The Gathering

After their lowest point that they will probably ever be at in their entire existence 1997's Demonic. Testament recruited the legendary Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and bass extraordinaire Steve DiGiorgio both of whom would help along with Testament mainstays Eric peterson and Chuck Billy pioneer the sound and formula Testament would use to write records in the 2000's and onward. The band also got back James Murphy for this release who did the unthinkable back in 1994 on Low replacing the best lead guitar player in thrash Alex Skolnick. This is the last album before Chuck Billy would be stricken with cancer in 2001 forcing the band into an indefinite hiatus.

The production/mix here is okay I may get shit on for this but by this point in Testament's career the days of analog tape recording were gone and in the late 90's we got the start of the way of modern recording and mixing. No longer did albums have a unique vibe and atmosphere to them separating them from every other band in history like the albums from at the latest the mid 90's on back had. This late 90's era was the start of albums being super polished and almost inhuman sounding. I'm no producer or engineer but anyone with ears can hear the difference in records from the early 90's on back and the records made in the modern era. Most people will disagree with me as a lot of metal fans love the modern sounding productions/mixes more than the classic metal productions/mixes but not me, this is my main problem with modern music and even modern music from classic bands. Albums from this era and onward sound sterile and lifeless and will always be inferior to the old school analog ways of making albums to me.

While I do enjoy this record a lot this is my least favorite good release by the band (Demonic does not count it will always be dead last for me when it comes to Testament albums). This record is still really good though but that whole 1987-1990 era is gone, long gone. Even the Ritual and Low while were not full on thrash releases were Masterpieces of different avenues and still had that classic production/mix. The Gathering has its good moments no doubt but this album is a giant step down from the string of albums Testament released from 1987-1994, however this is a gigantic step up from the mess that was Demonic. The band meshed a lot of different influences of the time and brought the thrashy side of the band back after almost dismissing it completely on Demonic. The songs here are brutal and fast majority of the time and Chuck uses almost every vocal style throughout the album. The only styles he doesn't tap into was his softer voice that he used in Testament's epic ballad tracks and his super high pitched voice used on the debut. Chuck still sounds badass here and found his trademark modern style that he still uses today.

Peterson and Murphy are pretty good here they mesh nice with one another. The riffing is really tight and is Eric just doing what does best and that's riffing at an extreme level. Murphy is alright here but his leads aren't as crazy and dynamic as they were on Low. I almost feel like he dumbed down his playing here compared to Low when he come in replacing Alex Skolnick he probably had a chip on his shoulder to put it all on the line with his solos. Murphy also doesn't remember the recording of this album as he had brain surgery shortly after to remove a tumor. Murphy still shreds here and is one of the best shredders in the genre it's just this album is more rhythm centric in my opinion. The rhythm section Lombardo and DiGiorgio just go off like they just rip on this album it's not even funny how good the drums and bass are here. They really came together and gave Peterson a fast and brutal foundation to craft some of the most brutal songs in Testament's discography and those 2 have one hell of a performance on The Gathering. Despite how good Dave Lombardo and Steve DiGiorgio were on this release I still think the original lineup was the best lineup Testament ever had. Clemente and Christian were a highly underrated rhythm section that always get overshadowed by the the bands future rhythm sections

Overall this a solid album and there is no bad songs here all of them hit hard and never let up. There is some mellow intros and sections like the beginning of "Riding the Snake" and the verse parts in "Eyes of Wrath" and there is a lot of brutal songs on here. This record is pummeling especially for its time of release in 1999 during the era of nu metal and old bands conforming to the sound of the times. "Legions of the Dead" is almost like a modern version/sequel of "Curse of the Legions of Death" off their blistering 1987 debut The Legacy. All of the tracks here are good and are the start of what I would consider the modern era of Testament. Despite the 9 year album hiatus they would take due to Chuck's cancer diagnosis in 2001 this is where the band transitioned into what they are now with 1997's Demonic being the dividing line between the classic era and the modern era of the band.