Souls of Black
Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by the American thrash metal band Testament, released on 9 October 1990 through Megaforce Worldwide. It followed Practice What You Preach from 1989 and arrived as the last of four albums the band put out in the space of four years, after The Legacy in 1987 and The New Order in 1988.
For anyone tracing Testament's story, it sits at a turning point. It is the final record before The Ritual in 1992, and it shows a band well into its stride on the thrash side of metal after a rapid run of releases. If you already know the early albums, this is the natural next stop, and it is a good place to hear where the group stood at the end of the decade that made its name.
Souls of Black: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 39:16Tracklist
- 1Beginning of the EndEric Peterson0:36
- 2Face in the SkyPeterson, Skolnick, Billy3:54
- 3Falling FastClemente, Peterson, Billy4:05
- 4Souls of BlackClemente, Peterson, Skolnick, Billy3:22
- 5Absence of LightBilly, Peterson, Skolnick3:55
- 6Love to HatePeterson, Skolnick, Billy, Clemente3:40
- 7MalpracticePeterson, Skolnick, Billy4:43
- 8One Man's FateClemente, Peterson, Billy4:50
- 9The LegacyClemente, Peterson, Skolnick, Billy5:31
- 10Seven Days of MayPeterson, Skolnick, Billy4:40
- Produced by
- Michael Rosen, Testament
- Recorded at
- Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
- Recorded
- June 1990
- Labels
- Megaforce Worldwide, Atlantic, Megaforce
- Length
- 39:16
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1990 | 35 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1990 | 73 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1990 | 70 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 9 October
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More from Testament
Full discography →
The best of 1990
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More on Megaforce Worldwide
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1990-10-25 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 October 1990 | ignored lone early release dated 1990-09-24 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 9 October 1990 | |
| Wikidata | 9 October 1990 | |
| US release | 24 September 1990 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1990 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | US | Megaforce Worldwide | 075678214325 | other |
| 1990 | XE | Atlantic | 075678214325 | other |
| 1990 | US | Atlantic | 020831412926 | other |
| 1990 | CA | Atlantic | 075678214325 | other |
| 1990 | XE | Megaforce Records | 075678214318 | other |
| 24 September 1990 | US | Atlantic | 075678214325 | original |
| 25 October 1990 | JP | Atlantic | 4988029015846 | other |
| 1993 | BR | Warner Music Brasil | other | |
| 2025 | US | Nuclear Blast | 4065629753429 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |