Testify: Triviality Beyond Acceptance Reviews
When I push play, Testify delivers a savage assault upon my willing sense
with their fifth release, Triviality Beyond Acceptance. Hailing from
Essen, Germany, Myk Jung's ruthless vocals, executed in English, rather
than in his native German tongue, remind me of experiences with Rammstein's
English version of "Du Hast"; and in general the aggressive guitar-driven
thrash of bands such as Ministry. Once I regain footing, and the
programming and vocal samples kick in, "Triviality Beyond Acceptance"
establishes itself as a new cornerstone in the niche of my aggro-industrial
collection. "Bear Witness Give Evidence Testify", because when Triviality
Beyond Acceptance hits the clubs and airwaves, most any industrial-metal
music-junkie will want to own this cd. - 4 Stars Sonya Brown, Gothic Beauty Magazine
Another great band to add to my aggravation of the "first listen" as
they have 4 other releases prior..grrrrr! Real beefy Industrial/Metal
stuff from Germany in the realms of Rammstein, Pitchshifter,NIN,Ministry
and Skrew and ironically enough, a few I mentioned have had appearances
on Testify's other releases and also KMFDM (I think this band just reversed
their letters for a new name if I remember correctly). Besides extensive
touring, Testify has been given a reasonable amount of airplay on MTV (that's
a shock actually since I hardly see videos on there anymore). 11 tracks
and mainly on the basis of the bizarre, abstract and unorthodox
vocal/narration fixtures as well as the samples and loops
used....phenomenal ideas to keep them very identifiable. It's very early
in the New Year but hands down on this one so far for my best Industrial
pick for the month of March. - Wayne Klinger, Ballbuster Magazine
The Testify put forward a rotten and noisy industrial metal, which can be, at the same time, pimp and involving. It is all based on hammering
and obsessive rhythms, which are accompanied by very hard and very
"metal" guitars, which make it possible for them to be different from
all the others industrial metal or industrial rock bands. The always
keep control on the samples, just to create a homogeneous sound mixture
organised on the dynamic changes between dynamic changes, more
aggressive moments or paranoid tasting passages. Some of the choices
about the production are very appreciable: I'm thinking about the Lo-fi
of "Invisible Hell" which creates a nice contrast with the nearly thrash
opening of "Abuser's Gabble", which is, together with "Fragile Puppet"
(the child performing in German is a pearl!) , my favourite one. Essen's
band is very experienced and capable: these musicians don't want to
create a simple and commercial refrain, but they still are very
accessible for the genre they play. We could say that "White Skinned
Heroine" and "The Entanglement Of Sexus", with their robotic singing,
are possible hits for the hard dancing, but we would not give a true
idea about the album without talking about the pure aggression of "The
Seed Of Wrath" and the hypnotic ceremony of "Under A Cold Moon". It can
sound a bit weird to combine the word "fun" with such an album, but
that's just what it is: it is fun. I don't know if it is a bad or a good
result, you should decide it following your own expectations. I have
enjoyed it. - Sauron, Babylon Magazine
Skinny Puppy-style vocals and Ministry-esque guitar riffs are two of the
finest features of this release. Industrial traditionalists brought up on
said bands and others like them may want to make space for this in their
music collection (in fact, you can tuck it in neatly next to the latter
band's Psalm 69). The similarities are uncanny, at times, but this German
version of an American industrial-metal act seems to relish that fact. On
this fifth full-length release, Testify aren't necessarily doing anything
innovative, but what the hell. Industrial is a genre that is far from being
derivation free, and is not flattery the most sincerest of compliments? They
could've gotten a tad more creative in the programming department, and
things start to wear thin by the 11th song, but the production is of a
decent quality and there are at least a couple good dance tracks. - Coreen
Wolanski, Exclaim Magazine
Drôle de mixture que ce disque des bavarois de Testify. On se doute
que le métal industriel de ces étranges teutons a du quelque peu
déconcerter les maisons de disques de leur pays et cela explique
peutêtre leur présence sur le petit label américain Van Richter.
Cet album est d'ailleurs le premier á arriver entre mes mains et
j'avoue ne jamais avoir entendu parler de ce groupe auparavant. Des
rares renseignements que j'ai pu trouver, il semblerait que l'on veule
faire de Testify le nouveau Ministry. C'est un peu vrai en écoutant
des titre comme "fragile puppet" ou "abuser's gabble" qui font penser
á l'époque "psalm 69". Ils ont également en commun avec leur
compères américains une certaine froideur clinique dans
l'exécution des morceaux, la répétition systématique des riffs,
les samples redondants et la saturation dans les vocaux. De leurs
origines allemandes, on retrouve également un peu de rigueur dans les
riffs, assénés sans retenue dans le style de Rammstein. Même si l'ensemble est loin d'être original, Testify se sont efforcés de demeurer accessible dans un style indus-métal qui se contente souvent de noyer dans le bruit ses lacunes de composition. La production n'est
pas mauvaise mais semble souffrir quelque peu d'un manque de clarté
sur certains passages intenses. On peut donc conseiller ce disque á
tous les déçus de la nouvelle orientation de Ministry et qui
préfère la simplicité á l'originalité - Loufi, Violent
Solutions Webzine
Il nuovo lavoro di questi alfieri dell'industrial più chitarroso ci pone di fronte al solito annoso problema. La questione di quanto sia importante
l'originalità di una band. I Testify con tutto il loro impegno e le loro
qualità (suoni puliti e precisi) non sono originali e probabilmente non
lo saranno mai. "Triviality Beyond Acceptance" è il classico album di genere che prende a piene mani dal bagaglio creato negli anni da chi questo sound lo ha inventato (in
particolare Ministry e tutto il frangente espressivo legato alla commistione tra
sound industrial e riff metal ultra pesanti) e lo fa suo senza cercare di
realizzarne una propria versione. Le critiche più grosse vanno proprio
verso questo punto: ogni canzone ripete cliché già sentiti, certo,
quasi sempre ben suonati, a volte anche con un discreto coinvolgimento, ma che
sotto sotto mancano di contenuto. Sia le songs più rallentate ("Under The
Cold Moon") sia quelle più dure (dalla quasi death "The Seed Of Wrath"
alla più industriale "Fragile Puppet") lasciano sempre la sensazione di
un compitino svolto con dovizia ma senza una vera anima. L'album in se è
discreto ma a tenerci compagnia oltre ai Testify ci sarà anche un certo senso di
dejà vu. Riservato agli appassionati. - Federico Tozzi, Suburbia Magazine
I can't believe I haven't paid closer attention to Testify before. They
sound quite good actually, though not innovative. We are talking about
German industrial metal. Imagine Ministry/Rammstein guitars, coupled
with Skinny Puppy-esque vocals in English and sparse, but well found,
samples. "Triviality Beyond Acceptance" is rather monotone, though,
therefore the grade is not higher. But songs like "Invisible Hell" break
the monotony, and thus keeping Testify on the right side of the scale.
If you want to give "Psalm 69" a well earned break, you should try
"Triviality Beyond Acceptance" out. - Kalle Malmstedt, Release Magazine
Germany's Testify deliver an incredulous ambush of
aggro-industrial-metal that will surely delight fans into these genres.
I have never understood why a band so great as Testify remains virtually
unknown in America. If you like bands like VNV Nation, Rammstein, Fear
Factory, etc... you will surely embrace Testify. Hopefully with the
release of this album and support from the media to help increase sales,
Testify will become a better known band. The album tracks combine
elements of aggression, melodrama and metallic overtones. Yes, you can
dance to this record and clubs like the Batcave in NYC should be
spinning it. I urge you to give this album a listen and help spread the
word on Testify. - Sophie Fry, Delirium Magazine
Now this is a solid industrial metal album right along the lines of Ministry meets KMFDM. It's not ground breaking but it delivers what it promises. This three piece German band is on the small California label, Van Richter (www.vanrichter.net), so they'll never probably reach the level of popularity of Ministry, which is a shame because this album is just as good as Psalm 69. For those of you who are into this type of stuff make sure to pick up a copy, you
won't be disappointed. - Brent Fox, Throat Culture Magazine
You have to admire this band's sense of humour. The lyrics to the track
Karl Found Out: The Definition read, in part, "Testify. 3 - European
project. A poor mimicry of Ministry. Extremely non-innovative, cheap and
trivial beyond acceptance..." That this is read out by the God-like Karl
Bartos makes a Kraftwerk-obsessive like myself warm to the band
immediately. And since they called the album Triviality Beyond
Acceptance, it's clear that they're not a set of po-faced
one-foot-on-the-monitor metal merchants.
The thing is, they do sound a lot like a Psalm 69-era Ministry. Only
with a great deal more of those monster guitar riffs that I previously
thought only Rammstein could do well. I now firmly believe that there's
a factory near Dusseldorf that produces machines that are nothing less
than splendidly efficient guitar-lathes. You feed in the billet alloy of
your choice and within minutes it produces a series of laser-cut and
diamond-polished riffs that are moved to the studio on a low-loader
before being slid into the back of the mixing-desk in the correct order.
Rammstein obviously had the first one - you can tell because the
polishing's a bit suss sometimes and the riffs come out sounding a bit
dirtier than the specification calls for. Testify followed the maxim
'never buy version one of anything' and so got the one with all the bugs
ironed out. It produces great mirror-finish slabs of guitar noise with
edges sharp enough to cut you up badly if you're careless with them.
It almost goes without saying that the typically English lack of
investment in manufacturing infrastructure means that local guitar-riff
production is largely carried out as an ad-hoc cottage industry, and
while they have a certain ramshackle charm they can't compete on the
international stage. The Americans, meanwhile, are still using hugely
inefficient pre-war processes that call for vast manpower, waste huge
amounts of energy and only really sell to a domestic market that is
distrustful of superior European products and protected by punitive
import tariffs. I should, in the interests of road-safety, point out
that it is probably rather dangerous to operate a motor-vehicle while
listening to this recording. It is entirely likely that you'll find
yourself traveling in excess of many locally posted speed limits within
a very few minutes. Anyway. Buy this. It's damn fine. - J. 'Hirez' H-R, Legends Magazine
"The German band Testify has been around since 1992 or
1993 and they have already produced five full-length
albums, including this one. If heavy guitar-driven
industrial metal is your thing you will certainly like
what these guys have to offer. When listening to their
music you can't help to think: Ministry, Rammstein,
Laibach, White Zombie, NIN. This album is full of
aggressive industrial music with elements from all the
bands mentioned at the end of the last sentence but
the band that has had the biggest influence on Testify
is probably (early) Ministry. The addition of some
nice samples also help to create a certain atmosphere
that I think an industrial release should have if it's
to be any good. The new album from Testify is
definitely good but it tends to be a little monotonous
and bleak in the mid-section. These songs could be
seen as a resting period because the first and last
thirds of the album are no doubt good enough to make
up for this. What makes this band stand out even more
from the competition is their vocalist who makes a
very powerful appearance on these eleven songs with
his rough vocals. If you like aggressive industrial
music you can not possibly go wrong with Testify.
Stand-out tracks: "Grinning Sun", "Braindead
Friction", "Dumb / Numb / Gund"." (8/10) - Vincent Eldefors, Tartarean Desire
Germany's aggro metal band Testify hit hard with their latest release.
With their combination of industrial and dark rock anthemic choruses and
catchy beats this group off our aims to knock every preconceived notion
of either industrial or metal out of your mind. Heavy guitars and an
even heavier vocal on the song 'Fragile Puppet' sets the band's fierce
anti-establishment stance in motion. This track also provides a respite
with a child's voice coming in with some German lines and a semi-comical
ghostly 'oooh' to remind us about the vitality of youth. Similar in certain
respects to their peers such as Die Krupps and Ministry Testify bring
out their thrashing guitars with a vengeance of ten combining them with
some interesting samples (as on 'Invisible Hell') for an added bit of
eerie apocalyptica. Often heavily-altered vocals give many songs yet
another dimension a futuristic bent so appreciated by those into hard
industrial. 'The Entanglement of Sexus' is perhaps the most 'radio
friendly' song' with a cool pulsating groove and and interesting point
of view on the topic of love.Though this is music best appreciated on a
hot and heavy dance floor it's also a great disc to put on if you have
some angry energy to work off. Just be sure to clear away some stomping
ground. - Celine, The Sentimentalist
Es gibt noch immer Songs, die mich einfach umhauen. "Under the cold moon"
heißt der jüngste Stolperstein in meiner Plattensammlung und ist von Testify.
Enthalten ist er auf dem neuesten Album "Triviality Beyond Acceptance" der
Essener Industrial-Metal Band. Und mit einem Wort läßt sich diese Platte
beschreiben: genial. Hier wird die düstere Seite dieses Genres aufgeschlagen.
Treibende Gitarrenwellen, die etwas an die guten alten Fields of Nephilim
erinnern. Daneben eine Stimme, die einem eiskalt den Rücken rauf und runter
läuft. Testify haben mit dieser Scheibe für meine Gehörgänge eine klangliche
Hörreise durch das Malocherzentrum Ruhrgebiet geschaffen. Man muß den
Verstärker aufdrehen, sich die Bilder von verlassenen Zechen und Stahlwerken,
Frittenbuden und Trinkhallen vorstellen. Das alles in Zeitlupe und dazu "Under
the cold moon" durch die Irrungen des Hirns jagen. Interessanterweise sind
Testify auf dem amerikanischen Label "Van Richter Records" veröffentlicht, was
seh! 10 Punkte - Arndt Peltner, Rock City News
Dem Industrial Metal verfallenes Volk aufgehorcht: Testify sind wieder
da, und zwar härter denn je. Typisch amerikanisch und musikalisch
nachbarschaftlich verbunden mit Ministry, ohne sich Klonvorwürfen oder
Diebstahls-Anschuldigungen auszusetzen zu müssen, gehen die Deutschen
hart und brutal ihren Weg nach vorne und zeigen mit den elf auf
Triviality Beyond Acceptance enthaltenen Stücken, dass man nicht Marilyn
Mansons schwachen Weiterentwicklungsbemühungen nacheifern muss, um gute,
nachhaltig beeindruckende und haftenbleibende Musik zu machen, und dass
man schon gar nicht versuchen soll, an Trent Reznors Thron zu rütteln.
Wer sich also mal wieder ehrliche, trockene Industrial Metal-Mucke
gönnen will und auf die tausendfach gehörten Ministry-Klassiker gerade
keine Lust hat, sollte Testify einlegen ? sogar etwas Flugschädel-Haftes
findet sich ("Wir schmeißen die Tomaten in den Augen und in den Ohren").
Näheres zur Band unter www.vanrichter.net. (8) - Thomas Sonder, Orkus
Magazine
Good old fashioned aggro metal in the trash vein as usual here, kind of
along the lines of Ministry, but not as heavy. They could
have stepped up the electronics a bit, but the mix between the
electronics and the guitars is purposely the scope of miniamlism, so
it works out fine. For those more into the pure electronic sound go for
The Fair Sex,their side project. My favorite track on this one is "White
Skinned Heroin" the opening track to the CD. Good CD for those longing
for the days of old school aggro-industrial before the onslaught of NIN
clones took over the scene. Rating: 8 - Shaun Hamilton, Chain D.L.K. Magazine
There is no doubt that Testify is one of the few real bands playing a
kind of Industrial Metal that sees in Ministry its best representative.
But Testify have a great quality: everything they touch becomes hard and
intense as no one can do. The music of this album, confirms them as the
leader of a scene that I love and that has been my sound track for many
years during my musical growth. More atmospheric moments don't miss but
the whole album is manipulated to generate in you mental alterations. I
like their way. Vote 90/100 Francesco Palumbo, Vampiria Magazine
Testify's Triviality Beyond Acceptance - the band's fifth release, is a
low-center-of-gravity stalking over and through electric, barbed-wire
fences and laser beam minefields. Brawny, hulking guitars punctuate the
digitized-delivery of lead singer Myk Jung, who weaves his
broken-English banter over a taut mesh-net of industrial samples and
smart programming. Clandestine and stealthy, TBA is the aggro fan's best
friend in the post-hardcore, "hipper-than-thou" era we're living in.
- Matt Peterson, Mic Stand Magazine
Marking the fifth release from Testify, the
brilliantly titled Triviality Beyond Acceptance has
arrived to these American shores! For those who like
bands such as Ministry and KMFDM, Triviality? is a
chilling, aggressive work of industrial art that
should have you rejoicing. There is a foreboding
darkness permeating throughout the heavy beats,
blaring guitars and growled vocals which launch an
all-out assault on the senses. Infecting the world
with their driving compositions since 1993, it?s only
a matter of time before Testify from Germany find
acceptance beyond this modern world. Songs like White
Skinned Heroine, Fragile Puppet, Grinning Sun, and
Under A Full Moon are highlights that should be played
in clubs all over the world if there was any justice
at all. We know they don?t play stuff like this on
the radio. By the way, be sure to listen to Karl Found
Out: The Definition for a bit of sampled chatter by
Karl Bartos from the legendary Kraftwerk, showing that
even industrial types know about irony and humor.
Released here in the States by Van Richter Records!
- Kenneth Morton, Highwire Daze
Triviality Beyond Acceptance Testify's latest is a guitar and drum heavy
assault.March 12, 2003 - Testify is the industrial-metal alter ego to
German EBM band The Fair Sex. Their most recent release, Triviality
Beyond Acceptance, is a guitar and drum heavy assault that should leave
any Biohazard, Fear Factory, ChemLab, NIN or Ministry fan grinning
incessantly from eardrum splitting joy. If you've never encountered
Testify before, about the only way that I can describe them is if Martin
Atkins, Trent Reznor and Al Jourgenson got together and spawned a new
band. True, Testify definitely has a distinct sound, but there is no
denying the influence that the aforementioned fellows have had on the
act. Yet despite their American influences, Testify's German heritage is
evident throughout their work as Rammstein like vocals meld with very
aggressive beats that are rather reminiscent of Die Krupps.Triviality
Beyond Acceptance isn't as strong as one of the band's earlier works,
Mmmmyaoooo, but it is still a rock solid industrial-metal album. The
album is defined by grinding guitars, pounding drums, gravelly vocals
and judiciously located samples. Tracks like "White Skinned Heroine",
"Fragile Puppet", "The Entanglement of Sexus" and "Braindead Fiction"
are pounding, catchy, well constructed tunes that get your blood moving.
Out of this batch "Fragile Puppet" has earned a permanent place on my
iPod. One great thing about Testify is that they have a sense of humor
about their music. Case in point, the 7th track on the album, "The
Definition", literally made me laugh out loud. It starts out with some
dictionary definitions of the word "testify", and finishes off with a
quote from someone who didn't appreciate their efforts... "Testify. 3 -
European project. A poor mimicry of Ministry. Extremely non-innovative,
cheap and trivial beyond acceptance..." While the Industrial-Metal genre
hasn't seen too many strong acts or albums since the dawn of the new
century it is a least great to hear a new release from an act like
Testify. Anyone who fondly remembers the first that time they listened
to Ministry's Psalm 69 is definitely going to be instantly enamored with
Triviality Beyond Acceptance. Overall Score 8.0 - Rick Sanchez, Ign.com
Testify's newest release TRIVIALITY BEYOND ACCEPTANCE is they're 5th
album to date on Palm Springs, California's Van Richter Records.
Although this album was set for release in the states for 2000 do to
complications it was not able to be released until this year. TRIVIALITY
BEYOND ACCEPTANCE is a piece of art.
This being the fifth installment of Tetify's portfolio it is only more
proof that they a progressing with the times and changing for the better
of the growth of they're music and fan base. Short of to many sound
samples in some areas this is indeed a must have. - Vagabond Magazine
If you read the interview in January, you can't help remember these guys
are HUGE Ministry fans. (Yeah, we know you study and study and study
until you memorize our every word...) But! What you didn't know is that
they like little girls too! Yep... Ministry and little girls. And that's
what's on this album. Now, don't get me wrong. Don't go getting
perverted notions... all prematurely and shit. Everyone likes little
girls. I mean,they're very nice. They dance about and make googly eyes
and do that
ttle sing-song nonsense and play with little dolls and such. Wot's
wrong with that, eh? I only say Testify likes little girls because there
seems to be one yammering on in cutesy German on most every track...,
mixed in with pounding industrial music of course, but definitely more
often than could be considered accidental. Yes, so they like little
girls and that's nice. It's the Ministry that you've got to watch out
for. Obviously, folks who like Ministry must be freaks. So, to recap:
Little girls are nice, and Ministry is freaky... so uh... we'll call it
a draw. Nice and freaky. - Warren Davis, Chain-Whipped Magazine
Es gibt Musik, mit der sollte man dem sch?nen Geschlecht meistens besser
nicht kommen - auch wenn sie von Mitgliedern einer Band kommt, die
ebendieses im Namen tr?gt. Seit zehn Jahren produziert Testify, das
hartwurstige Projekt der The Fair Sex-Mitglieder, jetzt schon robusten
Industrial-Metal und steht dabei in den USA tendenziell h?her im Kurs
als hierzulande. Warum eigentlich? Die Mischung aus rhythmischem
Kn?lz-Stakkato, brutalen Gitarrenriffs aus der Fettbratk?che und
elektronischen Subversionen kommt auch auf "Triviality Beyond
Acceptance" noch so gut zusammen, dass man
keineswegs nur auf den internationalen Markt schielen muss, wenn's
um dickes Gemoshe mit technischer Pr?zision geht. Liebevolle
Gurgelw?rgstimme, z?hnefletschende Gitarrenheizung, gepaart mit ziemlich
schiefliegendem Humor und D?sternis im Kriechstrombereich - auch 2003 verschaffen
sich Testify krachend Geh?r im elektrometallischen Wunderland und sind
auch noch durchgeknallt genug, ein St?ck "The Plumpsack" zu
nennen. Mit "The Entanglement Of Sexus" ist gar der kompositorisch
bisher beste Song der Bandgeschichte mit von der Partie. Leider stehen
zuweilen die (programmierten) Drums zu sehr in der Waschk?che
und die Gitarren zu nahe am Ascheimer, so dass diesen Monat aktuelle
Mitbewerber wie Static-X noch in einer anderen Liga spielen. Dennoch: Entgegen
dem Titel sehr wohl akzeptabel. - Thomas Pilgrim, Sonic Seducer Magazine
Remember coldwave? That genre that prayed at the altar of blazing guitars?
Well it's back. Testify's "Triviality Beyond Acceptance" is their first
release since coldwave's heyday, and they haven't lost an ounce of that
metal - industrial sound of 1996. The nostalalgic will find pleasure in
bone crushing traks like "Abuser's Gabble" and "Braindead Friction". But
others might find the fact that Testify still have not updated their
production values since the mid 90's frustrating. Or, for that matter,
gotten over their hero worship of Ministry. "Fragile Puppet", for example
borrows so heavily from "N.W.O." that it sounds like a Psalm 69 outtake.
While they possess the right raw ingredients = churning beats, pissed off
vocals, guitar riffs that could split kindling - the soul is missing. When
Al Jourgensen sings he sounds like a guy you would not want to meet in a
dark alley. When Testify's Myk Jung sings, he sounds like he's trying very
hard to be the kind of guy you would not want to mmet in a dark alley. It
is that subtle distinction - he's trying too hard - that limits Testify.
At least they have a sense of humor about it. On "Karl Found Out: The
Definition" they sample Kraftwerk legend Karl Bartos complaining that
Testify is, "Extremely non - innovative, cheap, and trivial beyond
acceptance". (Hence the record name) Kudos to Testify for being good
sports. I guess that means Karl doesn't have to worry about the dark
alley. - Veejay, Industrial Nation Magazine
The latest Testify release Triviality Beyond Acceptance through Van
Richter Records is aggro-industrial music at it's finest. Triviality
Beyond Acceptance further reminds us that the Europeans are still
very much the forerunners of the genre. However change may be on the
horizon. Testify has also been gaining exposure through videos, MTV
and the guidance of Paul Abramson. TBA is a classic angst-ridden
drum and guitar assault straight from heaven. A must have for any
industrial music library. - TF, Nadamucho Webzine
iThe last Testify album (released when the band was still active yet)
fortunately contains the same guitar driven industrial metal tunes which
brought this American-German band worldwide recognition and respect. At
the same time, Triviality Beyond Acceptance holds the heaviest music in
all of the bands discography because the guitars were tuned somewhat lower
and the electronics were subdued.
"White Skinned Heroine" begins the album with a bit too many repetitive
rhythms and looks like the content of this album may be less experimental
than any previous Testify release, however, this song isn't the best
choice for an intro to me.
"Fragile Puppet" suddenly jumps in on the tracklist with guitar riffs
reminiscent of Skrew (it is not far from comparison because one of Testify
albums "Mmmyaoooo" was produced by Adam Grossman, a guitar player and
leader of Skrew), but the song lacks that typical Skrew power. Other than
that, a psychotic moaning boy and his German monologues draw the listeners
attention. "Grinning Sun" comes up with a metal-industrial-gothic vibe and
I found the song quickly boring.
Finally, Testify proved why they have earned the listeners' respect with
the next few songs. There are three songs on this album that I do
recommend you remember, so listen carefully - "Invisible Hell (The
Plumsack)", outstanding "Abuser's Gabble" and masterpiece "The Seed Of
Wrath". They are all truly amazing tracks thanks to perfect arrangements
and somewhat demonic moods coming from distinctive guitar riffs, vocals,
drums and bass lines mixed together. "Abuser's Gabble" and "The Seed Of
Wrath" are also the examples of perfect industrial metal compositions with
powerful drum and bass lines, easily drifting guitar riffs (becoming
wayward in a few spots!) and of course repetitive choruses, yelled or at
least grunted out with the memorable voice of Myk Jung, the charismatic
lead singer of Testify. I think the three songs above are the best ones
the band has ever written. Expect your head banging to the rhythms of
guitar and drum fusion, then feel free to have a natural need to replay to
the songs right after they are finished. Moreover, the apocalyptic song
"The Seed Of Wrath" should have gotten a meaningful award for awesome
writing and performance ensemble.
If you listen carefully to the spoken words in "Karl Found Out: The
Definition": "Testify: Third. Testify - European project, a poor mimicry
of Ministry, extremely non-innovative, cheap and trivial beyond
acceptance", then it seems the band probably ironically paraphrased one of
the reviews which may have been addressed to Testify's music. I have no
doubts Ministry was some sort of example and influence for the band on how
to make solid industrial metal songs, Skrew alike, but it doesn't make
sense to speak about ripping those bands off and especially about
"non-innovative, cheap" content (read above about "The Seed Of Wrath" and
"Abuser's Gabble").
"The Entaglement Of Sexus" brings a lighter rock sound with heavily
sampled backgrounds, but sincerely the monotone beat becomes boring almost
immediately.
"Braindead Friction" sounds more rock, Ministry-style ;) but
"Dumb/Numb/Gun" presents a little bit of a blackmetal mood mostly thanks
to the vocals, however, it still keeps its main industrial metal vibe. I
liked the kind of 'glassy' samples used in the background, maybe not
matching the song that much but intriguing enough by contrast. This track
also brings some Skrew sounding music echoes like in "Fragile Puppet" as I
described above.
The last composition on the album is called "Under The Cold Moon"
characterized by less edgy guitar riffs, slower tempo, and more fun with
the use of electronics. It's undoubtedly a very trance induced sound, but
also the weakest song on the album, moreover it lasts... over 10 minutes.
I wish "The Seed of Wrath" was extended for that long!
The songs released on Triviality Beyond Acceptance sound full, the writing
was also deeply thought out and it's clear to me that Testify has utilized
their experience.
The has band worked out their sound over the course of almost ten years;
ever since their first EP (Testify '01 was released in 1993) and it is
very disappointing that they quit right after putting out such a memorable
album. However, I am getting a satisfactory feeling that the musicians put
100% of themselves into their involvement, so Testify didn't end up
releasing a bunch of good-bye remixes. I'm not sure if the band was
getting along well or being responsive to their fan suggestions in terms
of the new album to be, but it feels like Triviality Beyond Acceptance was
based on an individual initiative.
Myk Jung joined the band Schuldt (German Tim Schuldt's project) to record
an album entitled First Error Code. Then he kept releasing solo albums
under his own name, but they don't bring the Testify sound back.
Rascal Nikov has been continuing his electronic passions as a member of
well known German future-pop band called Rotersand since 2002.
Triviality Beyond Acceptance along with Mmmyaoooo are two obligatory
albums to listen to, both proving the real power of the music of Testify - Nina, Fabryka Industrial Rock Magazine
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