Friday, October 11: Testament, âShades of Warâ
Low was destined to sink without much fanfare: released by an utterly apathetic Atlantic right as metal was becoming commercially toxic, and a couple years after The Ritual failed to elevate Testament to the next level, leading to Alex Skolnickâs departure, the recordâs title was an apt descriptor of the bandâs prospects. But while nobody was paying attention, Chuck Billy, Eric Peterson and Greg Christian recruited James Murphy (already a death metal legend by 1994) and cooked up an album that ranked not only among Testamentâs all-time best, but also among their heaviest.  âShades of Warâ wouldâve fit on any of Testamentâs three most recent records, so it was either ahead of its time or the albums the band has released since Skolnick returned were built off of Low. Either way, the tune straight up destroyed: Billyâs growl was more menacing than ever, but also had personality and didnât resort to the pure death metal homage he subsequently employed on Demonic, and Peterson and Murphy alternately crunched and shredded over percussion from John Tempesta that could only be described as violence.  âShades of Warâ, like the rest of Low, openly defied Atlanticâs request to make âalternativeâ music, to say nothing of what everyone else was doing, and just crushed.  It naturally hastened the end of the bandâs days on a major label, but also allowed Testament to go out in a blaze of destruction and ultimately set them up for future glory.
