part three out of four. pestilence and their third full length called "testimony of the ancients" from 1991. this one is the make-it-or-break-it record and one can feel that the band wanted to make it with every fibre of their musical beings. they pushed things forward in terms of song-writing complexity, in terms of musical and lyrical conception, in terms of how to approach death metal in general. former vocalist martin van drunen was kicked out of the band and guitarist/main song writer patrick mameli took his place instead.
furthermore tony choy, bass player in cynic who were about to release the genre classic "focus" two years later, was gained to play the bass tracks. after each song pestilence placed a short interlude in between. all these ingredients made "testimony of the ancients" a novum and a truly unique piece in the death metal world of 1991. they are always hard on the edge of forcing too much of a good thing but in the end it really works and i love the record. it is not called their crowning achievement for nothing, indeed.
the re-issue of hammerheart records pays righteous homage to this scene classic. they took the original cover art and graced it with a gold foil print for the "pestilence" lettering. the insert is a fold out affair with a collage on one side (taken from the original printed dust sleeve) and a cool collection of old flyers. the inside unveils the lyrics, band member pictures and production infos. the whole layout breathes the nineties. love it. for this pressing hammerheart changed the layout of the back cover. don't know why but it doesn't disturb the overall impression. clear with blue splatter out of 300 copies. hammerheart records. 2017.
