Customer Reviews

Practice What You Preach

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Right from the outset of the title track, "Practice What You Preach" is some roaringly infectious old school thrash. With lots of ripping riffs, Chuck Billy's unmistakable howl, and just enough use of melody to please the ear, this is doubtless one of the underappreciated gems of the thrash era. With the exception of the aptly titled "The Ballad," the album never deviates from its formula of energetic, fist-pumping metal, with some top notch musicianship to boot; you especially have to love Alex Skolnick's blazing solos. I'm not going to bother citing specific songs, as they're all excellent and I don't care for song-by-song reviews anyway. In conclusion, BUY BUY BUY!

Testament may not have invented thrash metal, but they are still a very underrated band. The musicians in Testament are equally as talented as anybody in thrash's Big Four bands (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax), and they are more hook oriented than many speed metal bands. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick's solos are a lot more technical than Slayer's, and are usually every bit as breathtaking as Metallica's. The guitar shredding on Testament's third studio album, "Practice What You Preach" (which was released in 1989), is, of course, no exception. Even when the rest of the band (especially the drummer) sounds somewhat generic, Skolnick soars on every track with fiery, blowtorch riffs and wonderful solos. "Time Is Coming" and the title track are both catchy numbers with chugging riffs, thumping drums, and vocals which almost echo James Hatfield (plus "Practice What You Preach" has a shout a long of "preach!" in the chorus.) These songs are also both capped off by a lengthy, wailing guitar solo. Likewise, "Perilous Nation" features up and down, classical-sounding guitar work, "Envy Life" has an ascending solo, and "Sins of Omission" is highlighted by another superb, very complex solo which has several different parts to it. Other standout tracks include "The Ballad" and the instrumental (albeit brief) album closer, "Confusion Fusion." The former track, "The Ballad," kind of sounds like Metallica's 1986 single, "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," because it begins as a power ballad with acoustic plunking, but it gradually builds and gains momentum. Over the years, this album has taken a slight dip in sound quality, but it has aged better than some of the music from the Eighties. Testament may not be as iconic as some thrash bands, but albums like "Practice What You Preach" prove that they definitely should be. This is another great, must-own album from one of thrash's most important, most underrated, and finest bands.

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ALBUM WITH TESTAMENT ..CLASSIC OLD TRASH WITH MELODIC TUNES :THIS RECORD IS ONE OF THE ALBUMS THAT YOU MUST HAVE IF YOU ARE INTO TRASH :::SOME PEOPLE SAYS THAT THEIR FIRST ALBUM IS THE BEST BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY WRONG.. ITS EVEN BETTER THAN THE NEW ORDER ALBUM ...THE BEST TRACKS ON THIS ALBUM IS SINS OF.. AND THE TITLETRACK ...BUY THIS RECORD TODAY AND YOU WILL GET A NEW FAVOURITE IN YOUR RECORD COLLECTION

This album kept me sane 15 years ago as I attended High School. I spent an entire year with this tape stuck in my walkman. As I listen to it now, I'm still in awe of its power.

At Thrash Metal's peak, when bands moved past the fastest-riff-ever and gothic tones to more meaningful topics and much more mature music, PWYP stands out in a small cluster of releases by an even smaller cluster of artists that to me, truly defined the power of the music and the message it could convey. I miss those days.

Testament was lumped in with all the Metallica "wanna-be"s back in the mid-to-late 80s, which was unfortunate, because this album resembled Metallica only in the sense that it was thrash metal. This album stands up just fine on its own, and comparisons to Master of Puppets are just unnecessary. The sounds are very different, from the bass guitar to the drums, to Chuck Billy's vocals.

The standout tracks on this album, for me, are: "Practice What You Preach," "Perilous Nation" (which has a nifty, jazzy little outro), "Sins of Omission" (an awesome, frantic thrash song), "The Ballad" (a nice acoutic bit that builds up to a great heavy ending), and "Nightmare (Coming Back to You)" (a blast of thrash).

The guitars, while generally going for that coveted late-80s "heaviest of metal" (insert sign of the devil here) sound, always maintain a subconsciously jazzy edge and Chuck Billy's voice is a nice compliment to them. The only thing I might have ever had a tiny gripe about was the "clickety"-ness of the kick drums. It would have been nice to put a little bass in there.

Overall, though, Practice What You Preach belongs on the shelf next to Master of Puppets, Peace Sells...but Who's Buying?, and Among the Living as some of great early thrash albums.

Get it if ya ain't got it!

Testament has once again proven that they are not a Metallica rip off band with this cd. I just don't see what the hell the big comparison is that they have with Metallica.Sure Metallica had this sound way before Testament came out,but don't forget that Metallica got their sound from the New Wave of British Metal(Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head,Budgie) that was coming out in the early eighties. So why the hell does everybody have to piss and moan and say, " Oh Metallica did it first" what a crock man. Testament's Practice What you Preach is an Awesome thrash effort with alot of great guitar work by the one and only Scolnick(who kicks the crap out of Kirk Hammet by the way). The great thing about Testament is that you don't get bored with their albums. They have you going all the way through banging your head in the middle of Five o'clock traffic and screaming all the way down the expressway. Greag Christian is also one of the best bass players I've heard since Cliff or Dave from Megadeth.So just do yourself a favor and ignore the reviews that say they copy Metallica and find out for yourselves if you think this is a rip-off band.Testament Kicks ass

Testament's first 2 albums are typical thrash albums with great songs on it. Testament's breakthrough album is Practice What You Preach - a more polished album with more melodies and catchiness. The songs aren't as thrashy or as fast as the previous albums but it still sounds and feels like Testament. This is one of my favorites currently and I just love the music this band comes up with!! \m/

What can I say for this album? Is it the best trash metal album ever? I do think so..not only because it gives you the will to buy every Testament cd, but also because it explains you what metal is all about: it's not only heavy sounds..it's an unforgivable voice letting you feel the power of your inner strength, and melodies that carry elements of destiny. What is Heavy Metal? It's life...What is his album in terms of music? It's a hopeful perception of life giving you every wonderful and sad elements of the human being.. How did they do that? They had two strange guitarists: a crazy dragonlord (Eric Peterson) and a wannabe jazzman (Alex Skolnick), and they had a singer that gives you all his life when he begins to feel the rythm..Chuck Billy is my heroe and I hope he is going to feel better after these terrible days of sickness..I'm not a fan! I just really appreciate their music and I receive everything I need from this album! "The time is coming..." Wow! You really should buy this cd!

Testament were part of a thriving metal scene that was happeining during the 80's in the Bay Area. At one point Testament were part of the big three, which also included Metallica and Megadeth, but with Slayer's satanic lyrics, Testament were sort of left behind. Being left behind can be a good thing sometimes, the boys from Testament, who had already released New Order and The Legacy a few years back, took their time and used all their skills to produce what should've been the Master Of Puppets of '89.

Practice what you preach sounds alot like unreleased songs from Master of Puppets sessions. Don't get me wrong though, I like Testament because they make good music regardkless of the comparisons. We have the monster title track and the hauntingly beautiful The Ballad. If you are interested in 80's thrash metal, than make sure you pick this one up. I would say it's on the same level as any Sepultura, Metallica or Megadeth album. Some thought this might even outsell Metallica's Master of puppets, or at least help them break into the music market, but sadly too few took notice of this gem.

Testament would peak here. Their bext album Souls of black contained much filler, contrary to this album, and the following album The Ritual is regarded as Testament's Black Album. Practice what you preach is the heaviest and most well rounded album Testament have ever done, so start with this one.

This was among my favorite albums during my teen years. Alex Skolnick was one of the best guitarists in metal at the time - very underrated in my opinion. Great phrasing, passion, and technique that made not only his solos, but the most straight-forward rhythm work impressive. His riffs were quite an influence on my playing during that time period.

But it doesn't end with great guitar. Every one in Testament brought something worthwhile to the table. It was a collective act that really knew how to jam. I saw them twice in concert and they were excellent on both occasions. I'd definitely recommend this to any rock/metal fans!