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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Time is but a passageway trying to believe your life was sanity", August 29, 2005
I bought Souls of Black when it was new back in 1990. I was going through my metal period in high school (which never ended: the metal period, I mean, not high school) and I already had The Legacy and New Order by Testament which I liked but did not consider among my favorite albums. After seeing the video for the beautiful track "The Legacy" (not to be confused with the album by the same name) which incorporated the cool cover imagery, I rushed and bought Souls of Black and it quickly became one of my favorite metal albums. I did not (and still don't) notice anything rushed or under-produced about it. I just hear a solid thrash metal album with tracks so catchy (ie "Absence of Light" and the title track) I can sing along to them (I can't say that about most thrash albums). "Beginning of the End" might be considered a "filler" because it is a short instrumental but it is very cool with a Latin flavor, and it makes for a nice intro to the explosive "Face in the Sky." The only track I might consider semi-weak is "One Man's Fate" because I do not like the overall sound but even on this track there is aa highlight: kicking drums!
"Seven Days of May" deserves special mention. It is about the student-led protests held Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the People's Republic of China, between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. The protest denounced China's economic instability and political corruption and was violently suppressed by the PRC government. This event was still very fresh when this album was released in 1990. On May 4, 1989, 100,000 students and workers peacefully marched in Beijing making demands for adherence to socialist principles of equality, and protesting government corruption. These demonstrations continued even after the government declared martial law on May 20. The Communist party leaders eventually sent troops and tanks to restore order. When these forces were confronted by Chinese workers in the streets of Beijing, a massacre ensued (in the words of Testament: "They tried to show a peaceful path then it turned into a blood bath / In the Square they plan the game That's when the tanks of the army came"). Even today, the Chinese government will not allow any tallies made to count the actual number of dead. So there is lyrical meat to the album. And by the way, the song kicks as do the others save for "The Legacy" which is a charming metal ballad about the discovery of one's mortality. Excellent all the way through, I recommend it without hesitation.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cut them some slack., September 13, 2004
Souls of Black is not Testament's finest album. That much is true. However, it isn't a bad record. The truth behind this recording is that the band was rushed into recording it, so it would be released at the same time as a European "Clash of the Titans" tour, featuring Megadeth and Slayer. The band has never liked it. But, there are some good songs here. (Good old vinyl years) Side one is strong. So, the first six tunes are pretty good. And side two starts with Malpractice which is okay as well. The Legacy is also a very good song. So, there's enough here to give it at least 3 stars. Where Souls of Black falters is on the production end. The sound is too thin, and not loud enough. The drums are buried way back in the mix too often. The bass is also lost in some songs. It's hard to headbang to this album, because it's just not HARD, even if the songs are heavy. But, it does provide some decent listening for metal fans. It was definately, at the time, fairly progressive thrash metal. Not the worst album you could have in your collection.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Souls of Thrash!, September 16, 2005
This is a very underrated album I think, I think it's even better than The Legacy, don't get me wrong, I love The Legacy, but I think they got better each album, this was released in 1990 after the awesome "Practice What You Preach", pretty much the same formula, but it is effective, the production isn't as good as on Practice What You Preach, because the fans back then wanted it to sound like "The New Order" but it fits the music well, Chuck Billy is a great vocalist, and really shines on this album, the vocals are echoed, but like I said, it's the production, and it fits, the drums are pushed back, but you can still hear them well, Skolnick and Peterson work together great, just listen to Skolnicks solo on "Face in the Sky" you will find yourself air-guitaring, and again, Testament pull off another great ballad "The Legacy" which is nothing short of killer, Billys vocals REALLY shine on this one, and the music is great also, just listen to the intro, great solo too, other standout tracks "Falling Fast" "Seven Days of May" "Souls of Black" they are all good, but I've named the best in my opinion, I'd buy the album, I don't think you'll be dissappointed, THRASH!!!
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by Testament 
