Testament - The Complete Albums 1987-1994 (2019)

Testament were the biggest thrash metal band never to reach the platinum plateau. In fact, the San Francisco quintet seemed on the verge of challenging Metallica (their most obvious influence) in the melodic thrash sweepstakes, but their run toward the top was eventually derailed by inconsistency, bad business decisions, and the genre's dwindling appeal. Unable to change with the times like Metallica, Testament quickly faded from sight in the early '90s, but have remained active and very popular within the metal underground.

Influenced by the then-emerging Bay Area thrash metal scene, vocalist Steve Souza, guitarists Eric Peterson and Derrick Ramirez, bassist Greg Christian, and drummer Louie Clemente came together as Legacy in late 1983. But it wasn't until the arrival of lead guitarist Alex Skolnick and a name change to Testament two years later that the band's Metallica-inspired thrash metal began distinguishing it from less-refined peers such as Forbidden and Vio-Lence. By 1986, the group was attracting record company attention, but was handed a severe blow when Souza abruptly quit to join original Bay Area scene legends Exodus. Ironically, however, his departure would prove a godsend, as the band soon drafted a significantly more versatile (and downright intimidating) replacement in Chuck Billy. His greater melodic talents and inimitable, bowl-shaking growl would better complement the band's increasing diversity and mastery of melodic crunch.