente | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Alone in the Dark" | Souza | Skolnick, Peterson | 4:05 |
| 9. | "Apocalyptic City" | Skolnick, Peterson | Skolnick, Peterson | 5:51 |
| Total length: | 38:45 | |||
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes. [18]
Fistful of Metal is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". This is the band's only album to feature original frontman Neil Turbin and original bassist Dan Lilker, who were replaced by Matt Fallon and Frank Bello, respectively. Former original guitarist Greg Walls claims that Anthrax "ripped him off" as he claims he wrote the material on the album.
Testament is an American heavy metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup comprises rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since reunited with Skolnick, who had been out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy has been a member of Testament since 1986, when he replaced original singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had left to replace Paul Baloff in Exodus. Peterson and Billy are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums. The band has released thirteen studio albums, four live albums, five compilation albums, thirteen singles and three DVDs. They are estimated to have sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era, and over 14 million copies worldwide as of 2016.
Charles Billy is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament.
Alex Skolnick is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage and the heavy metal supergroup Metal Allegiance.
The New Order is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on May 10, 1988.
Live at Eindhoven is a live EP by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released in 1987 via Megaforce Records for Europe in 1987 and the US in 1990. It was recorded at the Dynamo Open Air Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands on June 8, 1987.
Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on October 9, 1990.
The Ritual is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on May 12, 1992, by Atlantic Records. It was their last studio album to feature drummer Louie Clemente and guitarist Alex Skolnick, until the latter rejoined the band in 2005. It was also their first album to be released and distributed only by Atlantic, whereas Testament's previous four albums were co-released by Megaforce Records. Produced by Tony Platt, the album marked a major stylistic shift for the band, moving towards a heavy metal sound.
Return to the Apocalyptic City is a live EP by American thrash metal band Testament, released in 1993. All tracks were recorded at the Hollywood Palladium, except for the last two; "Reign of Terror" was recorded during The New Order sessions in 1987–1988, but did not appear on that album; it did, however, surface as a B-side to the album's sole single "Trial by Fire". The closing track, "Return to Serenity", is a single edited version of the song, which appears on The Ritual.
Low is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on October 4, 1994 through Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature a new lineup, with guitarist James Murphy and drummer John Tempesta replacing Alex Skolnick and Louie Clemente respectively, and the last album with bassist Greg Christian until 2008's The Formation of Damnation.
Steve "Zetro" Souza is an American musician, best known for his work as lead vocalist with thrash metal band Exodus from 1986 to 1994, and again from 2002 to 2004. He rejoined Exodus for a third time in 2014. Souza is one of two singers, along with Chuck Billy, for the band Dublin Death Patrol. He also sings for the thrash metal band Tenet and was the lead singer for the thrash metal band Legacy. In 2011, Souza announced his new project, Hatriot. He stepped down as the frontman of the band in 2015, leaving the role of lead vocals to his son, Cody.
First Strike Still Deadly is the ninth studio album by Testament, released in 2001. It consists of re-recorded songs released on The Legacy and The New Order, as well as a re-recording of "Reign of Terror", which was originally on Legacy's Demo 1 and appeared as a B-side from the "Trial by Fire" single; the latter version also appeared on the 1993 EP Return to the Apocalyptic City. On some Japanese versions of this release, a different cover is present, and the disc is an enhanced CD and includes a bonus documentary produced by Reality Check TV/RCTV Studio with live clips of various incarnations of the band and interviews with Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson in various settings in and around San Francisco.
Live in London is a live album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on CD and DVD on November 1, 2005. It features the original Testament line up of Chuck Billy, Greg Christian, Louie Clemente, Eric Peterson, and Alex Skolnick, although John Tempesta played drums from the beginning of the show up to "Trial by Fire"; he was then replaced by original drummer Clemente for the remainder of the show. This was the third show of the 10 Days in May Tour. Backstage footage is included from the Innsbruck, Austria date on May 12, 2005, among others.
Taking Over is the second studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released in March 1987 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records. The album is Overkill's last to feature drummer Rat Skates, who left the band later in 1987 and was replaced by Sid Falck. It was also the first to be released through Atlantic, who would release all of the band's albums up to W.F.O. (1994).
Thrash of the Titans was a benefit concert held on August 11, 2001, at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco, California. The concert was a co-benefit for Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, who was diagnosed with germ cell seminoma ; and Chuck Schuldiner, leader of the death metal band Death, who was also battling cancer. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was S.O.D. vocalist Billy Milano. The concert was organized by Walter Morgan. The show was announced in May 2001, and all 2300 tickets quickly sold out.
Practice What You Preach is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on August 8, 1989 via Atlantic/Megaforce. Propelled by the singles "Greenhouse Effect", "The Ballad" and the title track "Practice What You Preach", this album was a major breakthrough for Testament, achieving near gold status and becoming the band's first album to enter the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The Formation of Damnation is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on April 29, 2008. It was Testament's first album since 2001's First Strike Still Deadly and their first of new material since 1999's The Gathering. It was also Testament's first release with original guitarist Alex Skolnick since 1992's The Ritual and bassist Greg Christian since 1994's Low, as well as the band's only studio album recorded with drummer Paul Bostaph, who joined Testament in 1993 but became a full-time member in 2007 before leaving the band four years later.
Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations, CD, CD/DVD and vinyl, with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, The Gathering (1999), First Strike Still Deadly (2001), and The Formation of Damnation (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". Dark Roots of Earth entered the Billboard 200 at number 12, Testament's highest position ever.
Titans of Creation is the thirteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on April 3, 2020. This album marked the first time since The Ritual (1992) that the band had recorded more than one album with the same lineup, though it would turn out to be their last to feature drummer Gene Hoglan, who left Testament for the second time in January 2022. Titans of Creation is also the band's first album to be co-produced by Juan Urteaga, who previously worked with Testament's two studio albums Dark Roots of Earth (2012) and Brotherhood of the Snake (2016).
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