Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup comprises rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since reunited with Skolnick, who had been out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy has been a member of Testament since 1986, when he replaced original singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had left to replace Paul Baloff in Exodus. He and Peterson are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums, with the latter being the only constant member overall.
Paul Steven Bostaph is an American drummer best known as a member of the thrash metal band Slayer, initially from 1992 to 2001, again from 2013 to 2019, and in 2024, after the reunion. His drumming career began in 1984 when he was 20 years old. In addition to Slayer, he has worked with bands such as Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic, Testament, and BlackGates. Metal-Rules.com describes Bostaph as "a true professional and one of the best drummers on today's metal music scene".
Forbidden is an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, but would change their name in 1987. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. After breaking up for the first time in 1997, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007, went into an indefinite hiatus in 2012, but reformed in 2023. The current line-up of the band is Norman Skinner (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), Steve Smyth (guitar) and Chris Kontos (drums).
Tenet is a heavy metal band formed as a side project by Jed Simon of Strapping Young Lad and Zimmers Hole.
Eugene Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine".
The Legacy is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on April 21, 1987.
Live at Eindhoven is a live EP by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released in 1987 via Megaforce Records for Europe in 1987 and the US in 1990. It was recorded at the Dynamo Open Air Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands on June 8, 1987.
Souls of Black is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on October 9, 1990.
Return to the Apocalyptic City is a live EP by American thrash metal band Testament, released in 1993. All tracks were recorded at the Hollywood Palladium, except for the last two; "Reign of Terror" was recorded during The New Order sessions in 1987–1988, but did not appear on that album; it did, however, surface as a B-side to the album's sole single "Trial by Fire". The closing track, "Return to Serenity", is a single edited version of the song, which appears on The Ritual.
Low is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on September 30, 1994 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature a new lineup, with guitarist James Murphy and drummer John Tempesta replacing Alex Skolnick and Louie Clemente respectively, and the last album with bassist Greg Christian until 2008's The Formation of Damnation.
Dragonlord is an American symphonic black metal band that was formed in 2001 as a side project by Eric Peterson and Steve Di Giorgio of Testament, and Steve Smyth of Nevermore. The band is a result of Eric Peterson's interest in darker music, and not being able to do that with Testament he formed Dragonlord. The band combines elements of black metal with some thrash guitar influences. Lyrical themes vary, either about the rage of a dragon, death, war, lost love, Satanic or otherwise anti-religious themes, or combinations.
Forbidden Evil is the debut album by American thrash metal band Forbidden, released in 1988. The title of the album refers to their original name before shortening it to Forbidden in 1987. The album was well received by both critics and fans and eventually became a cult classic.
The Spitfire Collection is a compilation album released in 2007 by Spitfire Records. The release consists of tracks from the Spitfire-era Testament titles Live at the Fillmore, Demonic, The Gathering, First Strike Still Deadly, and Live in London.
Glen Alvelais is an American heavy metal guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He was the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Forbidden and has also played in Testament.
The Gathering is the eighth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on June 8, 1999. It was the first release the band had done with Spitfire Records. Co-produced by band members, Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson, this was the first album featuring new musicians Steve DiGiorgio on bass guitar and Dave Lombardo on drums. Billy, Peterson and Lombardo, along with longtime Testament collaborator Del James, are also given composer credits on the album. It would also be the only Testament album for Lombardo, who had left the band not long after the release of The Gathering.
Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations, CD, CD/DVD and vinyl, with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, The Gathering (1999), First Strike Still Deadly (2001), and The Formation of Damnation (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". Dark Roots of Earth entered the Billboard 200 at number 12, Testament's highest position ever.
Dark Roots of Thrash is a double-disc live album and DVD by American thrash metal band Testament, released on October 15, 2013 through Nuclear Blast. The performance was recorded at The Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York on February 15, 2013. It was released on October 22, 2013 in Europe and on October 29, 2013 in the United States.
Brotherhood of the Snake is the twelfth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on October 28, 2016. It is the band's first studio recording with bassist Steve Di Giorgio since First Strike Still Deadly (2001). Brotherhood of the Snake also marks Testament's fifth collaboration with Andy Sneap, who had mixed and engineered all of their albums since The Gathering (1999) and produced Dark Roots of Earth (2012). The album debuted at number twenty on the Billboard 200 chart, making it Testament's second-highest-charting album in the US, behind Dark Roots of Earth, which peaked at number twelve four years earlier.
Titans of Creation is the thirteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on April 3, 2020. This album marked the first time since The Ritual (1992) that the band had recorded more than one album with the same lineup, though it would turn out to be their last to feature drummer Gene Hoglan, who left Testament for the second time in January 2022. Titans of Creation is also the band's first album to be co-produced by Juan Urteaga, who previously worked with Testament's two studio albums Dark Roots of Earth (2012) and Brotherhood of the Snake (2016).
