Two years after releasing one of the best death metal albums ever to surface from The Netherlands, Pestilence hit the jackpot again with their 1991 album 'Testimony of the Ancients'. The biggest differences with their previous effort 'Consuming Impulse' are simple: the production is more clean, short intermezzos between all the songs, the average pace is lower and Patrick Mameli has taken over lead vocals.
Pestilence has had a well-deserved place in the first wave death metal elite, mentioned in one breath with the likes of Death, Sepultura, Cynic, Atheist and the likes. Rightly so, because their progression up until this album is comparable to, say, Carcass. With every album they developed their sound so no release sounds alike but still stays Pestilence undeniably.
If anything describes this album best, it’s that it’s an interesting union of death metal brutality and progressive metal beauty. Concluding, this is a must-have for all progressive death metal fans and for all who want to know who the true masters and originators of the genre are.
Black vinyl pressing
Tracklisting:
'Testimony of the Ancients'
1. The Secrecies Of Horror
2. Bitterness
3. Twisted Truth
4. Darkening
5. Lost Souls
6. Blood
7. Land Of Tears
8. Free Us From Temptation
9. Prophetic Revelations
10. Impure
11. Testimony
12. Soulless
13. Presence Of The Dead
14. Mindwarp
15. Stigmatized
