Original Album Series

Perfect transaction and amazing price and I thank you .

First 5 albums for a great price. Great Band, deserve more recognition in my opinion, these are all solid albums and of course the ones after are just as good. It has been said Testament does not have a bad album, I would agree.

That everything worked out ok.

I was looking to buy Testaments the New Order on CD. In my opinion one of the best thrash albums from the 80’s. Then I ran across this five CD set for a really great price. I’m only familiar with the first three albums and they’re all great for sure. Now I’ve got all three as well as two albums that I haven’t heard. I wish this sort of CD marketing was more common.

I enjoy these album collection series when they are reasonably priced. This one was although it’s worth mentioning that no adjustment has been made to the sound as far as I am aware so it’s the same as buying the original versions released in the 80s and 90s. Testament started very strong and as they progressed, seemed to have more filler on each subsequent release. The high point for me is The New Order which is a landmark metal album and blew my mind at the time of its release. The debut is quite good but a bit unpolished which TNO perfected on by filling out their sound and improved songwriting. Practice What You Preach is a mixed bag for me although I know it’s loved by many fans. Souls of Black has a couple good songs but was a misstep and I imagine a rushed to put together album. This closes out with The Ritual which was Testaments attempt to evolve their sound again to mixed results. They have since locked down on the heaviness of their sound and many of their albums since this one are very strong. Still I appreciate the opportunity to hear a band stretch it’s wings and try to experiment with their sound. The Ritual is a commendable effort in this respect.

OK, first things first. Testament. Box set. Great deal! That says it most. I have been in a thrash kind of mood, and have been collecting CD's from some of the greats that I didn't already have on hand. Someone I know mentioned Testaments newest release (Dark Roots of Thrash) and it reminded me I had no Testament in the collection. So I sealed the deal with Amazon with zero hesitation. How can you not be happy with 5 discs under $30 and free shipping!? Now, I want to say straight up that I like this trend that has popped up where labels release old CD's in stripped down box sets. I have written before that I don't really care about extraneous materials like liner notes, and I have even moved to a jewel case-less collection as a means to save space. So I have no regrets that these box sets have no liner notes. I still buy CD's because the more fickle MP3 crowd makes used CD's so much cheaper, and box sets like these a value. These box sets are the best of both worlds because they allow the labels/artists to milk a bit more from old releases, and the consumer can jump start a collection dirt cheap. I hope this continues and more collections become available at bargain prices!

I'm giving this a 5 star rating because it's 5 albums for only $17 at the time I bought this. I was missing The Legacy, PWYP and Souls if Black on CD and I saw this and I got all 4 for less than if I were to buy them separately. I have The Legacy and PWYP on vinyl so I have all the lyrics and inlays except for. Souls. No big deal. Anyways, this is a great starter pack for any new Testament fans that want to hear classic Bay Area thrash that helped start it all and stands up to the music today in style and production. The Ritual is unnecessary as it's their weakest to this day and is decent at best, not bad. Every CD is in it's own sleeve with the artwork on front and back but that's it. I didn't expect much and I got what it says so 5 stars and I'm happy.

I have received the cd box set and am happy to have these in this condensed package.