TESTAMENT: FANCY NEW CLASSIC VINYLS YES PLEASE

Gosh, it was April 2009 when I started pestering members of Testament about completion of a follow-up to 2008’s The Formation Of Damnation. True, Formation had come out only twelve months earlier, but it’s my duty as a Testament superfan/powerful journalist/pushy jerk to keep the pressure on; I just will not withstand another interminable gap between killer Testament records, as with Formation and 1999’s masterful The Gathering. I can’t put myself through that again.

Ahem anyway vocalist Chuck Billy told us last May that the band was in jamming mode; now it’s reported that writing is underway with studio time booked for summer with producer Andy Sneap. The as-yet-untitled set is slated for release late 2011/early 2012. But for now, Testament’s first four classic records (above) are to be issued on 180-gram fancypants colored vinyl on June 27. That’s cool all by itself — original pressings of each are rare — but it’s supercool cuz Billy explained in that same chat that Atlantic Records controls those albums in the US and has no apparent plans to team with the band for deluxe, bonus-packed remasters or anything.

Terms of Testament’s deal in the UK must be different (or maybe the England-based company issuing the vinyls, Back On Black, threw enough money at the problem) cuz until release of the new album and the inevitable remasters — for which I’ll surely be asked to author liner notes cough — these big colorful 12″s will provide nostalgic fun for Testamentals like me and a break for the band from my petulant, girlish nagging. For a little while anyway.

-ADF

Pre-order Testament’s boner-blasting first four albums on big, beautiful 12″ records here. Then conjecture in the comments why The Legacy vinyl is purple?