The Ritual by Testament (Thrash) (CD, May-1992, Atlantic USA)

I've always wondered why this album, when compared to all the rest of the Testament's releases, stands out as the weakest of their releases. What was happening to the band, nonetheless the producers, to say this was an acceptable release.

Please don't get me wrong...I've been a fan of this band since I was 17 way back in the day. I have seen them live 12 times over two decades. I have all their releases and even have cool collectibles and lives material of theirs. In other words; I love this band!

All the rest of Testaments releases have at least an edge, even if some of the releases were not that great, but 'The Ritual' seems like a cross-over attempt that terribly failed.

When I first got it I think I listened to it maybe six times and simply had to shelve it because, at the time, my mother said that she liked it. At first I thought she was kidding...but when she compared 'The Ritual' to the rest, saying how softer and melodic it was, 'The Ritual' was her favorite.

From 1993 until 2008 I did not listen to 'The Ritual'. In 2008, I pulled the CD from shelf and blew off the dust. Opening the case and half expected moths to fly out. Much to my delight, everything was in excellent condition, so I put the CD in the stereo and gave it another spin...in hopes that maybe, like some wines' this release would get better with age...

I am sorry to say...it has not.

When Testament has played songs from this album live, I must admit, the songs from 'The Ritual' sound great. But the studio album is just a whole other story.

To this day, I still wonder about this album...I wonder 'why' it differs so much from the rest of Testament's discography...

Having heard the track 'So Many Lies' Live off the EP 'A Return To The Apocalyptic City', I needed to get this album as I love that track with it's catchy melody and great vocals over the top of that punchy riff. It is the best song off both releases in my book. This is Testament '92, and it ain't bad. It's not their heaviest album by any means, (the track Return To Serenity is also on both releases, so I was expecting some mellow stuff). The title track is a bit of a tripped out dirge-like epic, yet it still sounds cool and most importantly it still sounds Testament. I think this album loses a bit of focus after track 5 and kicks back in on Tracks 10 and 11. If it was just these tracks it might have been a classic. Even so they still remain strong to this day because they have always done what they do for the love of doing it, and that's worth recognizing.