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)
Leave Me Forever
Testament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What I thought we had was love
Used to say I was the only one
How could I be so wrong?
When you chose me to be the one
Our life together has not begun
Manipulation, presume control
Overcome by the emptiness
Delusions of true love
Cast into the very dark abyss
Crest fallen and undone
When you chose me to be the one
You broke my spirit, we can't go on
Insinuation, it takes it's toll
The lights are broken inside my soul
Now I have my reason to
Turn my back on you
Now I don't believe in you
Love lies bleeding through
Everything that meant so much to me
I left it all for love
I gave you all I had to give
But it wasn't good enough
Thought I loved you
But it's too late
You said you loved me
But now I hate
Dead and buried
Let's fill the hole
The lights are broken inside my soul
Now I have my reason to
Turn my back on you
Now I don't believe in you
Love lies bleeding through
I can't get away
I hope you suffer
I won't let love ever drive me insane
Unleash the pain
Laugh as you suffer
You turned our love into my ugly shame
Sick of your ways
Sick of the future
I take my life back to live it my way
Just walk away
Leave me forever
You can't erase all the damage you've done
The lyrics to Testament's song "Leave Me Forever" describe a relationship that has gone sour. The singer is frustrated and hurt by the other person's broken promises and manipulation. They used to believe that they were loved and cherished, but now they realize that they were wrong. The other person has changed and they no longer see a future together. The singer declares that they are turning their back on the other person and that they do not believe in them anymore.
The song speaks to the pain of a broken relationship and the difficulty of moving on. The singer has given their all to the relationship, but it was not enough. They are hurt and want the other person to suffer, but they also recognize that they need to take control of their lives and leave the toxic relationship behind. The phrase "the lights are broken inside my soul" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the emotional damage that has been done.
Overall, "Leave Me Forever" is a powerful song about the pain of a failed relationship and the struggle to move on. It speaks to the universal human experience of heartbreak and the need to take control of one's own life and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Promises you never meant to keep
You made promises that you knew deep down you couldn't keep
What I thought we had was love
I believed we had a true love story
Used to say I was the only one
You used to make me feel like I was the only one that mattered to you
How could I be so wrong?
I can't believe I was so blind and naive to believe your lies
When you chose me to be the one
When you chose me to be with you
Our life together has not begun
Our life together has not turned out as I hoped
Manipulation, presume control
You manipulated and controlled me
The lights are broken inside my soul
You broke my soul, leaving me feeling empty inside
Overcome by the emptiness
I'm overwhelmed by the emptiness I'm feeling inside
Delusions of true love
I was wrong to believe our love was true
Cast into the very dark abyss
I feel like I've been thrown into a very dark place
Crest fallen and undone
My hopes and dreams have been shattered
Insinuation, it takes its toll
Your insinuations and accusations have taken their toll on me
Now I have my reason to
I now have a reason to
Turn my back on you
I'm turning my back on you for good
Now I don't believe in you
I no longer believe anything you say
Love lies bleeding through
My love for you has become a painful memory
Everything that meant so much to me
Everything that I held dear to my heart
I left it all for love
I gave it all up for love
I gave you all I had to give
I gave you everything I had to offer
But it wasn't good enough
But it wasn't good enough for you
Thought I loved you
I thought I was in love with you
But it's too late
But now it's too late
You said you loved me
You told me you loved me
But now I hate
But now I hate you
Dead and buried
Our love is dead and buried
Let's fill the hole
Let's move on and forget about our past love
I can't get away
I can't escape from our past relationship
I hope you suffer
I wish you suffer as much as I did
I won't let love ever drive me insane
I won't let love control and hurt me again
Unleash the pain
Release the pain and anger that I hold inside
Laugh as you suffer
I'll find joy in seeing you suffer
You turned our love into my ugly shame
You turned our love into something ugly and shameful
Sick of your ways
I'm tired of the way you treat me
Sick of the future
I'm scared of what our future might hold
I take my life back to live it my way
I'm taking control of my life and living it the way I want to
Just walk away
Just leave me alone
Leave me forever
Leave my life forever
You can't erase all the damage you've done
You can't repair the damage you've caused in my life
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Charles Billy, Del James, Eric Stanley Peterson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind