Labeled as one of the "big six" of the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene (along with Exodus, Death Angel, Lååz Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence), Testament is often credited as one of the most popular and influential bands of the thrash metal scene, as well as one of the leaders of the second wave of the genre in the late 1980s. They have also been referred to as one of the "big eight" of thrash metal, along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel. The band has sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era and over 14 million copies worldwide. To date, Testament has released thirteen studio albums (one of which is a collection of re-recorded songs), four live albums, five compilation albums, twelve singles and three DVDs.
After signing to Atlantic Records in 1986, and changing its name from Legacy to Testament, the band released their debut album The Legacy in 1987, followed a year later by The New Order (1988); both albums were acclaimed by critics and the press, including heavy metal-related publications. The band achieved mainstream popularity with its third album Practice What You Preach (1989), which was Testament's first album to climb up the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. A string of more successful albums were released during the early-to-mid-1990s, including Souls of Black (1990), The Ritual (1992) and Low (1994), with the first two also entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. After Atlantic dropped the band in 1995, Testament (who had at this point had begun to experiment with a death metal-influenced sound) continued to record and perform until their temporary hiatus in 2001, when Billy was diagnosed with cancer. By 2005, his cancer was in remission and Testament had resumed activity, which saw a brief reunion of The Legacy lineup, resulting in the live album Live in London. Since then, Testament has experienced a resurgence of popularity, with four of their studio albums—The Formation of Damnation (2008), Dark Roots of Earth (2012), Brotherhood of the Snake (2016) and Titans of Creation (2020)—all entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200, and they have continued to tour consistently.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_(band)
Studio albums
The Legacy (1987)
The New Order (1988)
Practice What You Preach (1989)
Souls of Black (1990)
The Ritual (1992)
Low (1994)
Demonic (1997)
The Gathering (1999)
First Strike Still Deadly (2001)
The Formation of Damnation (2008)
Dark Roots of Earth (2012)
Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)
Titans of Creation (2020)
Alone in the Dark
Testament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people have died
The slaughter of the innocent
The house is burning that lights the sky
My nightmare has begun to unfold
The hissing of the cobra's tongue
Sound and feel of ripping flesh
Fall two thousand feet sky
My terror has controlled my life
And let my only weakness known
I got to rid this hell from my head
I fight off evil sorcerers
Rid my mind of his torture
And meet the falling angel in his realm
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
Faustus prepares the legions of the night
Diviners from the far north arrive
Aimlessly people there huddled in a pack
Wreaking deadly havoc on mankind
I fall in my deepest sleep
To meet the evil Asteroth
His title is the grand duke of hell
I fight until the end is near
To rid my mind of hopes and fears
My destination lies in my dreams
Set me free!
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people will die
The lyrics to Testament's song "Alone in the Dark" describe the singer's traumatic experiences with evil sorcerers who claimed his mind when he was very young. The sorcerers brought death and hatred with them, and the master of the game had won, leaving the singer alone in the dark with the demons of his tortured mind. The passage of revenge is all that he can see, and he is filled with terror, controlled by his nightmares. The armies of witches called in from the north commit murder and the high priest of evil lowers his iron fist, causing thousands of people to die.
The singer is seeking to rid himself of the hell that has plagued him his entire life. He fights off the sorcerers, rids his mind of their torture, and ultimately meets the falling angel in his realm. The legions of the night are prepared and diviners from the far north arrive, wreaking havoc on mankind aimlessly. The singer falls into his deepest sleep to meet Asteroth, the grand duke of hell, and fights until the end is near to rid himself of his hopes and fears. He pleads to be set free from the darkness and violence that consume him.
The lyrics of "Alone in the Dark" speak to the deep-seated fear of being powerless against malevolent forces beyond our control. The sorcerers represent a kind of mind-control, robbing the singer of his free will and turning him into a puppet of evil. The demons torture him relentlessly, and he is trapped in a dream world where he must fight to survive. The song is a commentary on the horrors perpetrated by those who seek to control others, and the difficulty of ever escaping that control.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was but very young
From the time when I was a child
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
People with violent and magical powers came to influence my thoughts
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
Causing pain and negative emotions to surface
The master of the game had won
The one in control achieved their goal
And let his final sin be known
The last act of wrongdoing was exposed
Killing those who stand in his path
Taking the lives of anyone who opposes or gets in the way
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
Feeling isolated and tormented by personal demons
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
The path towards vengeance is the only thing visible
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Groups of female magical beings are summoned from the colder regions
Murder of the elders occur
The killing of respected individuals takes place
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
The leader of malevolent forces has taken harsh action
Thousands of people have died
Large numbers of individuals lost their lives
The slaughter of the innocent
The senseless killing of blameless people
The house is burning that lights the sky
Seeing a burning structure that illuminates the night
My nightmare has begun to unfold
My terrible dream is becoming a reality
The hissing of the cobra's tongue
The sound made by a venomous snake's mouth
Sound and feel of ripping flesh
The sensation of tearing human tissue apart
Fall two thousand feet sky
Plummeting down from an extremely high elevation
My terror has controlled my life
Fear has taken over my existence
And let my only weakness known
Revealing my single vulnerability
I got to rid this hell from my head
I need to remove this torment from my mind
I fight off evil sorcerers
I resist malevolent people with magical powers
Rid my mind of his torture
Eliminate the torment caused by the oppressor
And meet the falling angel in his realm
Encountering the descending celestial being in its domain
Faustus prepares the legions of the night
Faustus is getting the troops of darkness ready
Diviners from the far north arrive
Magic practitioners from the distant northern region show up
Aimlessly people there huddled in a pack
Individuals crowded together without purpose
Wreaking deadly havoc on mankind
Causing destructive chaos on humanity
I fall in my deepest sleep
I enter the most profound state of slumber
To meet the evil Asteroth
To encounter the malevolent Asteroth
His title is the grand duke of hell
He is referred to as the supreme ruler of the underworld
I fight until the end is near
I battle up to the moment of approaching conclusion
To rid my mind of hopes and fears
To eliminate positive expectations and anxieties from my thoughts
My destination lies in my dreams
The outcome I desire can only be achieved in my dreams
Set me free!
Liberate me from my struggles and pain
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALEXANDER NATHAN SKOLNICK, ERIC STANLEY PETERSON, STEVEN SOUZA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@2866seba
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passages of revenge is all that I see
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people have died
The slaughter of the innocent
The house is burning that lights the sky
My nightmare has begun to unfold
The hissing of the cobra's tongue
Sound and feel of ripping flesh
Fall two thousand feet from the sky
My terror has controlled my life
And let my only weakness known
I got to rid this hell from my head
I fight off evil sorcerers
Rid my mind of his torture
And meet the falling angel in his realm
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passages of revenge is all that I see
Faustus prepares the legions of the night
Diviners from the far north arrive
Aimlessly people there huddled in a pack
Wreaking deadly havoc on mankind
I fall in my deepest sleep
To meet the evil Asteroth
His title is the grand duke of hell
I fight until the end is near
To rid my mind of hopes and fears
My destination lies in my dreams
Set me free!
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passages of revenge is all that I see
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people will die
@yonasgonzalez8313
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people have died
The slaughter of the innocent
The house is burning that lights the sky
My nightmare has begun to unfold
The hissing of the cobra's tongue
Sound and feel of ripping flesh
Fall two thousand feet sky
My terror has controlled my life
And let my only weakness known
I got to rid this hell from my head
I fight off evil sorcerers
Rid my mind of his torture
And meet the falling angel in his realm
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
Faustus prepares the legions of the night
Diviners from the far north arrive
Aimlessly people there huddled in a pack
Wreaking deadly havoc on mankind
I fall in my deepest sleep
To meet the evil Asteroth
His title is the grand duke of hell
I fight until the end is near
To rid my mind of hopes and fears
My destination lies in my dreams
Set me free!
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
Alone in the dark, where the demons are torturing me
The dark passage of revenge is all that I see
Armies of witches are called in from the north
Murder of the elders occur
The high priest of evil has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people will die
@cujogreen
In my opinion, this is the very best Testament album ever made. The metal was true. Takes me back to those carefree days. Now I'm 48, over weight & bald. Life's still great but those were some fun times.
@arvindshastry1178
The Gathering is my favorite Testament album but I love every Testament album except for Demonic.
@justgaming4fun82
While I love “The Legacy”,for me my favorite will always be “The New Order”
@davedegarmo7334
Alone in the dark has always been my favorite. I'm only 40,but I agree this was the rawest album
@miguelmurill1
For me, I've never been able to rank New Order and Practice What You Preach. By the way, I like those two albums more than The Legacy.
@joshjones6536
I’m 5 years behind you dude. I was kid but I remember those days well. I can remember being in kindergarten and thinking that I couldn’t wait to grow up , grow my hair and go see metal bands. I looked up to the bigger teenage metal dudes around me as if they were metal icons.💥🤘😝
@klumpos
This album is criminally underrated. Over the wall gets some love but almost every track on the legacy is a masterpiece of thrash
@JD-bc2rx
ABSOLUTELY
@Walamonga1313
Curse of the Legions of Death is my favourite but pretty much the whole album kicks ass. Definitely the best Testament album imo. Or at least the most consistent.
@antonmeins6960
yes agreed