Testament is one of the most successful American thrash metal bands over the years. The band was originally formed in San Francisco, USA, under the name Legacy in 1983 by Eric Peterson (guitar), his cousin Derrick Ramírez (guitar), Louie Clemente (drums) and "Zetro" Souza on vocals. Over the years the band has had lots of line-up changes and therefore they have connections with lots of other bands on the American thrash metal scene.
In 1985 they recorded their first demo called "First Strike Is Deadly" and in 1986 they changed their name into Testament. After the successful debut album "The Legacy" they played the Dynamo festival in Holland and recorded a live EP. Their second album made Testament one of the world's biggest metal bands and a tour was arranged with Megadeth, Voivod, Anthrax, Judas Priest and others. Their third album "Practice What You Preach" sold more than 400,000 copies.
In 1991, Alex Skolnick did a tour with Jazz bassist Stuart Hamm. After that Alex returned, and they started to write songs for the upcoming album. After the release of 1992's "The Ritual", Alex Skolnick and Louie Clemente left the band, to be replaced by guitarist Glen Alvelais and drummer Paul Bostaph, both from the band Forbidden. In 1995, after more line up changes which included guitarist James Murphy replacing Alvelais and a few different guys behind the drums, the band was dropped from Atlantic Records and they therefore decided to create their own label called Burnt Offerings Inc. In 1996 Testament split up during the pre-production for the seventh album. Chuck told that he, Eric and Chris would form a new band called Dog Faced Gods while James left to do a personal project and Greg formed the band Flangue. However Eric and Chuck soon returned with a new line-up that was stronger than ever.
In 2005, after several years of playing with different line ups and Chuck's battle with cancer, he and Eric reunited with original members Alex Skolnick, Greg Christian, and Louie Clemente for a series of show which resulted in the release of a live album. Moving forward, the original members opted to continue working together, with exception of Louie Clemente, who was unable to commit to the band full time and was replaced by ex-Dimmu Borgir drummer Nick Barker. Barker's tenure was brief, as visa problems prevented him from working in the US, and he was replaced by Paul Bostaph.
Current Line Up:
Chuck Billy - Vocals
Eric Peterson - Guitar
Alex Skolnick - Guitar
Greg Christian - Bass
Paul Bostaph - Drums
In 1985 they recorded their first demo called "First Strike Is Deadly" and in 1986 they changed their name into Testament. After the successful debut album "The Legacy" they played the Dynamo festival in Holland and recorded a live EP. Their second album made Testament one of the world's biggest metal bands and a tour was arranged with Megadeth, Voivod, Anthrax, Judas Priest and others. Their third album "Practice What You Preach" sold more than 400,000 copies.
In 1991, Alex Skolnick did a tour with Jazz bassist Stuart Hamm. After that Alex returned, and they started to write songs for the upcoming album. After the release of 1992's "The Ritual", Alex Skolnick and Louie Clemente left the band, to be replaced by guitarist Glen Alvelais and drummer Paul Bostaph, both from the band Forbidden. In 1995, after more line up changes which included guitarist James Murphy replacing Alvelais and a few different guys behind the drums, the band was dropped from Atlantic Records and they therefore decided to create their own label called Burnt Offerings Inc. In 1996 Testament split up during the pre-production for the seventh album. Chuck told that he, Eric and Chris would form a new band called Dog Faced Gods while James left to do a personal project and Greg formed the band Flangue. However Eric and Chuck soon returned with a new line-up that was stronger than ever.
In 2005, after several years of playing with different line ups and Chuck's battle with cancer, he and Eric reunited with original members Alex Skolnick, Greg Christian, and Louie Clemente for a series of show which resulted in the release of a live album. Moving forward, the original members opted to continue working together, with exception of Louie Clemente, who was unable to commit to the band full time and was replaced by ex-Dimmu Borgir drummer Nick Barker. Barker's tenure was brief, as visa problems prevented him from working in the US, and he was replaced by Paul Bostaph.
Current Line Up:
Chuck Billy - Vocals
Eric Peterson - Guitar
Alex Skolnick - Guitar
Greg Christian - Bass
Paul Bostaph - Drums
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