Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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TESTAMENT - HIGH TIMES Interview (May, 1991)
and
TESTAMENT - 'Souls Of Black' (lyrics)
text entry by Havoc
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don't wanna be like Metallica or Slayer -- but we're obviously fans of their
style from over the years, and they've been a major influence on us.
Testament is a heavy band, but we try to do something different from the
average thrash band."
A major part of Testament's essence is their bond with their
somtimes-anarchic audience, and their fandom's extremely physical reaction to
the music -- namely, "the pit," where participants mosh and otherwise get
wild. "Yeah, we're into the action," Billy relates, "We get off and we get
excited when the crowd gets into it. The wilder they get out there, the more
hyped we get. A lot of bands may say something like that, but in our case,
we need it. That's a major part of what Testament's all about. If they're
not goin' crazy out there, I'm probably not going to be able to give the best
performance, if you know what I mean."
"Now that we've mover up to a bigger level -- playing arenas and big
halls instead of the clubs -- we've been lucky that things haven't really
changed. Sure, there's a barrier between us and the audience now [arenas and
concert halls usually erect a wall between the stage and the front row, for
photographers and/or protection of the artists], but as long as we can see
the kids out there goin' wild, we're okay. We're glad that things are movin'
on for us real well, but we don't wanna lose sight of what got us there in
the first place. Our music's still heavy and in-your-face, and that's the
main thing. We're not gonna get weird about things now that we're becoming a
little more well-known. There's some people out there who think it's bad to
make it big -- some kids think you've sold-out just because you start sellin'
some records. And some bands think that you shouldn't go big-time. We're
not into that. We want our music to become as big and popular as possible -that's what it's all about. We don't wanna be an unsuccessful underground
band, we want people to remember Testament, and hopefully they'll be somehow
influenced by what we do and say."
What Testament offer that's different from standard metal fare are
lyrics with significant meaning. While they're not exactly Jackson Browne or
U2 (many of the band's lyrics are steeped on the darker side of life and/or
fantasy characters), Testament have garnered considerable acclaim for songs
with social significance -- like 1989's "Greenhouse Effect" or "Perilous
Nation," which comment on various environmental / political issues. "We're
not here to change the world; we're just a band," Chuck says. "We're not a
political band, we don't wanna get ourselves stuck in that trap. But we do
observe a lot of things that go on in day-to-day life, and as a band, we
should be free to express ourselves as we see fit. As far as the kinda
political songs we have got, there's a lot of fucked up things going on out
there in the world, and we shouldn't not talk about them, just 'cause we're a
metal band. The greenhouse effect is a universal thing, even thrashers are
gonna have to deal with it. It's important for people to know what's going on
in the world, and music should be just another place for them to learn. But
like I said, that's only one small part of our music, and because of that, it
does sometimes get overexaggerated."
"Also, when we play live, the songs are a little bit different and
faster, and it's pretty much there for the kids to mosh to, and let off some
aggression. So, we don't really expect people to get the words we're sayin
in our songs when it's live at a club or theater or somethin'. But when the
fan goes home, and listens to the record and read the lyric sheet, that's
where we're gonna make some impact. But we're not preaching either. We
don't offer any solutions to these things -- after all, we don't have the
answers ourselves. We do pose the questions, so the kids can go out and
decide for themselves what should be done to help -- if they want to."
7. Malpractice
----------Lyrics: Skolnick, Billy
Music: Skolnick, Peterson
We all will go and stay sometime
Soon to be a victim of a crime
Loss of blood and death is near
Take a number, can you wait right here
Chorus:
------Check in - to the place
Reduce you life into disgrace
Isn't there some kind
of better way
When it's time to operate
fatalistic figures hold your fate
Just relax you'll feel no pain
Hope they put you in the right domain
Patients helpless to defy
Negligence is why
Chorus
Within the laws
they'll rip you off
then write you off
Malpractice!
And in the end
they'll let you in
Please come again
Malpractice!
Suffer until you get well
Bleak exsistence like a prison cell
If you find your life is lost
Dedicate the world to pay the cost
Patients helpless to defy
Negligence is why
Chorus
Within the laws
they'll rip you off
then write you off
Malpractice!
And in the end
they'll let you in
Please come again
Malpractice!
8. One Man's Fate
--------------
Lyrics: Billy
Music: Peterson, clemente
Time is nothing but life's decay
Pitch your reverend path
This is the path you paved
What you will find
is life's only way
There's no looking back
There must be a better way
Lightning skies
Prayers from an open grave
A dead man's day
Black skies fade to shadow grey
The darkness is so deep
Prayers for the light of day
What you will find
is life's only way
There's no looking back
back to a better way
Lightning skies
Prayers from an open grave
A dead man's eyes
Must be a dead man's day
that leads to one man's fate
There ain't no better way to die
Fate, there's no compromise
Hate leads to suicide
Trapped in a crystal haze
Hail to a dead man's day
Time is but a passageway
trying to believe
your life was sanity
A matter of time
is all that you need
Life's not coming back,
back to those better days
Lightning skies
Prayers from an open grave
A dead man's eyes
Must be a dead man's day
9. The Legacy
---------Lyrics: Skolnick, Billy, Peterson
Music: Peterson, Clemente, Skolnick
We're gonna take you back
through the pages of the past
Just another lonely boy
murders minimal
victims as criminals
you and me
free society
Chorus
Freedom, freedom calling
out from the pain
Freedom, freedom calling
seven days in May
----------------------------All melodies by Chuck Billy
All arrangements by Testament
All compositions (c) 1990 COTLOD Music (adm. by
Zomba Enterprises Inc.) Zomba Enterprises Inc. (ASCAP)
All Rights Reserved. Used without permission.
____________________________
Special Thanks to:
____________________________
Kilbourn
Alannah and Vanessa at Kroozin' Music
HIGH TIMES