diff --git a/tests/icles/equalizer-test.c b/tests/icles/equalizer-test.c
index d8fd8dda39..e8126fad3a 100644
--- a/tests/icles/equalizer-test.c
+++ b/tests/icles/equalizer-test.c
@@ -182,8 +182,6 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
   if (!g_thread_supported ())
     g_thread_init (NULL);
 
-  GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_INIT (equalizer_test_debug, "equalizertest", 0, "eqtest");
-
   /* command line option parsing */
   ctx = g_option_context_new ("FILENAME");
   g_option_context_add_group (ctx, gst_init_get_option_group ());
@@ -194,6 +192,8 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
     return -1;
   }
 
+  GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_INIT (equalizer_test_debug, "equalizertest", 0, "eqtest");
+
   if (filenames == NULL || *filenames == NULL) {
     g_printerr ("Please specify a file to play back\n");
     return -1;