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)
Apocalyptic City
Testament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing to live for
What started with a simple match
Turned into something more
The pain I felt inside my head
Came on my day of birth
Now the time has come for me
To burn the planet earth
[Chorus]
I can feel the fire
Burning inside of me
The powers at my fingers
Waiting you shall see
Burn! Ignite the population
Burn! Causing mass cremation
Burn! Feel no shame or pity
Burn! Apocalyptic city
Years have passed as I stood still
To plan the final blow
I'll make the town go up in flames
A hellish death they'll know
As I pour on the gasoline
I listen deep inside
I hear the cries of all my victims
Nowhere to run or hide
[Chorus]
Now my great assault is over
And my life is done
Staring at my great infernos
Was my only fun
So I leave you with my tale
Here my conscious falls
Victim of myself
So now I'll end it all
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Testament's song Apocalyptic City describe the thoughts and feelings of a person who seemingly has nothing to live for and has decided on a grand plan to bring down an entire city. The singer expresses that they were born into a world full of hatred and despair, and that their pain and frustration has been building since birth. The catalyst for their grand plan was a simple match that ignited something inside of them, symbolizing their descent into madness.
The verses of the song describe the singer's plans in detail, as they explain how they've been planning for years to burn the city to the ground. They revel in the power they feel at their fingertips and take pleasure in the thought of causing mass destruction. The chorus serves as a chilling call to action, urging the listener to feel no remorse as they join in the destruction of an entire city.
The song's lyrics are confrontational and intense, touching on themes of nihilism, destruction, and self-destruction. Through the singer's words, the lyrics suggest that there may be a correlation between one's environment and their violent tendencies. Testaments' "Apocalyptic City" can be seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers that can arise when a person's bleak future, coupled with feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anger, is left unchecked.
Line by Line Meaning
Born into a world of hatred
I was born into a world filled with anger and bitterness
Nothing to live for
I had no purpose or reason to live
What started with a simple match
It all began with lighting a match
Turned into something more
Which escalated quickly into something worse
The pain I felt inside my head
I felt intense agony in my mind
Came on my day of birth
This pain started from the very day I was born into this world
Now the time has come for me
Finally, the moment has arrived for me
To burn the planet earth
To set the entire planet on fire
I can feel the fire
I can sense the raging fire within me
Burning inside of me
The fire is burning within my soul
The powers at my fingers
I have the power to cause destruction at my fingertips
Waiting you shall see
You will witness what I am capable of doing
Burn! Ignite the population
Burn! Let the entire population be set on fire
Burn! Causing mass cremation
Burn! Resulting in mass cremation
Burn! Feel no shame or pity
Burn! Without feeling any guilt or remorse
Burn! Apocalyptic city
Burn! Creating an apocalyptic city
Years have passed as I stood still
As life moved on, I remained stationary and stagnant
To plan the final blow
In order to execute my final attack
I'll make the town go up in flames
I will set the entire town on fire
A hellish death they'll know
They will suffer a painful and dreadful death
As I pour on the gasoline
As I douse everything in gasoline
I listen deep inside
I hear the screams and pleas of my victims in my mind
I hear the cries of all my victims
I can hear the screams and cries of every single person I am about to destroy
Nowhere to run or hide
There is absolutely no escape from my wrath
Now my great assault is over
My massive attack has now come to an end
And my life is done
And as a result, my life has ended as well
Staring at my great infernos
My eyes are fixated on the massive fires that I have caused
Was my only fun
Creating these fires was the only thing that brought me pleasure
So I leave you with my tale
Therefore, I share my story with you
Here my conscious falls
And with that, my conscience falls
Victim of myself
I am the one who destroyed myself
So now I'll end it all
And now, I shall put an end to everything
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALEXANDER NATHAN SKOLNICK, ERIC STANLEY PETERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raptor
Born into a world of hatred
Nothing to live for
What started with a simple match
Turned into something more
The pain I felt inside my head
Came on my day of birth
Now the time has come for me
To burn the planet earth
I can feel the fire
Burning inside of me
The powers at my fingers
Waiting you shall see
Burn! Ignite the population
Burn! Causing mass cremation
Burn! Feel no shame or pity
Burn! Apocalyptic city
Years have passed as I stood still
To plan the final blow
I'll make the town go up in flames
A hellish death they'll know
As I pour on the gasoline
I listen deep inside
I hear the cries of all my victims
Nowhere to run or hide
I can feel the fire
Burning inside of me
The powers at my fingers
Waiting you shall see
Burn! Ignite the population
Burn! Causing mass cremation
Burn! Feel no shame or pity
Burn! Apocalyptic city
Now my great assault is over
And my life is done
Staring at my great infernos
Was my only fun
So I leave you with my tale
Here my conscious falls
Victim of myself
So now I'll end it all
I can feel the fire
Burning inside of me
The powers at my fingers
Waiting you shall see
Burn! Ignite the population
Burn! Causing mass cremation
Burn! Feel no shame or pity
Burn! Apocalyptic city
Mark Davidson
Alex Slolnick, one of the the most underrated guitarists. Love this band.
Desmond
When was he underrated? He is well-known and highly praised.
Stryker Steel
Who's Alex Slolnick?
Bugbear Madness
Alex is a F'ing thrash god! Along with Gary Holt
Alex Saucedo
@Givemeriffs 1414
2 badass guitar players. Huge fan of Alex skolnick. That man can play some guitar. His guitar solos are fuckin amazing. Guitar God. Alex skolnick
And eric Peterson the rhythm guitar player got some sick ass riffs.
Love me some TESTAMENT.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Givemeriffs 1414
I agree but please also include eric peterson who is the mastermind behind testament
Tyler Rue
I discovered metal in 1988 when I was about to go into high school. I still can't stop listening to it. There's so many layers to this music, especially in those bands that rose to the top. Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Testament, Metal Church, Death Angel, Powermad, Overkill, and so many others will forever be the kings of the genre.
M A
Don't forget Judas Priest and Death ;)
metz3962
Metallica have Kill'em all, Anthrax have Fistful of metal, Exodus have Bonded by blood and Testament have THE LEGACY!
Waf
@Piyapat Surasen NIMA Nicolaiskolan and no mercy slayer