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The New Order (album)

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This article is about the album by the band Testament. For other uses, see New Order (disambiguation).
Untitled

The New Order is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on May 10, 1988.

Overview

Alex Skolnick recounts of the album recording process:

"We barely got done with our first couple of tours on that first album cycle when we were informed we have to have another album, soon! [...] We got spooked in a way, because we never had to come up with music on the fly. [...] By the time we finally recorded the album, we neglected to look at our recording contract. We actually had it in our contract that there's a minimum of 40 minutes of music, and we clocked in under that! [...] Our album was promptly sent back...we added the Aerosmith tune, we added those little instrumentals, we extended a couple of sections...that was all done so we wouldn't be in breach of contract."

— Alex Skolnick

[2]

The New Order was the album that broke Testament into the thrash metal mainstream, with singles "Trial by Fire" (which featured a music video, as did "Nobody's Fault", which is a cover of Aerosmith) and "The Preacher". This success would only grow with their next album Practice What You Preach. The New Order was also the first Testament album to enter the Billboard 200, reaching number 136 on that chart. It was also the band's first album to include an instrumental track. The album contains many songs that the band still plays live to this day including "Into the Pit", "The Preacher", "The New Order", "Disciples of the Watch", and "Trial by Fire". "Into the Pit" is one of Testament's most frequently performed songs, having been played live over 500 times (second only to "Over the Wall" from The Legacy, at over 515).[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

Reviews for The New Order have generally been favorable. Allmusic's Alex Henderson awards the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, and claims that Testament "delivered its best offering ever" and describes it as "every bit as brutally forceful as The Legacy." He also called the album the "ideal choice."[4]

The New Order entered the Billboard 200 album charts in August 1988, three months after its release.[5] The album peaked at number 136 and remained on the chart for thirteen weeks, making it Testament's longest run so far.[6] "Trial By Fire" and "The Preacher" were released as singles, but neither of them charted.

By 1990, The New Order had sold over 250,000 copies in the U.S.[7]

In August 2014, Revolver placed The New Order on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list.[8]

Touring and promotion

Testament toured for three months to promote The New Order. They toured Europe shortly after its release alongside thrash acts Megadeth, Sanctuary, Flotsam and Jetsam and Nuclear Assault.[9] This was followed by a summer U.S. tour, which featured support from Vio-Lence, Forbidden, Voivod, Sanctuary, Destruction, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Carnivore, Death Angel, Atheist and Potential Threat.[9] They toured Europe again in August, replacing Megadeth on the Monsters of Rock tour. After playing two shows in San Francisco in December 1988, and one show with Heathen at the Country Club in Reseda in January 1989,[9] Testament began work on their third studio album Practice What You Preach.

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Eerie Inhabitants"Alex Skolnick, Chuck Billy, Eric PetersonPeterson, Skolnick5:06
2."The New Order"Skolnick, PetersonSkolnick, Peterson4:25
3."Trial by Fire"Billy, Skolnick, PetersonPeterson, Skolnick4:14
4."Into the Pit"Billy, Skolnick, PetersonSkolnick, Peterson2:46
5."Hypnosis" (Instrumental) Skolnick, Peterson2:04
6."Disciples of the Watch"BillySkolnick, Peterson5:05
7."The Preacher"Billy, SkolnickSkolnick, Peterson3:37
8."Nobody's Fault" (Aerosmith cover)Steven TylerTyler, Brad Whitford3:57
9."A Day of Reckoning"BillyPeterson, Skolnick4:00
10."Musical Death (A Dirge)" (Instrumental) Peterson, Skolnick4:05

Trivia

  • The track "Into the Pit" was covered by The Absence on their 2007 album, Riders of the Plague.
  • The track "The Preacher" was covered by Hell's Thrash Horsemen on their 2009 EP, ...Till Violence.

Personnel

Testament
Production
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Robert Hunter – assistant engineer
  • Alex Perialas – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Jon Zazula – executive producer
  • Marsha Zazula – executive producer
  • Andy Meyn – photography
  • William Benson – artwork

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Billboard 200 136
German Albums Chart 49[10]
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 81

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "LOUDER EDUCATION: TESTAMENT's Alex Skolnick (S2 E1)". Youtube. Loudwire. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Testament Tour Statistics". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  4. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. The New Order at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  5. ^ "The New Order - Testament". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-07-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Testament Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-07-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own". Revolver.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "The Legacy / Testament Shows". Metallipromo. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  10. ^ [3]
  11. ^ "Testament | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
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