Forgotten classics: Low

Once upon a time a thrash metal band named Testament released an album called The Ritual.  I thought it was a good album but some people thought it was too midpaced, to polished, and was following too much in Metallica's footsteps.



Well I liked it anyways, but that isn't the point.  The point is that they followed it up with Low.  Embedding disabled, WTF?  Don't they know how the internets work?

James Murphy (Death, Cancer, Obituary) on lead guitar, and Eric playing solos for the first time.  Strangely he only seems to do leads when James is around.  What the deal guy?  No leads on Demonic but step on Murphy's toes?

Anyways this was a summer soundtrack album for me many ages ago, and it seems to have fallen by the wayside.  I even remember an interview with the band where they talked about how the Ritual was too polished and all Alex's fault and they returned to form with Demonic (which I thought was boring and midpaced by the way) but totally gloss over Low. You may have forgotten about Low, but I have not.



Who is GGGarth?

James Murphy again plays with the band on what is possibly their finest moment, The Gathering:



I liked Formation of Damnation too, and the lyrics were a little better than your typical metal album as well.  In fact for some coincidence all three albums - Low, the Gathering, and Formation of Damnation - were classic summer jams.  Timing man.

So to recap Low was a great album that seems to be overlooked.  Look again, fools!  Return to a former state, and a haze of hormones and video games and longing and loathing and all the things that made high school.  If I only knew then what I know now...and I would still make this my summer jams.