Redemption can be a very rewarding achievement and bay areas’ Testament have come full circle from their long hard fight back to a caliber of creativity that hasn’t been experienced since a long time. Thrash metal has reborn and who else can be the proud parents again than Testament?The years haven’t been exactly kind to this band.A changing metal market where death and black metal reigns supreme, dealt a fatal blow to the scenes once highly decorated soldiers.Battered,bruised and with severely atrophied ideas, Testament limped through several completely forgettable albums along with the ultimate pit of sadness- Demonic,where it was like- "hey everyone, we are death metal now, you can like us!" that was the sad confused sound from the album(Gene Hoglan’s efforts completely wasted). Core members Eric Peterson and Chuck Billy recruited some of the scenes most talented musicians and rebounded with one of the most heaviest albums to surface from San Francisco in years! Featuring Steve Digorgio( Sadus/Death/Control Denied), Dave Lombardo(Grip Inc and of course,Slayer) and guitar god and musician extraordinaire James Murphy(Cancer,Death,Disincarnate,..it just goes on.). The Gathering erupts with hook laden genius and a full throttled intensity. The lead off opening track "DNR" shines as Testament’s finest hour with precision double bass and reverent guitar rhythms that mount to unleash a dizzing force of pure aggression. This is the premise for the whole album, clubbing the listener repeatedly as punishment for years of disloyalty, with a fine blend of quick fretboard intricacy and equally crushing mid paced pounders. "3 days of darkness" and "Riding the snake" are prime examples of this bruising attack, allowing Chuck Billy to mix up his powerful singing style between guttural moans and high wails ala early classic Testament years( can anyone forget his vocals on Souls Of Black??),where he really digs in his vocals as an instrument almost and laying down vocals rhythms that act as a third harmony to the song.James Murphy is held in check(probably chained down!), his contribution the The Gathering is kept minimal( which is the only negative aspect of this almost perfect album),yet his playing sounds tasteful and full of passion.What i say is,buy this well written and powerful cd and play it until the laser burns holes through the plastic!!yes dudes…its that brilliant and its a classic..this is Testaments finest hour! be a part of it or be left out!!