Testament - Dark Roots Of Earth (2012)

What can I say? My mind was blown with Testament's new 2012 album "Dark Roots of Earth". This album really blows the brains out of The Formation of Damnation which, by the way, I actually liked. It was a good comeback album after not coming out with a studio album since the year 1999. This album is a thrash metal masterpiece and, in my opinion, is the best album that came out in 2012. This album shows that Testament is still kicking tons of ass and they still have tons of energy.

The music is fantastic. It has a lot of variety in every song. The guitar riffs are some of the most original riffs that I have heard from any thrash band in a long time, so full of heaviness and groove throughout the whole album and it is mixed with a unique guitar tone. The solos are the same for originality and it sounds incredibly amazing when Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick do the twin guitar solos. They really go great together. A perfect example is in the song "Cold Embrace". The bass guitar is also well-produced and audible, and if you listen to the song "A Day in the Death", you will hear an amazing bad-ass bass intro by Greg Christian. Testament also did a great job at choosing metal drum legend Gene Hoglan. His drum work is also pretty great and it mixes in with the other instruments just perfectly. Chuck Billy is excellent on vocals and how they fit right in with the atmosphere of the instruments.

Another element that makes this album flawless is how the track listing is set. The first four songs on the album are really energetic get the blood pumping and make you want to bang your head. The perfect opening track being the song rise up war

In closing, Dark Roots of Earth is, in my opinion, the best album of 2012 and I highly recommend getting the CD. This is really another superb Testament album that you will be listening to in the future. Amazing album. Two thumbs up!