biotestament

 

TESTAMENT, Perhaps THE defining band of the second wave of thrash that rolled in around 1987-1988. But the band was active before that, originally under the name Legacy. Testament debuted with an album titled The Legacy, a magnificent debut that put Testament on the map instantly. They followed it up with a very creative period over the following years with albums like The New Order, Practice What You Preach, Souls of Black and The Ritual.

But then lead guitarist Alex Skolnick left the band and the bands melodic thrash sound was changed. During the nineties Testament adopted a more death metal meets groove metal sound and the band struggled with numerous lineup changes. After Low and Demonic the band returned to a more familiar thrash sound with The Gathering. After years of silence then Testament returned to their good old form with their last three records: The Formation of Damnation, Dark Roots of Earth and Brotherhood of the Snake. This is the biography of Testament:

THE LEGACY (1983-1986)

Testament formed under the name Legacy in San Francisco in 1983. The band was formed by guitarist Eric Peterson and Derrick Ramirez. Soon bassist Greg Christian and drummer Mike Ronchette joined the ranks. Ramirez was soon replaced by guitarist Alex Skolnick and vocalist Steve Souza. The lineup of Peterson, Christian, Ronchette, Skolnick and Souza then recorded the bands first demo in 1985. The four track-demo was the first and only recording under the name Legacy before the band switched name and became Testament.

The demo included early versions of the tracks: Burnt Offerings, Reign of Terror, Alone in the Dark and Raging Waters. All sung by future Exodus-vocalist Steve 'Zetro' Souza. Soon after the release of the demo, drummer Mike Ronchette left the band and in came Louie Clemente. In 1986 Exodus fired their charismatic vocalist Paul Baloff and they recruited Steve 'Zetro' Souza as his replacement. So Legacy stood there without a vocalist  but Steve 'Zetro' Souza suggested that they should get in contact with Chuck Billy. When Chuck Billy joined Legacy, they switched their name to Testament. A name suggested by Billy Milano of S.O.D. and M.O.D..

CLASSIC ERA (1987-1992)

In April of '87 Testament released their debut album, titled The Legacy on Megaforce Records. Testament achieved instant fame with their marvellous debut album. The Legacy featured songs like Burnt Offerings, Over the Wall and Alone in the Dark. They were often compared to Metallica. Testament got the opportunity to open up for Anthrax on their Among the Living-tour. On this tour Testament recorded the live EP; Live at Eindhoven. They also gigged with Megadeth and Overkill.

In 1988 Testament released their sophomore album The New Order, which furthered the bands reputation. It had a more professional production and The album sold over 250.000 copies. The album featured Testament classics like: Eerie Inhabitants, Trial By Fire, Into the Pit and Disciples of the Watch. After the release of the New Order, Testament toured Europe with Megadeth and later the states with Death Angel, Vio-Lence and Raven.

After the tour Testament headed into the studio once again and released their third album in three years. The album was titled Practice What You Preach and it was released in August of 1989. It featured songs like Greenhouse Effect, Practice What You Preach, Sins of Omission and The Ballad. The third album put much more focus on enviromental issues. The album was the bands most successful and it reached 77th place on the Billboard 200 list. The song Practice What You Preach was played a lot on MTV's Headbangers Ball. Testament toured the album for about a year and they gigged with bands like Wratchild America, Annihilator, Mortal Sin, Nuclear Assault and Savatage. 

In October of 1990 the band released their fourth studio album in as many years. The album was titled Souls of Black and it was put out on Megaforce / Atlantic like all their previous records. The album sold well even if grunge was about to roll in. Souls of Black became the big hit from the record.

In 1992, Testament released their fifth studio album titled The Ritual. It had a few softer tracks to fit in into the changing musical landscape. The album peaked at 55th place on the Billboard list. Electric Crown and Return to Serenity became the two big songs from the album.

The New Order (1988)

CHANGES (1993-1998)

In 1993 lead guitarist Alex Skolnick and drummer Louie Clemente left the band. Skolnick wanted to play more melodic material and joined Savatage and later started his own jazz project. They were replaced by Forbidden members Glen Alvelais and Paul Bostaph. The lineup released the 1993 live EP, Return to Apocalyptic City. Soon afterwards Glen Alvelais quit the band and Paul Bostaph left to join Slayer.

In 1994 drummer John Tempesta and guitarist James Murphy joined the band. The lineup of Peterson, Billy, Christian, Tempesta and Murphy then recorded the bands sixth studio album Low. The album was a minor department from the bands classic sound. With influences of death and groove metal. After the release of Low drummer John Tempesta left the band and Testament recruited John Dette. But John Dette only remained within the band for the 1995 tour. Dette left to temporarily join Slayer. In stepped Chris Kontos. In 1996 Testament suffered even more lineup changes when Greg Christian, James Murphy and Chris Kontos left the band. This was a low-point in the bands career and they considered a name change to Dog Faced Gods, but Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson wanted to keep the Testament name.

After a short break, Testament regrouped and the lineup of Chuck Billy, Eric Peterson, Gene Hoglan and Derrick Ramirez recorded the Demonic album on the Music for Nations label. This album was a step away from the thrash sound and into the realm of death metal. The album scored terrible reviews and in hindsight it must be seen as the bands least creative album.

Low (1994)

RETURN TO THRASH (1999-2003)

In 1999, the all-star lineup of Chuck Billy, Eric Peterson, James Murphy, Steve DiGiorgio and Dave Lombardo got together and recorded The Gathering. The album was released on the Spitfire label. The album was a success and Testament's "return" to thrash was welcomed by their fans. The album still had some death metal influences on it but it was the bands thrashiest album in years. Soon after The Gathering James Murphy was diagnosed with brain tumor. He got surgery and recovered. But in 2001 Chuck Billy was diagnosed with cancer. In 2001 the thrash of the titans benefit concerts were held in support of Chuck Billy and Chuck Schuldiner.

Bands like Exodus, Heathen, Vio-Lence, Death Angel and Legacy performed. Legacy featured Steve 'Zetro' Souza and Alex Skolnick. Alex Skolnick hadn't played with the band since 1992 and the fans longed for his return to the band. In 2001 Testament decided to re-record their classic catalogue. The album was titled First Strike Still Deadly and it featured returning members Alex Skolnick and John Tempesta as well as bassist extraordinaire Steve DiGiorgio.

SECOND COMEBACK (2003-2010)

In 2003 Chuck Billy fully recovered from his cancer. The band began performing live again with Sadus drummer Jon Allen. But he was soon replaced by the returning Paul Bostaph. Guitarist Steve Smyth was in the lineup for a while but in 2005 the classic lineup of Billy, Peterson, Skolnick and Christian reunited. The drum duties was shared by Tempesta and Clemente. They recorded the Live in London DVD and the band toured and gigged with Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Megadeth to name a few.

In April of 2008 Testament released their first studio album in nine years, The album was titled The Formation of Damnation and it was released through Nuclear Blast records. This was the first studio album with guitarist Alex Skolnick since 1992's The Ritual and the first studio album for bassist Greg Christian since 1994's Low. Later in 2008 Testament went on tour with Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath) and Motörhead. Glen Drover of Megadeth joined the band to fill in for Alex Skolnick whom at the time played with Trans Siberian Orchestra. In 2009 Testament started writing material for their upcoming Dark Roots of Earth album.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE SNAKE 2011-2017

In 2011 Testament started recording the album they had planned since 2009. The album was finalised and released in 2012 under the name Dark Roots of Earth, the album was released through Nuclear Blast. The album featured Gene Hoglan behind the drums.

In early 2014 it was announced that Greg Christian was fired from the band and he has been in a feud with the band ever since. Steve DiGiorgio re-joined the band. In 2016 the band released the Brotherhood of the Snake album. The album was a succes and reached #20 on the Billboard list, the highest score in the bands career. The band first toured with Amon Amarth and then Prong and Sepultura to support the album.

 TITANS OF CREATION (2018-2022)

In 2020 Testament released their 13th studio album Titans of Creation. Due to covid a lot of their gigs were postponed to later dates. In 2022 Testament's drummer Gene Hoglan announced his departure from the band and his replacement became none other than former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.