Right from the outset of the title track, "Practice What You Preach" is some roaringly infectious old school thrash. With lots of ripping riffs, Chuck Billy's unmistakable howl, and just enough use of melody to please the ear, this is doubtless one of the underappreciated gems of the thrash era. With the exception of the aptly titled "The Ballad," the album never deviates from its formula of energetic, fist-pumping metal, with some top notch musicianship to boot; you especially have to love Alex Skolnick's blazing solos. I'm not going to bother citing specific songs, as they're all excellent and I don't care for song-by-song reviews anyway. In conclusion, BUY BUY BUY!

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ALBUM WITH TESTAMENT ..CLASSIC OLD TRASH WITH MELODIC TUNES :THIS RECORD IS ONE OF THE ALBUMS THAT YOU MUST HAVE IF YOU ARE INTO TRASH :::SOME PEOPLE SAYS THAT THEIR FIRST ALBUM IS THE BEST BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY WRONG.. ITS EVEN BETTER THAN THE NEW ORDER ALBUM ...THE BEST TRACKS ON THIS ALBUM IS SINS OF.. AND THE TITLETRACK ...BUY THIS RECORD TODAY AND YOU WILL GET A NEW FAVOURITE IN YOUR RECORD COLLECTION

Testament was lumped in with all the Metallica "wanna-be"s back in the mid-to-late 80s, which was unfortunate, because this album resembled Metallica only in the sense that it was thrash metal. This album stands up just fine on its own, and comparisons to Master of Puppets are just unnecessary. The sounds are very different, from the bass guitar to the drums, to Chuck Billy's vocals.

The standout tracks on this album, for me, are: "Practice What You Preach," "Perilous Nation" (which has a nifty, jazzy little outro), "Sins of Omission" (an awesome, frantic thrash song), "The Ballad" (a nice acoutic bit that builds up to a great heavy ending), and "Nightmare (Coming Back to You)" (a blast of thrash).

The guitars, while generally going for that coveted late-80s "heaviest of metal" (insert sign of the devil here) sound, always maintain a subconsciously jazzy edge and Chuck Billy's voice is a nice compliment to them. The only thing I might have ever had a tiny gripe about was the "clickety"-ness of the kick drums. It would have been nice to put a little bass in there.

Overall, though, Practice What You Preach belongs on the shelf next to Master of Puppets, Peace Sells...but Who's Buying?, and Among the Living as some of great early thrash albums.

Get it if ya ain't got it!

Testament's first 2 albums are typical thrash albums with great songs on it. Testament's breakthrough album is Practice What You Preach - a more polished album with more melodies and catchiness. The songs aren't as thrashy or as fast as the previous albums but it still sounds and feels like Testament. This is one of my favorites currently and I just love the music this band comes up with!! \m/

Testament were part of a thriving metal scene that was happeining during the 80's in the Bay Area. At one point Testament were part of the big three, which also included Metallica and Megadeth, but with Slayer's satanic lyrics, Testament were sort of left behind. Being left behind can be a good thing sometimes, the boys from Testament, who had already released New Order and The Legacy a few years back, took their time and used all their skills to produce what should've been the Master Of Puppets of '89.

Practice what you preach sounds alot like unreleased songs from Master of Puppets sessions. Don't get me wrong though, I like Testament because they make good music regardkless of the comparisons. We have the monster title track and the hauntingly beautiful The Ballad. If you are interested in 80's thrash metal, than make sure you pick this one up. I would say it's on the same level as any Sepultura, Metallica or Megadeth album. Some thought this might even outsell Metallica's Master of puppets, or at least help them break into the music market, but sadly too few took notice of this gem.

Testament would peak here. Their bext album Souls of black contained much filler, contrary to this album, and the following album The Ritual is regarded as Testament's Black Album. Practice what you preach is the heaviest and most well rounded album Testament have ever done, so start with this one.