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Tuesday, February 17th 2009
Testament "Live at Eindhoven"
Before Wacken, there was Dynamo.
For 20 years, the Dynamo Open Air Festival — originally held in 1986 to
celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Dynamo rock club in Eindhoven,
Holland — was one of metal’s most important annual events, peaking in 1995
when 118,000 fans packed the grounds of an abandoned Dutch military airport
to see four dozen acts play on three different stages over three June days.
In 1987, though, Dynamo was still in its infancy. For that matter, so was
the performer who would leave the biggest mark on the event that year — Bay
Area thrashers Testament. After their debut album, “The Legacy,” made
instant waves worldwide, the group was invited to make their European debut
at the second Dynamo festival.
After a “warm-up” show at the 300-capacity Dynamo club the night before,
Testament took the stage on a rainy June 8 and floored the 14,000 fans in
attendance with an aggressive, fiery 45-minute set that showcased much of
the material on “The Legacy.” Five songs from their performance were
captured on the EP “Live at Eindhoven,” which was issued as a cassette and a
12” LP. However, the band’s full set was never released officially — until
now.
Prosthetic Records is proud to announce the April 14 release of “Live at
Eindhoven ’87,” which for the first time brings you Testament’s complete
1987 Dynamo performance. A metal history lesson of the highest order, “Live
at Eindhoven ’87” sees the group’s original lineup — vocalist Chuck Billy,
guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, bassist Greg Christian, and
drummer Louie Clemente — at their absolute hungriest. Their Dynamo set
included the following tracks:
1. Disciples of the Watch
2. The Haunting
3. Apocalyptic City
4. First Strike Is Deadly
5. Burnt Offerings
6. Alex Skolnick guitar solo
7. Over The Wall
8. Do Or Die
9. Curse of the Legion of Death (C.O.T.L.O.D.)
10. Reign of Terror
Featuring a stunning remastered sound, new artwork by Carson Slovak
(Century, All That Remains, Antagonist) and liner notes by Skolnick, “Live
at Eindhoven ’87” is a must-have for Testament fans both old and new.
Excerpts from the album’s liner notes can currently be viewed on Skolnick’s
“Skolnotes” blog (http://skolnotes.blogspot.com/2008/11/eindhoven.html),
while the above-mentioned version of “Disciples of the Watch” can be heard
at www.myspace.com/ProstheticReissues. The Prosthetic Webshop
(store.prostheticrecords.com) is offering $12 pre-orders.
In addition to recently re-releasing Testament’s 1997 album “Demonic” —
hailed as “the most evil-sounding album of their career” (AMG) — and 1999’s
“The Gathering” (praised by Metal Hammer as the most important metal album
of the late ’90s), as well as the 2001 re-recordings collection “First
Strike Still Deadly,” Prosthetic has also just reissued “Demonic” and “The
Gathering” on gatefold, etched double-vinyl. Strictly limited to 1,000
copies each, each pressing also includes 100 colored LPs (gold for “The
Gathering,” red for “Demonic”).