Souls of Black

Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. The album was released on October 9, 1990. It preceded several changes in style to rather diverse styles of metal, including the traditional heavy metal sound heard in its succeeding album, The Ritual. In order to promote Souls of Black, Testament supported Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies in Europe on the Clash of the Titans tour.

Reception

Reviews for Souls of Black have generally been mixed. Allmusic's Alex Henderson awards it two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Testament sounds very much like it did on its three previous albums and is as heavy as ever", while he added that Souls of Black "isn't in a class with The New Order, but is nonetheless a welcome addition to Testament's generally rewarding catalog."

Although Souls of Black sold very well at the time of its release, it was not as successful as Testament's first three albums (The Legacy, The New Order and Practice What You Preach). The album entered the Billboard 200 album charts on November 3, 1990, peaking at number 73 and remaining on the chart for eight weeks.Souls of Black is also seen as an influential guitar album, being ranked number nine on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1990.