Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983, the group originally consisted of guitarists Eric Peterson and Derrick Ramirez, bassist Greg Christian, drummer Louie Clemente and lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. The band's current lineup features Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy (since 1986), lead guitarist Alex Skolnick (from 1983 to 1992, and since 2005), bassist Steve Di Giorgio (from 1998 to 2005, and since 2014) and drummer Chris Dovas (since 2023).
History
edit1983–1997
editFormed under the name Legacy in 1983 by cousins Eric Peterson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Derrick Ramirez (lead guitar), the original lineup of the group also featured bassist Greg Christian, drummer Louie Clemente and lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza.[1] Clemente left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Mike Ronchette. Ramirez departed soon after and was replaced by Alex Skolnick. This lineup recorded a 4 song demo in 1985. Souza left to join Exodus in 1986 and was replaced by Chuck Billy, who the departing vocalist had suggested for his replacement.[2] Drummer Louie Clemente returned to the band in 1986.
Also in 1986, the band was signed by Megaforce Records and subsequently changed its name to Testament, due to another band using the name Legacy.[2] The group's lineup remained stable until October 1992, when Skolnick left due to musical differences and was replaced by Glen Alvelais, formerly of Forbidden.[3][4] Clemente also left at the same time, with his place taken by Forbidden drummer Paul Bostaph.[5] By April the following year, Bostaph had been replaced by former Exodus drummer John Tempesta,[6] and by early 1994 Alvelais' lead guitarist role had been taken over by James Murphy.[7]
After recording the band's sixth studio album Low, Tempesta left Testament to join White Zombie, with Jon Dette taking his place.[8] The new drummer also left after a year, reportedly following a disagreement with vocalist Billy, subsequently joining Slayer.[9] He was replaced briefly by Chris Kontos, formerly of Machine Head, who recorded a cover version of Judas Priest's "Rapid Fire" for the tribute album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal, Vol. 1 before leaving again.[10] By 1996, only Billy and Peterson remained members of Testament, as Murphy, Christian and Kontos had all departed.[11]
1997–2011
editIn 1997, Testament returned with Demonic, which featured a lineup of vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarist Eric Peterson, alongside original guitarist Derrick Ramirez on bass and Gene Hoglan on drums.[2][11] For the album's touring cycle, the band was rejoined by guitarist Glen Alvelais and drummer Jon Dette.[12] In 1998, the group recorded The Gathering with returning lead guitarist James Murphy, former Death bassist Steve Di Giorgio and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.[13][14] For the album's promotional tour, Murphy and Lombardo were replaced by Steve Smyth and Steve Jacobs, respectively.[15][16]
Jon Allen took over from Jacobs in early 2000.[17] The following year, Billy, Peterson and Di Giorgio released First Strike Still Deadly, a collection of early songs re-recorded with former guitarist Alex Skolnick and drummer John Tempesta, as well as early vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza on two tracks.[18] After several temporary breaks from the group due to family issues, Allen left Testament in February 2004 and was replaced by the returning Paul Bostaph.[19] Just two months later, Smyth also left to join Nevermore and was replaced by former Halford guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak.[20][21]
In February 2005, it was announced that Billy and Peterson would be reuniting with Skolnick, bassist Greg Christian, and drummers Louie Clemente and John Tempesta for a European tour.[22][23] In summer 2006, Clemente was forced to leave the tour for medical reasons, with Bostaph returning again to take his place as the sole drummer.[24] By the end of the year, Nick Barker had taken over on drums.[25] In October 2007, Bostaph returned to Testament for his fourth tenure in the group, who released their first album of new material in eight years, The Formation of Damnation, in 2008.[26]
Since 2011
editIn June 2011, Gene Hoglan returned to Testament in time for the recording of Dark Roots of Earth, which was released the next year.[27] In January 2014, Christian was replaced by Steve Di Giorgio.[28] The lineup of Billy, Peterson, Skolnick, Hoglan and Di Giorgio recorded two albums, Brotherhood of the Snake (2016) and Titans of Creation (2020), before Hoglan once again left the band in January 2022.[29] Nearly two months later, he was replaced by The Gathering-era drummer Dave Lombardo, who rejoined Testament right before the band's US tour in support of Titans of Creation.[30] In 2023, Dave Lombardo was replaced by current drummer Chris Dovas.[31]
Members
editCurrent
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Peterson | 1983–present |
|
all Testament releases | |
| Chuck Billy | 1986–present | lead vocals | all Testament releases from The Legacy (1987) onwards | |
| Alex Skolnick |
|
|
all Testament releases from the Legacy Demo (1985) to Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993) – features on two tracks only, and from First Strike Still Deadly (2001) onwards | |
| Steve Di Giorgio |
|
|
| |
| Chris Dovas |
|
drums | none |
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Former
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Christian |
|
|
all Testament releases from the Legacy Demo (1985) to "Rapid Fire" (1997), and from Live in London (2005) to Dark Roots of Thrash (2013) | |
| Louie Clemente |
|
drums |
| |
| Derrick Ramirez |
|
|
Demonic (1997) | |
| Steve "Zetro" Souza | 1983–1986 | lead vocals |
| |
| Mike Ronchette | 1985–1986 | drums | Legacy Demo (1985) | |
| Glen Alvelais |
|
lead and rhythm guitar |
| |
| Paul Bostaph |
|
drums |
| |
| John Tempesta |
|
| ||
| James Murphy |
|
lead and rhythm guitar |
| |
| Jon Dette |
|
drums | Live at the Fillmore (1995) | |
| Chris Kontos | 1995–1996 | "Rapid Fire" (1997) | ||
| Gene Hoglan |
|
| ||
| Dave Lombardo |
|
The Gathering (1999) | ||
| Steve Smyth | 1999–2004 | lead and rhythm guitar | none | |
| Steve Jacobs | 1999–2000 | drums | ||
| Jon Allen | 2000–2004 | |||
| Nick Barker | 2006–2007 |
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Touring
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asgeir Mickelson | 2003 | drums | Mickelson substituted for Allen for a European tour, due to his ongoing "personal family issues".[32] | |
| "Metal" Mike Chlasciak | 2004–2005 | lead guitar | Chlasciak substituted following the release of Steve Smyth of his duties,[33] thus filled the remaining touring obligations of the following year.[34] | |
| Glen Drover |
|
Drover substituted for Skolnick on a Mexican tour in 2008, and for a North American tour in 2010.[35][36] | ||
| Mark Hernandez | 2012 | drums | Hernandez filled in for Hoglan on a European tour in November and December 2012.[37] | |
| Jack Gibson | 2013 | bass | Gibson filled in for Christian on a North American tour in November 2013.[38] | |
| Tilen Hudrap | 2015 | Hudrap and Bent replaced DiGiorgio and Hoglan respectively in 2015.[39] | ||
| Alex Bent | drums | |||
| Phil Demmel | 2023 | lead guitar | Demmel replaced Skolnick for part of the bands 2023 European tour.[40][41] |
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Timeline
edit
Lineups
edit| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 – 1985 (as Legacy) |
|
none |
| 1985 (as Legacy) |
|
|
| 1986 – October 1992 (as Legacy until 1987) |
|
|
| November 1992 – April 1993 |
|
|
| April 1993 – early 1994 |
|
none |
| Early – September 1994 |
|
|
| September 1994 – 1995 |
|
|
| 1995–1996 |
|
|
| Late 1996 – early 1997 |
|
|
| Spring 1997 – spring 1998 |
|
|
| Spring 1998 – summer 1999 |
|
|
| Summer 1999 – early 2000 |
|
none |
| Early 2000 – February 2004 |
|
|
| February – April 2004 |
|
none |
| April 2004 – March 2005 |
| |
| March 2005 – July 2006 |
|
|
| July – late 2006 |
|
none |
| Late 2006 – October 2007 |
| |
| October 2007 – June 2011 |
|
|
| June 2011 – January 2014 |
|
|
| January 2014 – February 2022 |
|
|
| March 2022 – June 2023 |
|
none |
| July 2023 – Present |
|
none |
References
edit- ^ Zetro's Toxic Vault - Eric Peterson (Legacy Days) September 8th 2020 1 of 2. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c Dome, Malcolm (April 21, 2014). "The Knowledge: Testament". Metal Hammer. TeamRock. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "TPRS Classic Interview: Alex Skolnick of Testament". The Pure Rock Shop. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ Fabricus, Jodie (September 25, 1992). "Metal Filings" (PDF). The Hard Report. No. 295. Medford, New Jersey: Hard Report, Inc. p. 54. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "More Hard Rock/Heavy Metal" (PDF). The Hard Report. No. 319. Medford, New Jersey: Hard Report, Inc. April 2, 1993. p. 48. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Cooper, Mike (April 23, 1993). "Music Now!" (PDF). The Hard Report. No. 322. Medford, New Jersey: Hard Report, Inc. p. 56. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Fabricus, Jodie (February 4, 1994). "Metal Filings" (PDF). The Hard Report. No. 360. Medford, New Jersey: Hard Report, Inc. p. 38. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Fabricus, Jodie (September 2, 1994). "Metal Filings" (PDF). The Hard Report. No. 390. Medford, New Jersey: Hard Report, Inc. p. 42. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Snow, Drew (December 8, 1997). "Thrash Up Yo Ass, Muthafucka: CoC chats with Testament". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Smart, Noel (November 2010). "Interview With Chris Kontos – Ex: Machine Head / Testament". Sick Drummer. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Begrand, Adrien (May 21, 2008). "New Testament Versus Old". PopMatters. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ Syrjala, Marko (December 17, 2013). "Interview with Jon Dette – Iced Earth, Animetal USA, ex- Testament, Anthrax, Slayer etc". Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "James Murphy". Metal-Rules.com. June 27, 1998. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ O'Neill, Eamonn (April 2018). "Testament Steve Di Giorgio eonmusic Interview April 2018". eonmusic.co.uk. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Malusardi, Guglielmo (November 2008). "Interview: Steve Smyth". Guitar Nine. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament". Testament. Archived from the original on February 29, 2000. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament". Testament. Archived from the original on April 8, 2000. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament: 'First Strike Still Deadly' To Be Reissued". Blabbermouth.net. March 1, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Former Slayer Drummer Paul Bostaph Joins Testament". Blabbermouth.net. February 15, 2004. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament Confirm Guitarist Steve Smyth's Departure". Blabbermouth.net. April 20, 2004. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "It's Official: 'Metal Mike' Chlasciak Is The New Testament Guitarist". Blabbermouth.net. April 27, 2004. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament To Embark On 'Reunion' Tour". Blabbermouth.net. February 17, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Testament Frontman Comments On 'Reunion' Tour". Blabbermouth.net. March 30, 2005. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Original Testament Drummer To Be Replaced On Upcoming Tour Due To "Medical Reasons"". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. July 5, 2006. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Producer Andy Sneap: Megadeth's Mustaine 'Proved To Be A Very Cool Guy To Work With'". Blabbermouth.net. December 25, 2006. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Testament Working With Ex-Slayer/Exodus Drummer Paul Bostaph On New Album". Blabbermouth.net. October 8, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Testament Recording New Album With Drummer Gene Hoglan". Blabbermouth.net. June 20, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Testament Parts Ways With Bassist Greg Christian, Announces Return Of Steve DiGiorgio". Blabbermouth.net. January 13, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "TESTAMENT Parts Ways With Longtime Drummer GENE HOGLAN". Blabbermouth.net. January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "TESTAMENT Rejoined By Drummer DAVE LOMBARDO". Blabbermouth.net. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ^ "New TESTAMENT Drummer CHRIS DOVAS: 'I'm Here To Stay'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ "Borknagar Drummer To Join Testament". Blabbermouth.net. March 1, 2003. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "TESTAMENT Confirm "Metal" Mike Chlasciak As New Guitarist". bravewords.com. April 27, 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Guitarist 'METAL' MIKE CHLASCIAK Talks About Playing With HALFORD, SEBASTIAN BACH And TESTAMENT". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. July 22, 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Testament Recruits Ex-Megadeth Guitarist Glen Drover For Upcoming Mexico Tour Dates". Blabbermouth.net. October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Ex-Megadeth Guitarist Glen Drover To Fill In For Alex Skolnick On Testament Tour". Blabbermouth.net. January 26, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Testament Taps Ex-Forbidden Drummer For European Shows". Blabbermouth.net. October 24, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Testament Bassist Leaves Tour, Exodus' Jack Gibson Steps In". Blabbermouth.net. November 19, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Testament Performs At Heavy Montreal Festival With Fill-In Rhythm Section; Video, Photos Available". Blabbermouth.net. August 8, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ Kennelty, Greg (May 24, 2023). "ALEX SKOLNICK To Sit Out Part Of TESTAMENT's European Tour". Metal Injection. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ Blabbermouth (May 28, 2023). "Watch: PHIL DEMMEL Plays First Concert With TESTAMENT At Germany's ROCK HARD FESTIVAL". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved October 29, 2023.