The Formation of Damnation
The Formation of Damnation is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on 29 April 2008 through Dream On Records. It arrived after a long wait: a follow-up to The Gathering was first mentioned in 2002 and pencilled in for early 2004, but touring and line-up changes kept pushing it back until it was finished in 2007 and 2008.
It marks a reunion of sorts. Guitarist Alex Skolnick returned for the first time since The Ritual in 1992, and bassist Greg Christian came back for the first time since Low in 1994. It is also the only Testament studio album with drummer Paul Bostaph, who left four years after becoming a full-time member in 2007. For anyone who lost track of the band after First Strike Still Deadly in 2001, this is the record where the classic line-up's thrash returns.
The Formation of Damnation: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 49:39Tracklist
- 1For the Glory Of...Eric Peterson1:12
- 2More Than Meets the EyeBilly, Peterson, James4:33
- 3The Evil Has LandedBilly, Peterson, Souza4:44
- 4The Formation of DamnationBilly, Peterson, Souza5:10
- 5Dangers of the FaithlessBilly, Peterson, Skolnick, James5:48
- 6The Persecuted Won't ForgetBilly, Peterson, Souza5:49
- 7Henchmen RideChuck Billy and Eric Peterson4:01
- 8Killing SeasonBilly, Peterson, Souza4:53
- 9AfterlifeChuck Billy and Eric Peterson4:14
- 10F.E.A.R.Alex Skolnick4:47
- 11Leave Me ForeverBilly, Christian, Peterson, Souza4:28
- Produced by
- Eric Peterson, Chuck Billy
- Recorded at
- Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
- Recorded
- 2007–2008
- Labels
- Dream On Records, Nuclear Blast
- Length
- 49:39
Line-up
- Lyle Livingston · organ, strings · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2008 | 59 |
| US Hard Rock · 2008 | 4 |
| US Tastemaker · 2008 | 5 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2008 | 6 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2008 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums · 2008 | 12 |
| German Albums · 2008 | 15 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2008 | 16 |
| Austrian Albums · 2008 | 23 |
| Swedish Albums · 2008 | 27 |
All 18 charts
| Norwegian Albums · 2008 | 29 |
| Swiss Albums · 2008 | 33 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2008 | 42 |
| Dutch Albums · 2008 | 47 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2008 | 62 |
| Italian Albums · 2008 | 87 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2008 | 89 |
| French Albums · 2008 | 95 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 29 April
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More from Testament
Full discography →
The best of 2008
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More on Dream On Records
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 2008-04-29; musicbrainz + wikidata 2008-04-25 (4 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 April 2008 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 April 2008 | |
| Wikidata | 25 April 2008 | |
| US release | 29 April 2008 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 25 April 2008 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | KR | Dream On Records | 8809053135132 | other |
| 2008 | AR | Icarus Music | 727361200527 | other |
| 25 April 2008 | XW | Nuclear Blast | 727361200565 | original |
| 25 April 2008 | XE | Nuclear Blast | 727361200596 | original |
| 25 April 2008 | DE | Nuclear Blast | 727361200503 | original |
| 29 April 2008 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361200527 | other |
| 9 May 2008 | JP | METAL FRONTIER | 4988003354954 | other |
| 23 February 2010 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361253929 | deluxe |
| — | — | — | 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 | 600×599 | upscaled |