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)
Killing Season
Testament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living life, living death, living on borrowed time
End of time, end of days, end of all the things you save
See the future, see the past, what does he have in store...
[Chorus]
Through the years, through the eyes and the lies
What he sees has become no surprise
Condemned to hell, condemned to fate, condemned to time
Sacrament, sacrilege, altar to a sacrifice
Smell the blood, smell the death, smell the stench of demons' breath
Filled with love, filled with hate, filled with hope that dissipates
Fallen hero, fallen god, fallen victims that we've become
[Chorus]
When you step into the circle
Prepare yourself as we choose your fate, your fate
As you're bleeding at the altar for your sins with blood you'll pay
You'll pay
Through the years, and the tears through the lies of the pain
End of time, end of days, end of life, end of pain
Predicting war, predicting life,
Predicting winds just as it strikes
Living life, living death
Living on, upon our time
End of time, end of days
End of hours, things you save
See the future, see the past
What does he have in store
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Testament's song Killing Season explore the themes of fate, life, and death. The song talks about how predicting the future feels like living on borrowed time. The lyrics also tackle the idea of sacrifice and how it is perceived, with lines such as "Sacrament, sacrilege, altar to a sacrifice / Smell the blood, smell the death, smell the stench of demons' breath." The song showcases the duality of emotions and how love, hate, and hope can all exist at the same time.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of looking past the lies and tears and understanding the ultimate fate that awaits us all. The repetition of the phrase "condemned to" creates a sense of inevitability and a lack of control over our own destiny. The song ends with a warning to those who step into the circle, as they will have to face their fate and pay for their sins with blood.
Line by Line Meaning
Predicting war, predicting life, predicting when disaster strikes
Anticipating the occurrence of war and life incidents also predicting when catastrophe will happen
Living life, living death, living on borrowed time
Experiencing life, experiencing death, existing on a limited lifespan
End of time, end of days, end of all the things you save
The conclusion of an era, termination of valuable possessions and existence
See the future, see the past, what does he have in store...
Understanding the future and past experiences to know what awaits you
[Chorus]
Repeating the same lyrics again
Sacrament, sacrilege, altar to a sacrifice
Religious service, disrespect and violation of religious beliefs, place of sacrifice
Smell the blood, smell the death, smell the stench of demons' breath
Perceiving the odor of blood, death, and the foul breath of evil supernatural beings
Filled with love, filled with hate, filled with hope that dissipates
Having strong emotions like fondness, hostility but having fading optimism
Fallen hero, fallen god, fallen victims that we've become
Deceased champion, deceased deity and we turned into depleted beings
[Chorus]
Repeating the same lyrics again
When you step into the circle
When you come into the arena
Prepare yourself as we choose your fate, your fate
Get ready while we decide what will befall you
As you're bleeding at the altar for your sins with blood you'll pay
As you bleed in penance for your fault at the sacrifice site, you will atone with blood
You'll pay
You will pay for your wrongdoing
Through the years, and the tears through the lies of the pain
In time, crying through the deceitful suffering
End of time, end of days, end of life, end of pain
The conclusion of everything, the conclusive death and the end of suffering
Predicting war, predicting life
Predicting times of war and prosperity
Predicting winds just as it strikes
Forecasting swift atmospheric patterns
Living life, living death
Experiencing the highs and lows of life
Living on, upon our time
Surviving for the duration of our lifespan
End of time, end of days
The ending of existence, the final moments of things
End of hours, things you save
The last few hours before the end, the things you try to keep
See the future, see the past
Seeing the future, and recalling the past
What does he have in store
What do the powers that be have planned for us
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Alexander Nathan Skolnick, Charles Billy, Eric Stanley Peterson, Steven Michael Souza
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Johanna (GandalfTh3Grey)
Easily one of the best metal bands in the history of metal if you ask me. Doesn't get much better than this!
metaltats666
best testament album in my opinion
Wonsz Syberyjski
I am just discovering them and all of them are godly
Vic Rattlehead
As a megadeth fanatic (if you couldn’t tell) that main riff reminds me of a certain style mustaine brought out sometimes. I like
Robby Peppers Jr
listen to their first record ITS INSANE!!
Tbone222882
Wish they'd play this live
TheForbiddenZone
You have a killer channel. Wondered if you knew Chuck Billy and Zetro do backing vocals on the Forbidden track Overthrow.
Alex Ferus
excellent Thrash Metal \m/
Jordan McGowan
Why is it that when discussing old school thrash no one wants to count in guys who made their bones a loooong time ago like Testament and Exodus, people only talk about the big 4 for some reason?
115madmax
Whenever I hear about that movie called Killing Season with Robert De Niro and John Travolta, I always think of this song, lol