The Gathering

When it comes to the opinions on Testament’s 1999 ‘The Gathering’ album, the field is clearly divided into two sides. For one side, ‘The Gathering’ is a further departure from Testament’s initial sound, not drifting as far into the Death Metal area than its predecessor ‘Demonic’, but nothing compared to what the band was doing on ‘The Legacy’ and ‘The New Order’. The other side enjoys ‘The Gathering’ as an outstanding Thrash Metal album, which tops virtually any Thrash album released in the 1990’s. And although I understand and respect the opinions of the first side, I am definitely a part of the latter. There is simply too much to enjoy on the album to just weep about the fact that this is not ‘The Legacy’.

Opening track ‘D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)’ is a true kick in the face in that matter. As soon as the first guitar riff starts, with a pounding rhythm section underneath, you’ll be blown to the other side of your room with a smile of pure thrashing euphoria. Chuck Billy seems to have made a return to clean singing again and Eric Peterson’s riffs are simply killer. ‘D.N.R.’ is quite simply the best opener Testament has recorded since ‘Over The Wall’.

But it’s hard to go wrong with a lineup such as this one. Although Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson are the only remaining members from the original lineup, they are accompanied by fine musicians. Completing the guitar duo with Eric Peterson is James Murphy, while the rhythm section is comprised of bass master Steve DiGiorgio and none other than Dave Lombardo on drums. An interesting thing is that DiGiorgio isn’t nearly as present on this album as he is on any other album he plays on. On this album, it’s rather his sound than his skillful playing that really adds something to the result.

However, an all star lineup such as this one can only properly function if the song material is good enough. That is most certainly the case on ‘The Gathering’. The funny thing is...even though it was the overall Death Metal sound that made ‘Demonic’ my least favorite Testament-album, it’s the two Death Metal songs on this record that rank among my top favorites. ‘Legions Of The Dead’ is a full-blown Thrash fest, with Eric Peterson riffing at full speed, Dave Lombardo drumming all over the place and Chuck Billy grunting all his rage out on top of that. And the closing track ‘Fall Of Siple Dome’ is nothing short of amazing. The ultra heavy intro smashes your skull in, the killer riffing tears the flesh from your face and the more tranquil middle part – the only part of the song with clean vocals – gives you goosebumps and time to breathe, before the speedy ending gives you the final blow. Count Dave Lombardo’s incredible double bass work to that and all I can conclude is that this is simply one of the best songs Testament has ever recorded.

Another favorite of mine is ‘True Believer’. Chuck Billy does an amazing vocal delivery on this song and it’s structured really well. The mellower verses build up to the heavily pounding choruses very nicely and all that together makes ‘True Believer’ a powerful track. But there’s enough to enough to enjoy on the rest of the album as well. There’s a few slower and more grinding parts thrown in for variation, as displayed in the heavily grooving ‘3 Days In Darkness’ and the mystical, Arabic sounding ‘Eyes Of Wrath’. ‘Down For Life’ has a thrashing groove that reminds me of OverKill’s more recent material. Not surprising, figuring that OverKill-guitarist Dave Linsk is an enormous fan of this album.

The production by Andy Sneap is – of course – flawless. There’s something different about this album’s production as compared to Andy Sneap’s other work though. Sneap’s productions tend to sound a little over-produced, but everything on ‘The Gathering’ sounds natural, without making it sound outdated in any way. It seems like Sneap really tried to make something special out of these recordings.

Quite simply; ‘The Gathering’ is a brilliant Thrash Metal album. Fans of the genre should own this album, if only because good Thrash Metal albums were a rarity back in the late 1990’s. But even if that wasn’t true, this is a quality album that deserves to be heard by anyone who has a heart for this genre.