Dark Roots of Earth

Dark Roots of Earth
Testament studio album
Publication (s)	July 27, 2012
admission	Late 2011
Label (s)	Nuclear Blast
Format (s)	CD, CD / DVD
Genre (s)	Thrash metal
Title (number)	9/13/14
running time	50: 48/74: 00
occupation	Singing : Chuck Billy Guitar , backing vocals: Eric Peterson Guitar: Alex Skolnick Electric bass : Greg Christian Drums , percussion : Gene Hoglan
production	Andy Sneap
Studio (s)	Driftwood Studios, Oakland , California , Backstage Studios, Derby , United Kingdom
chronology The Formation of Damnation (2008) Dark Roots of Earth Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)

Dark Roots of Earth is the tenth studio album of the Bay Area - Thrash metal band Testament . It was released on July 27, 2012 by Nuclear Blast .

Origin and style

The album was recorded in the fall and winter of 2011 with Andy Sneap in Oakland , California and Derby , England . Similar to The Gathering , special emphasis was placed on the massive drumming of Gene Hoglan , with whom guitarist Eric Peterson worked closely. Ua are blast beats used. When it comes to vocals, Chuck Billy also used the Death Metal- like deep shouting of the late 1990s (such as True American Hate ).

When it comes to songwriting , however, there are echoes of the classic phase of the late eighties and of The Ritual . The title song, for example, is a semi-ballad that has been compared vocally with The Ballad by Practice What You Preach . Three cover pieces were recorded as bonus tracks: Queens Dragon Attack , Animal Magnetism by the Scorpions and Powerslave by Iron Maiden .

At first it was questionable whether Gene Hoglan could play on the tour because of other commitments. However, this has since been confirmed.

Track list

1. "Rise Up"
2. "Native Blood"
3. "Dark Roots of Earth"
4. "True American Hate"
5. "A Day in the Death"
6. "Cold Embrace"
7. "Man Kills Mankind"
8. "Throne of Thorns"
9. "Last Stand for Independence"

Bonus title

1. "Dragon Attack" ( Queen Cover)
2. "Animal Magnetism" ( Scorpions Cover)
3. "Powerslave" ( Iron Maiden cover)
4. "Throne of Thorns" (Extended Version)

reception

Reviews

The album was named album of the month in Rock Hard magazine . Götz Kühnemund gave him eight out of ten points.

Peter Ehmann from undergrounded.de called the album "the strongest testament album ever and a lesson for all Thrash and Heavy Metal bands" and gave it 9.5 out of 10 points.

Charts and chart placements

At number twelve, Dark Roots of Earth is the band's highest-ranked album in their home country USA and at number four the highest in Germany at the time of release, now the second-highest after Titans of Creation (2020).

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	4th (5 weeks)	5
Austria (Ö3)	21st (3 weeks)	3
Switzerland (IFPI)	10 (5 weeks)	5
United Kingdom (OCC)	57 (1 week)	1
United States (Billboard)	12 (4 weeks)	4th

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Björn Thorsten Jaschinski: Testament: Two chairs, two opinions . In: Rock Hard , No. 302 (2011), p. 76, ISSN  1437-8140 .
2. ↑ www.rockhard.de: Testament play their European tour with Gene Hoglan
3. ↑ www.rockhard.de: Dark Roots of Earth
4. ↑ Peter Ehmann: Testament - Dark Roots of Earth , accessed on November 14, 2012.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US