The Legacy (album)

Background

Prior to the album's recording in 1986, Testament was known as Legacy. Their lineup consisted of singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, bassist Greg Christian and drummer Louie Clemente. Singer Chuck Billy was a member of another local band named Guilt. He had performed with Legacy on a few occasions and was asked to become the new singer after Souza left to join Exodus. In 1986, the band changed their name to Testament after finding out that there was a jazz band named Legacy. The Testament name was suggested by Billy Milano (from S.O.D. and M.O.D.), who was a friend of the band in the early days.

This was the only Testament album to feature songwriting contributions from Souza, who was credited as the co-writer of all the songs, except for "C.O.T.L.O.D." and "Do or Die", which were co-written by original Legacy singer Derrick Ramirez and Billy respectively. The closing track, "Apocalyptic City", was written by Skolnick and Peterson.

The album was recorded and mixed at Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, New York, and mastered at Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs in New York City.

Reception and awards

By March 1990, three years after its release, The Legacy had sold over 150,000 copies in the U.S. The album was also included on 'Frank's Favorite Records of 1987' on Metal Injection, and was ranked at number one on Loudwire's top ten list of "Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4".

Personnel

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.