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)
C.O.T.L.O.D.
Testament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The priests are impatient
My legions scream
The gates must be open
Our master repels
A massage of hope
On through the gates we march
With their sabers in grasp
A vast group locust attack
Attacking with force
As we show no remorse
Obstructing our victims fate
The blood in the chalice
Saluting the fight
All virgins must die this night
Psychotic reaction from a serpents kiss
Is taking the life from our soul
And leading a train of destruction from hell
Finding our way through hells hole !
[Repeat: x3]
Curse of the legions of death
Curse of the legions of death!
[Repeat: x2]
Provoke the dead!
Curse of the legions of death
The lyrics of Testament's song C.O.T.L.O.D. depict a scene of chaos and destruction as the witches grow restless, and the priests are impatient. The legions are screaming and demanding the gates to be opened. The master repels hope and through the gates, they all march, with the sentinels awaiting their arrival. The vast group of locusts attack with their sabers in hand, showing no remorse in obstructing their victims' fate. The blood in the chalice is a symbol of the sacrifice; the saluting the fight signifies their commitment to the destruction they have inflicted. All virgins must die that night, and the psychotic reaction from a serpent's kiss has taken the life from their soul. The legions are leading a train of destruction from hell, and they find their way through hells hole.
Line by Line Meaning
Witches grow restless
The witches are becoming impatient and eager for action
The priests are impatient
The priests are also becoming restless and want to initiate their plans
My legions scream
My army is ready and enthusiastic for the upcoming battle
The gates must be open
We need to enter the enemy's territory and attack them from within
Our master repels
Our leader is strong and immune to the enemy's attacks
A massage of hope
Our leader reassures us that victory is certain and within reach
On through the gates we march
We enter the enemy's territory and head towards our target
The sentinels await
The guards and defenders of the enemy are prepared to face our attack
With their sabers in grasp
The enemy soldiers hold their weapons ready for combat
A vast group locust attack
Our army attacks with great numbers, overwhelming the enemy
Attacking with force
We attack with strength and vigor
As we show no remorse
We are determined and ruthless in our attack, showing no pity for our victims
Obstructing our victims fate
We prevent our enemies from escaping their inevitable death
The blood in the chalice
Our sacrifice of blood solidifies our devotion to the cause
Saluting the fight
We honor the battle and our victories
All virgins must die this night
We eliminate all innocent and defenseless enemy targets
Psychotic reaction from a serpents kiss
Our actions are driven by madness and darkness
Is taking the life from our soul
Our mission is having a negative effect on our beings and sanity
And leading a train of destruction from hell
Our actions will cause destruction and chaos, with consequences even in the afterlife
Finding our way through hells hole !
We are navigating through the most treacherous and evil places to achieve our goals
Curse of the legions of death
Our army is feared and powerful, capable of inflicting curses on our enemies
Provoke the dead!
Our actions are so destructive that even the dead are being disturbed and provoked
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DEREK RAMIREZ, ERIC STANLEY PETERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@GoldenGateNum9
0:00 0:31 The way these guitars open up here is fucking beautiful .. the riffing on this old school masterpiece is fucking mental, the best of the best \m/
@metalheadneji
I've played this song at least a hundred times, and it still kicks so much ass.
@WolfgangVonPoserkila
CURSEOFTHELEGIONSOFDEATH!
@gratefuldead8048
Fucking agree!
@Zyborggian
This has probably always been my favorite song from the debut lol
@HCWz-_-Over9000
Its either this, Alone in the Dark, or First Strike is Deadly
@XMoonOfTheSkyX
This song definitely should have been longer
@luc00leh
Testament got some amazing albums like The Legacy, Souls Of Black, The New Order, The Ritual and Practice What You Preach.
@spiggly_digg
Pretty much all of them but demonic are amazing, and demonic isn't even that bad
@toho71
Yeah it´s one of the best albums EVER including the hole metal genre!