Album
The Legacy
The Legacy is the debut studio album by Testament, an American thrash metal band. It came out in April 1987 on Atlantic, and it set the tone for a career that would stretch across more than three decades and a long run of studio records.
As a first statement it matters for where the band went next. The New Order followed in 1988 and Practice What You Preach in 1989, and the three together form the opening run of a discography that continues through to Para Bellum in 2025. If you want to hear where Testament's story begins, and how a thrash band of the late 1980s announced itself on a major label, this is the place to start.
The Legacy: tracklist and credits
9 tracks · 38:53Tracklist
- 1Over the WallChristian, Peterson, Skolnick, Souza4:07
- 2The HauntingPeterson, Skolnick, Souza4:17
- 3Burnt OfferingsPeterson, Skolnick, Souza5:07
- 4Raging WatersEric Peterson and Steve Souza4:32
- 5C.O.T.L.O.D.Eric Peterson and Derrick Ramirez2:32
- 6First Strike Is DeadlyPeterson, Skolnick, Christian, Souza3:43
- 7Do or DieClemente, Peterson, Skolnick, Billy4:39
- 8Alone in the DarkPeterson, Skolnick, Souza4:05
- 9Apocalyptic CityEric Peterson and Alex Skolnick5:51
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
53.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.0k
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37k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
10k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 April
Every year →
More from Testament
Full discography →
Trial by Fire
1988
The New Order
1988
Practice What You Preach
1989
Souls of Black
1990
The Ritual
1992
Return to the Apocalyptic City
1993
Low
1994
Live at the Fillmore
1995
The Best of Testament
1996
Demonic
1997
Signs of Chaos: The Best of Testament
1997
The Gathering
1999
The Very Best of Testament
2001
First Strike Still Deadly
2001
Days of Darkness
2004
Live in London
2005
The Spitfire Collection
2007
The Formation of Damnation
2008
Live at Eindhoven ’87
2009
Dark Roots of Earth
2012
Dark Roots of Thrash
2013
Brotherhood of the Snake
2016
Titans of Creation
2020
Para Bellum
2025
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1987-04-21 vs 1987-07-07 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 7 July 1987 | ignored lone early release dated 1987-04-21 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 April 1987 | |
| Wikidata | 1987 | |
| US release | 21 April 1987 | earliest US date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Atlantic | 075678174162 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Atlantic | 075678174124 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Atlantic | 075678174124 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Megaforce Records | 075678174117 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Megaforce Records | other | |
| 1987 | US | Megaforce Worldwide | 075678174117 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Megaforce Records | 075678174117 | other |
| 21 April 1987 | US | Atlantic | 075678174117 | original |
| 7 July 1987 | US | Atlantic | 075678174124 | other |
| 25 April 1991 | JP | Atlantic | 4988029023742 | other |
| 10 October 2017 | US | Rhino | 081227933708 | other |
| 2023 | XE | Nuclear Blast | 4065629711320 | other |
| 12 July 2024 | XW | Nuclear Blast | 4065629723866 | remaster |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |