Jimmy Kay from The Metal Voice recently spoke to Testament's front man Chuck Billy where he gave an update on the bands new studio album and talked about the upcoming remasters of The Legacy and The New Order.
Photo by Scott Braun
Chuck said to The Metal Voice, "The drums are finished and half the vocals are done and most of the guitars. No leads or bass yet. Steve's (DiGiorgio) out on tour with DEATH TO ALL, and Alex (Skolnick) usually waits till Eric's (Peterson) done with all rhythms. But we're trying to get it accomplished, we leave July 10th, so we're trying to get it all recorded before then." Billy continued," We started since November, since about November, we started working and through the holidays, Chris (Dovas, drummer) has been coming out, working with Eric a lot. And then into this beginning of this year, he's came out dozens of times and really has put a lot of fire under Eric and got him fired up and writing some pretty aggressive stuff, some really challenging stuff for Eric."
Billy went on, "Chris is a young guy, 25 years old, a really fast, great drummer. So it's given a little breath of some new life into the band and into the writing, really, which is exciting. We always write different things for every record, and once again, this is another Testament record that's gonna have some new stuff that we're exploring and stepping into. So we're looking forward to this one."
When asked about his vocal approach on this album," Chuck said, " I think I stayed in one vocal tone and range where this one, I'm doing a little bit of everything, some death metal vocals, classic Testament-style vocals. And then we actually have, I don't wanna say 'ballad', but we have a slower song that has a lot of feeling. How's that? And we haven't done that in a long time. So, there's a little bit of everything, but staying true to the band."
When asked about the songwriting songwriting approach, " It's really just about making good music, having fun at this point. And every record is a challenge 'cause you always wanna do better and make the next record sound better, have better songs. And I think where we're at today, once again, especially having Chris, the new drummer, we are progressing. Me and Eric actually said, like, I don't know, about three weeks ago, we were hanging out and like I said, the music's pretty aggressive and we're doing some heavy stuff."
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Iconic Bay Area thrash metal pioneers TESTAMENT are proud to announce an explosive celebration of the band's enduring legacy and their influential presence in the thrash metal scene. On July 12th, TESTAMENT will release the remastered versions of their seminal albums The Legacy & The New Order both digitally and on vinyl via Nuclear Blast Records.
Chuck Billy states, "When The Legacy and The New Order were first recorded we were new and had limited resources to record the albums being a young band. Now, with the remastering, fans will hear the albums in their signature sonic onslaught they were intended to be heard."
The Legacy
01. Over The Wall (Remastered 2024)
02. The Haunting (Remastered 2024)
03. Burnt Offerings (Remastered 2024)
04. Raging Waters (Remastered 2024)
05. C.O.T.L.O.D. (Remastered 2024)
06. First Strike Is Deadly (Remastered 2024)
07. Do or Die (Remastered 2024)
08. Alone In The Dark (Remastered 2024)
09. Apocalyptic City (Remastered 2024)
The Legacy was remastered by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound. It will be available digitally and on 180G vinyl on red and white swirl with black splatter (limited to 1500 worldwide). The release includes alternate cover artwork and gatefold packaging with new liner notes as well it includes an oversized booklet with never-before-seen images.
Pre-order/pre-save The Legacy here:
Pre-order/pre-save The New Order here:
The New Order
01. Eerie Inhabitants (Remastered 2024)
02. The New Order (Remastered 2024)
03. Trial By Fire (Remastered 2024)
04. Into The Pit (Remastered 2024)
05. Hypnosis (Remastered 2024)
06. Disciples Of The Watch (Remastered 2024)
07. The Preacher (Remastered 2024)
08. Nobody's Fault (Remastered 2024)
09. A Day Of Reckoning (Remastered 2024)
10. Musical Death (A Dirge) (Remastered 2024)
The New Order was remastered by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound. It will be available digitally and on 180G vinyl on blue and purple swirl with black splatter (limited to 1500 worldwide). The release includes alternate cover artwork and gatefold packaging with new liner notes as well it includes an oversized booklet with never-before-seen images.
This Fall, the 'Klash of the Titans' makes its triumphant return to North America! Fans will enjoy an epic night of metal with thrash royalty TESTAMENT and KREATOR co-headlining the run. The 33-date trek will kick off on September 12th in Reno making its way across the US and will include 7 Canadian dates before concluding in San Francisco on October 27th. Joining the night are special guests Bay Area death metal pioneers and labelmates POSSESSED.
Don't miss your chance to witness this epic line-up!
Purchase the tickets at www.testamentlegions.com & www.kreator-terrorzone.de.
Confirmed dates for TESTAMENT and KREATOR's co-headlining 'Klash Of The Titans North American 2024' tour with POSSESSED are:
TOUR DATES
09/12/2024 Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort
09/13/2024 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
09/14/2024 Salt Lake City, UT - The Union Event Centre
09/16/2024 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
09/17/2024 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
09/18/2024 Vancouver, BC Canada - Vogue
09/20/2024 Calgary, AB Canada - MacEwan Hall
09/21/2024 Enoch, AB Canada - River Cree Casino
09/22/2024 Saskatoon, SK Canada - Coors Event Centre
09/24/2024 Winnipeg, MB Canada - Burton Cummings Theatre
09/26/2024 Maplewood, MN - Myth Live
09/28/2024 Huber Heights, Oh - Rose Music Center
09/29/2024 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/01/2024 Cleveland, OH - The Agora
10/03/2024 Toronto, ON Canada - History
10/04/2024 Montreal, QC Canada - MTelus
10/05/2024 New Haven, CT - College Street
10/06/2024 Boston, MA - House of Blues
10/08/2024 Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
10/10/2024 Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theatre
10/11/2024 Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Casino
10/12/2024 Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
10/13/2024 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
10/15/2024 Orlando, FL. - Hard Rock Live
10/16/2024 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
10/18/2024 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall (Lawn)
10/19/2024 San Antonio, TX - The Aztec
10/20/2024 Dallas, TX - The Factory
10/22/2024 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
10/23/2024 Albuquerque, NM - Albuquerque Convention Center
10/24/2024 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
10/26/2024 Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
10/27/2024 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
More information:
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