• Voto:
Dopo il mio giudizio fin troppo benevolo sul discusso "Magic And Mayhem" dei finnici Amorphis (che col senno di poi rivaluterei abbassandone leggermente il voto, seppur riconoscendone la discreta qualità), ho letto con interesse una stroncatura netta su questo "First Strike Still Deadly", e ho provveduto ad ascoltarlo attentamente.
I Testament, sbronzi di successo dopo il terremoto del magnifico e giustamente osannato The Gathering, decidono avventatamente di riregistrare vecchi pezzi in una veste moderna, almeno solo a livello di sonorità. Il risultato, purtroppo prevedibilmente, è mediocre, oltre i limiti dell'insensato. Non c'è più il fascino acerbo di The Legacy, né le sonorità barocche dell'imponente The New Order, dove il gruppo losangelino dipingeva affreschi spaziali e personalissimi.
La musica che ne risulta è appannata, fintamente potente, ove l'impatto è dovuto più che altro alla linda produzione, al passo con i tempi ma tristemente impersonale. La line-up promette di ripetere gli spettacoli pirotecnici del precedente album (nel quale il talentuoso bassista Steve Di Giorgio aveva collaborato), forte di composizioni già consolidate, ma il buco nell'acqua è così fragoroso che non sorprendentemente viene accantonato in fretta dalla band stessa, facendo finta che non sia mai esistito.
"Into The Pit" appare tronfia, la prestazione vocale in "Alone In The Dark", mitica gemma minore, è pessima. "Disciples Of The Watch" e poche altre colpiscono diligentemente, come generalmente la prestazione tecnica è puntuale, ma non è in grado di stupire. Le canzoni in sé sono le stesse di più di dieci anni prima, riprodotte fedelmente al limite del dogmatico, che differenza tra gli autori di "Trial By Fire" e "Over The Wall" ed una rodata cover band da pub?
La band svolge il compitino passando uno strato di stucco economico su vecchie statue che avrebbero dovuto rimanere intoccabili, con le loro imperfezioni, le loro ruvide caratteristiche tipiche di un'epoca. Poco altro da dire, peccato.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 First Strike is Deadly (04:00)
Prisoners of the venom master
Guilty for what you've been charged
Sit in cells condemned to face
The deadly snap of their jaws
Terror stricken you lie and wait
In the final hour
Knowing of your wretched fate
And the serent power!
First Strike Is Deadly
The evil path that you must take
Is filled with the slither of snakes
Their hiding and waiting for the time to lunge
For your flesh and your fate
No one escapes or comes out alive
For the snakes they'll never lose
For if they hit you just one time
You have just faced your doom
First Strike Is Deadly
Deadly strike bred to kill
The venoms howling in your veins
Psychotic spell a gift from hell
The sound of a deadly lead remains
02 Into the Pit (02:54)
Deep in the pit and lying alone
Where death has reared itself a throne
We're all the good,the bad
The worst and the best
And where they land is their eternal rest
Foul plays of passion
At twilight's dim
In joy of woe of good and sin
Winds of storm and fates overcast
Darkly my presence is now your past
Join the insanity
Or die as you fall
Into the pit
The mass production
And the killing of all
Into the pit
The future screams for help
Are fading away
Into the pit
The world tomorrow
Will it die for today?
Into the pit
So in the sad,silent watches of night
The lonely pathway envisions my sight
Echoes of laughter
And boundless cries
So here I wander under infinite skies
Join the insanity
Or die as you fall
Into the pit
The mass production
And the killing of all
Into the pit
The future screams for help
Are fading away
Into the pit
The world tomorrow
Will it die for today?
Into the pit
03 Trial by Fire (04:32)
Accuse you of a crime
sentenced to endless time
the price you have to pay
won't get away!
sworn in by the stand
your rights are gone
the system's banned
they think you are a liar
a trial by fire
Hey!
this is what the people say
A new way
A trial by fire!
Locked in an empty cell
your life becomes a living hell
the river of fire flows
time only knows!
trapped by flames of fury
ordered unto by the jury
death is their desire
thrown in the fire!
Hey!
this is what the people say
A new way
A trial by fire!
Quiver the fiery light
cringing as your soul ignites
the book of law's been thrown away
starting today!
The system before the war
is gone for now and evermore
there is no sentence higher
A trial by Fire!
Hey!
this is what the people say
A new way
A trial by fire!
04 Disciples of the Watch (04:34)
Cast to the fire
Banned by the light
Worship and listen to me
Condemned in his mind
In his evil place
Your fate is all that you'll see
I am the one
To show you the path
Salvation is in the fields
Listen up children and follow me
Or I'll let you pay
The price of malachi!
Disciples of the watch
Obey!
Or I'll burn you to that cross
Holding the mass
The demon is cast
To resurrect your soul
Calling to him
Is like an evil sin
A prophet is what they're told
Taking the land under command
Killing friend or foe
Feel the might of his evil wrath
Desecrate your soul
Disciples of the watch
Obey!
Or I'll burn you to that cross
Cast to the fire
Banned by the light
Worship and listen to me
Condemned in his mind
In his evil place
Your fate is all that you'll see
I am the one
To show you the path
Salvation is in the fields
Listen up children and follow me
Or I'll let you pay
The price of malachi!
Disciples of the watch
Obey!
Or I'll burn you to that cross
05 The Preacher (03:56)
The preacher!
In days of old
When the books were untold
Speak of a world crushed by sin
"The people will mourn
Of a war to be born"
Nobody would listen to him
Think back in time
When the future you find
Is so faint that it's too hard to see
Don't disavow his word
For the truth must be heard
Cause the preacher tells visions he sees
In 1906
Like the future predicts
The city will crumble to the bay
Then what's in store
When the worlds go to war?
Peace will have come another day
Then came the one
In the year of '41
Warfare would light up the sky
He beckoned the call
Of the future for all
Blinded by what's in his eyes
Don't follow the preacher!
Preach!
In days of old
When the books were untold
Speak of a world crushed by sin
"The people will mourn
Of a war to be born"
Nobody would listen to him
Think back in time
When the future you find
Is so faint that it's too hard to see
Don't disavow his word
For the truth must be heard
Cause the preacher tells visions he sees
Listen to these words I preach
(Don't follow the preacher!)
Catastrophic lessons they shall teach
Listen to these words I preach
(Don't follow the preacher!)
Catastrophic lessons they shall teach
06 Burnt Offerings (05:27)
Summoned to the house of seance
To play the evil tarot cards
To find out what our fate will bring us
Before the war
Approaching now the hour of tiamat
Evil feelings in the air
The chosen wait impatiently
To find the rituals of power
Come out of the fire
Making the legacy known
Takes its toll at last
Now knowing when it strikes
The endless feuding shows its fate
The people are all shocked with fright
They know the end is coming near
It's time to fight
The revolution holds on strong
The armies have all met their match
Entire world up in arms
Destruction sees the spirits of anger
Come up from the gallows
Conjured my demons appear
Summoned to my cast, prey this deadly mass
Takin by the fire you fail
The world became a vast wasteland
Survivors turn to cannibals
Killing everything in sight
Warfare tonight
The armies are all closing in
The populations getting small
Feelings are as cold as ice
Survival names it's price
Starting to burn
The rape and violence grows high
A kingdom will rise
To rule with contempt
They will surprise
Kill and repent
The weakness in armies
"Won't die"
Leaving now the house of seance
Speculating destiny
Wonder if the cards were true
Will wait to find out and will wait to see
07 Over the Wall (04:18)
I've been a prisoner
Trapped in by fear
Ordered for the rest of my life
Condemned in a jail cell
Ain't seen life in years
Escape is the only way out
Restart my life
Or self destruction
To climb this wall
Of dark construction
Holding the quest for freedom
That beckons me
My sanity is all but gone
My patience is growing very weak
I need to get a hold of myself
I stare at the wall
For the right time to come
Escape must occur on this night
Restart my life
Or self destruction
To climb this wall
Of dark construction
Holding the quest for freedom
That beckons me
Stand in my way
And I'll run you straight through
There's no one to stop me now
For I'm on the loose
And I'm ready to start
Torture and hell on this town
Over the wall!!!
The search will not stop
And the hounds will not rest
Till I am back in my cell
For if I am caught, I will try it again
Over the wall I will go, I will go!!!
Restart my life
Or self destruction
To climb this wall
Of dark construction
Holding the quest for freedom
That beckons me
08 The New Order (04:43)
Takers of humanity, elders paranoid
the time is now
give up this world you once destroyed
society versus the underground
their battles fough and lost
the time has come
to rule the world at any cost
For the past it's to late
cause the world can't control fate
shadows cast loud and clear
tell the world the new order's here
Cities turn to battlefields
a deadly spell is cast
corpses falling one by one
until the last
The preacher speaks of prophecy
so many years before
no one escapes their punishment
the gods of war
For the past it's to late
cause the world can't control fate
shadows cast loud and clear
tell the world the new order's here
Death is like an empty space
feel no thoughts of fear
the future cries
as mother nature sheds a tear
the world becomes a prisoner
a victim of its crime
the human race is now a race
against time
For the past it's to late
cause the world can't control fate
shadows cast loud and clear
tell the world the new order's here
09 The Haunting (04:36)
"Hear the screams, screams of fright
Shrieks of terror through the night
Souls of old band to hold
The meeting for the haunting night
Headless ghosts fill the halls
Shadow plays off grief and pain
Phantom speaks his final note
Tenants of the castle slain
Black cats will appear
As the witching hour nears
Lost souls will all be told
For a haunting we will go!
See their dreams come to life
Under pressure holding tight
Feel the cold grabbing hold
To feed you to the haunting night
Evil witch black as pitch
Starts a fire with a flinch
Burning fire rising higher
Making music like a choir
Children of the night
They're howling at black skies
The ruthless calls within
For the haunting now begins!
Stay away from the shining light
Can't seem to find the answer there
Bring back the terror in the night
That we all share tonight!
Hear the screams, screams of fright
Shrieks of terror through the night
Souls of old band to hold
The meeting for the haunting night
Headless ghosts fill the halls
Shadow plays of grief and pain
Phantom speaks his final note
Tenants of the castle slain
Black cats will appear
As the witching hour nears
Lost souls will all be told
For a haunting we will go!"
10 Alone in the Dark (04:40)
[Music: Skolnick, Peterson]
[Lyrics: Souza]
[1 :]
When I was but very young
Sorcerers came to claim my mind
Leaving death and hatred to unmask
The master of the game had won
And let his final sin be known
Killing those who stand in his path
[BRIDGE :]
Alone in the dark
Where the demons are torturing me
The dark passages of revenge is all that I see
[CHORUS :]
Armies of witches
Are called in from the north
Murders of elders occur
The high priest of evil
Has lowered his iron fist
Thousands of people will die
The slaughter of the innocent
The house is burning
That lights the sky
My nightmare has begun to unfold
The hissing of the cobras tongue
Sound and feel of ripping flesh
Fall two thousand feet from the sky
My terror has controlled my life and
Let my only weakness known
I got to rid this hell from my head
I fight off evil sorcerers
Rid my mind of his torture and
Meet the falling angel in his realm
[BRIDGE :]
Faustus prepares the legions of the night
Diviners from the far north arrive
Aimlessly people there huddled in a pack
Wreaking deadly havoc on mankind
I fall in my deepest sleep
To meet the evil asteroth
His title is the grand duke of hell
I fight until the end is near
To rid my mind of hopes and fears
My destination lies in my dreams
SET ME FREE
[1:]
[BRIDGE :]
[CHORUS :]
11 Reign of Terror (05:06)
Marching our way through the crypts of the dead
Taking his land by command
Killing our victims and taking no slaves
Hitler's final third reich
Engines are roaring the warheads ablast
The destroyer claims their fate
Hells legions armies
They march to defy
Lucifer takes his wait
Obeying this task by our leaders will
Death camps have taken their toll
The cold winds of winter are present forever
Destroyers claim their fate
Fighting our way through the mist of the night
Taking the life from young souls
Marching our armies prepared to fight
The cities all laid destroyed
Machineguns are firing the tanks are ablast
Bombing our way through hell
Generals smiling destruction strikes
Our armies have done well
Obeying this task by our leaders will
Death camps have taken their toll
The cold winds of winter are present forever
Destoyers claim their fate
Though the dead have trapped us in
We'll break the pact a deadly whim
Faisoned hammers wielded straight
Cursing us back to hell's gates
Black magic force thats taken it's course
The world lives in fear
The death calls are near
Awaiting this task battle at last
The worlds left to defy
Now's the time for you to die
Marching our way through the crypts of the dead
Taking his land by command
Killing our victims and taking no slaves
Hitler's final third reich
Engines are roaring the warheads ablast
The destroyer claims their fate
Hells legions armies
They march to defy
Lucifer takes his wait
Obeying this task by our leaders will
Death camps have taken their toll
The cold winds of winter are present forever
Destoyers claim their fate
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Altre recensioni
Di The_Bassist
Alex in questo album non regalerà nuove emozioni, ma si limiterà a rinnovare quelle di un tempo.
Non capita tutti i giorni, soprattutto nel metal, che pezzi rifatti superino così di tanto i classici storici.
