Souls of Black

Souls of Black
Studio album by Testament
Released October 9, 1990
Recorded 1990
Studio Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
Genre Thrash metal
Length 39:07
Label Atlantic/Megaforce
Producer Michael Rosen, Testament
Testament chronology
Practice What You Preach
(1989)		 Souls of Black
(1990)		 The Ritual
(1992)
Singles from Souls of Black
  1. "Souls of Black"
    Released: 1990
  2. "The Legacy"
    Released: 1990

Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. The album was released on October 9, 1990. It preceded several changes in style to rather diverse styles of metal, including the traditional heavy metal sound heard in its succeeding album, The Ritual. In order to promote Souls of Black, Testament supported Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies in Europe on the Clash of the Titans tour.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]

Reviews for Souls of Black have generally been mixed. Allmusic's Alex Henderson awards it two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Testament sounds very much like it did on its three previous albums and is as heavy as ever", while he added that Souls of Black "isn't in a class with The New Order, but is nonetheless a welcome addition to Testament's generally rewarding catalog."[1]

Although Souls of Black sold very well at the time of its release, it was not as successful as Testament's first three albums (The Legacy, The New Order and Practice What You Preach). The album entered the Billboard 200 album charts on November 3, 1990, peaking at number 73 and remaining on the chart for eight weeks.[3][4] Souls of Black is also seen as an influential guitar album, being ranked number nine on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1990.[5]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Beginning of the End" (Instrumental) Eric Peterson0:36
2."Face in the Sky"  Chuck BillyPeterson, Alex Skolnick3:53
3."Falling Fast"  BillyPeterson, Louie Clemente4:05
4."Souls of Black"  BillyPeterson, Skolnick, Clemente3:22
5."Absence of Light"  Billy, SkolnickPeterson, Billy3:55
6."Love to Hate"  Peterson, Clemente, BillyPeterson, Skolnick3:40
7."Malpractice"  Skolnick, BillySkolnick, Peterson4:43
8."One Man's Fate"  BillyPeterson, Clemente4:49
9."The Legacy"  Skolnick, Billy, PetersonPeterson, Clemente, Skolnick5:30
10."Seven Days of May"  Skolnick, BillyPeterson, Skolnick4:41

Trivia

A re-recorded version of the title track appeared on the 2008 video game Rock Band 2.

Credits

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1990 The Billboard 200 73
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Oricon Albums Chart 70[6]
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 35

References

  1. 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Souls of Black - Testament". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  2. ↑ Garza, Janiss (1990-12-21). "Souls of Black Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  3. ↑ "Souls of Black - Testament". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  4. ↑ "Testament Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  5. ↑ Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1990". GuitarWorld.com. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Testament | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved January 2, 2016.
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