2. The Legacy
Recommended Track: Burnt Offerings begins with an intro that invokes shivers before launching into the meatiest riffs this side of a slaughterhouse. Oh, and its ludicrously catchy too! Testament's debut and very nearly their greatest achievement, The Legacy announced Testament's arrival in an already crowded scene with considerable force. It was already clear that Testament had the necessary skill to challenge the big boys with an eerie, ominous atmosphere thankfully making amends for a thin, tinny production sound. Most noticeably, the band had musicians in their ranks who could really play and a vocalist who could scream, wail, growl and, whisper it, actually sing! The guitar pairing of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick was also inspired, Petersen's solid, chugging rhythm work perfectly complimenting Skolnick's jazz influenced shredding skills. This was the only Testament album to feature songwriting contributions from ex-vocalist Steve 'Zetro' Souza (Exodus/Tenet/Hatriot), who is credited as co-writer of all but three of the nine songs found on the album. Testament's follow up album allowed Chuck Billy greater input as the band began to reach headier heights, which brings us nicely too....