CoC : Various - Jump in the Pit -- A Tribute to Testament : Review

Various - _Jump in the Pit -- A Tribute to Testament_
(Dwell, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell (7.5 out of 10)

Testament has been a strong force in the world of metal, even as far back as when they were frequenting such places as Ruthie's Inn when they were known as Legacy. With the exception of Metallica, Testament are the only other living witness to the once-burgeoning Bay Area thrash scene, and have continued to have staying power for the duration of their existence. _Jump in the Pit_ offers the chance for some underground bands to pay tribute to a band that still matters, and generally (and surprisingly) fare pretty well. Of course it must be taken into consideration that this is Testament the bands are covering, so obviously the vocal performance is going to be of great importance, and then they have the lead work of Alex Skolnik, Eric Peterson and James Murphy to contend with! Opening the disc, Fury do a bang-up job of "Dog Faced Gods", and their vocalist sounds the closest to Chuck Billy of all the bands on the disc. Wasteland's version of "Time Is Coming" is right-on musically and features an almost black metal vocal performance, but suffers a bit in the areas of guitar sound and production. Prototype and Scary German Guy get right down to business on "Into the Pit" and "Face in the Sky", respectively, adding in some quick double-bass and great lead work. Cold turn in a fairly powerful version of "Perilous Nation", and Ultimatum's version of "Sins of Omission" is quite impressive, and even as they took a bit of creative licence with the beginning, the leads, a bridge and the ending, it has the uniqueness of sounding like a Testament song, as well as a Ultimatum song. (Also, as an aside, I had the privilege of playing bass on this track with the guys, since it was my suggestion for them to do the song, but I swear my minimal contribution in no way has an impact regarding what I think of the song or the CD itself -- but I sure think the bass sound could have been better!) Horror of Horrors, however, does not fare well with their take on "Return to Serenity", turning in a weak guitar performance and a vocal performance that is just plain bad. On the other hand, Catch 22's vocalist really gets into "Trial by Fire", even throwing some power metal screams in there, and their additions to the original leads and complete reworking of the middle section of the song are quite good. Blackend thrash away on "Practice What You Preach" with great skill and musical dexterity, but the vocalist has a -very- thick German accent and takes some getting used to. Closing this tribute are Delusion and Habeas Corpus, who tackle the high speed ragers "Ride" and "Nightmare", respectively, both with success. This is a good tribute, methinks, because the bands rise to the challenge of playing some difficult music, and paying their respects to a band that has had a direct influence on their sound, and the track selection is very close to what I would ask for personally.

Contact: Dwell Records, P.O. Box 39439, Los Angeles, CA 90039, USA

(article published 25/10/2000)

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