The Ritual

The Ritual is an ambitious fifth album on which Testament tightens its former high-speed thrash a little and foregrounds thicker riffs and heavier groove. Reflecting the currents of the metal scene of the time, it values the songs’ sure melody and weighty tension over speed. Chuck Billy’s voice, while keeping its aggression, supports the songs’ big melody and deep tension more deeply. A record where the band’s musical maturity can be felt. From the development from the opening instrumental to “Electric Crown” and the drama of the title track “The Ritual” to a cut like “So Many Lies,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Let Go of My World” and “Deadline” convey the work’s fullness. Alex Skolnick’s guitar is technical as ever, yet here its emphasis is placed on the riffs’ sure pressure and the songs’ shading. A record on which the band greatly widened the frame of thrash and redefined its intensity as heavy metal. With this work as its last, Skolnick and the drummer Louie Clemente departed, and the band would face a great turning point. Thus it is an important work inscribing one capping of the early golden age — a record full of mature appeal.