Testament "Practice What Your Preach" CD

This record has quite possibly the most mixed opinions out of the late 80s thrash metal opuses. Some hate it claiming that it's boring and it sounds like a weak version of Metallica (which I'll get to), but on the other hand, people like myself adore the ever-living shit out of this exceptional record. While it's generally agreed upon that Testament's best release is their debut, Practice What You Preach isn't far from achieving the same level of greatness.
The first thing worth mentioning about this album is that it doesn't have the regular thrash metal aggression. I think the term "passive-aggressive" would describe it better. It's not an assault of 4000 bpm riffs and it doesn't have vocals that feel like they are nailing someone to the wall with the constant shouting (not that there is anything wrong with that). Chuck Billy's vocal approach is a lot more melodic and the songs put a heavy emphasis on the choruses. This is what makes the songs catchy, but the other main feature of the record is being technical and well-executed. Just like The New Order, this record has an insane amount of solos and technical licks which serve as a contrast to the earworm choruses and this is the part that amazes me the most. It doesn't sound like the band is playing different things, it sounds organic and the combination of the aforementioned elements make the record have its distinct personality that no other thrash metal album has managed to replicate.
Then there is the production. I can't stress it enough how good the production is. Instead of trying to hide the bass, they let it shine in its own little segments but even when it's just supporting the rest of the band with some lovely, lovely grooves, it still comes off powerful. The bass isn't the only instrument being glorified though. The drums also happen to have fantastic snares and an overall great tone. All of this becomes apparent right from the get-go with the title track opening the album. Bass groves flying at you, ultra-shreddy solo, and Chuck Billy giving us some of the aforementioned melodic choruses.
While I like every song on the album, the three that stand out the most are Time Is Coming, Sins of Omission, and The Ballad. The Time Is Coming has the most interesting characteristics riff-wise and during the chorus, we get some backing vocals giving the song a few extra layers. Sins of Omission, on the other hand, has a very stompy style of a riff and thanks to that and the memorable lyrics (and of course the way they are sung), it is easily the catchiest song on the album (my favorite at the very least). The Ballad isn't completely what the title suggests. It's more of an emotional and musical rollercoaster. The slightly "hopeful" sounding acoustic that starts the song quickly transitions into a melancholic part where we get probably one of the best vocal segments of the band's entire career and just when you thought that's all the song has in for you, it erupts in a full-blown thrash metal bit which is just as incredible as the rest of the track.
Of course, you can't make a review about this record without mentioning them, so this is the point where I admit that I don't get how they are considered the poor man's Metallica. Chuck sounds like himself more than anything, but if you are really going to argue that he sounds like Hetfield (I can't imagine these vocals coming out of James's mouth because of that little difference in their tone) then the band would be the improved version of the fairly mediocre Metallica if anything.
This album isn't perfect by any means, but this is as close as they ever got to their debut (which isn't a perfect album either). It's needless to say that this is my personal favorite record from Testament and it breaks my heart to know that the band only went downhill from this point on.

Official promo video: 

Official promo video: 

Sample:

Official promo video: