Souls of Black

Souls of Black
Studio album by Testament
Released	October 9, 1990
Recorded	1990
Studio	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	39:07
Label	Atlantic/Megaforce
Producer	Michael Rosen, Testament
Testament chronology
Practice What You Preach (1989) Souls of Black (1990) The Ritual (1992)
Singles from Souls of Black
"Souls of Black" Released: 1990 "The Legacy" Released: 1990

Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. The album was released on October 9, 1990. It preceded several changes in style to rather diverse styles of metal, including the traditional heavy metal sound heard in its succeeding album, The Ritual. In order to promote Souls of Black, Testament supported Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies in Europe on the Clash of the Titans tour.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[2]

Reviews for Souls of Black have generally been mixed. Allmusic's Alex Henderson awards it two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Testament sounds very much like it did on its three previous albums and is as heavy as ever", while he added that Souls of Black "isn't in a class with The New Order, but is nonetheless a welcome addition to Testament's generally rewarding catalog."^[1]

Although Souls of Black sold very well at the time of its release, it was not as successful as Testament's first three albums (The Legacy, The New Order and Practice What You Preach). The album entered the Billboard 200 album charts on November 3, 1990, peaking at number 73 and remaining on the chart for eight weeks.^[3][4] Souls of Black is also seen as an influential guitar album, being ranked number nine on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1990.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Beginning of the End" (Instrumental)		Eric Peterson	0:36
2.	"Face in the Sky"	Chuck Billy	Peterson, Alex Skolnick	3:53
3.	"Falling Fast"	Billy	Peterson, Louie Clemente	4:05
4.	"Souls of Black"	Billy	Peterson, Skolnick, Clemente	3:22
5.	"Absence of Light"	Billy, Skolnick	Peterson, Billy	3:55
6.	"Love to Hate"	Peterson, Clemente, Billy	Peterson, Skolnick	3:40
7.	"Malpractice"	Skolnick, Billy	Skolnick, Peterson	4:43
8.	"One Man's Fate"	Billy	Peterson, Clemente	4:49
9.	"The Legacy"	Skolnick, Billy, Peterson	Peterson, Clemente, Skolnick	5:30
10.	"Seven Days of May"	Skolnick, Billy	Peterson, Skolnick	4:41

Trivia

A re-recorded version of the title track appeared on the 2008 video game Rock Band 2.

Credits

• Chuck Billy - vocals
• Alex Skolnick - lead guitar
• Eric Peterson - rhythm guitar
• Greg Christian - bass
• Louie Clemente - drums
• Additional backing vocals by Mark Walters, Steve Quartarola and Bogdan Jablonski
• Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
• Produced by Michael Rosen and Testament
• Engineered by Michael Rosen
• Assistant engineer: Vincent Wojno
• Mastered by Tom Coyne at Hit Factory, New York City
• Front cover painting by William Benson

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1990	The Billboard 200	73

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Oricon Albums Chart	70[6]
	UK Albums (OCC)[7]	35

References

1. Henderson, Alex. "Souls of Black - Testament". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
2. Garza, Janiss (1990-12-21). "Souls of Black Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
3. "Souls of Black - Testament". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
4. "Testament Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
5. Grassi, Tony. "Photo Gallery: The Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1990". GuitarWorld.com. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
7. "Testament | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved January 2, 2016.