| Para Bellum | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 10, 2025 | |||
| Length | 50:24 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Testament chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Para Bellum | ||||
Para Bellum is the upcoming fourteenth studio album by the American thrash metal band Testament, due for release on October 10, 2025, through Nuclear Blast. [1] It will be the band's first studio album since Titans of Creation (2020), and their first one with drummer Chris Dovas.
As early as mid-2020, the members of Testament began discussing the possibility of making a fourteenth studio album. About a month after the release of Titans of Creation, frontman Chuck Billy spoke to former Exodus and Legacy frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza on his "Toxic Vault" video channel about the possibility of the band writing a potential follow-up album during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "We're not writing a record yet. I won't release what we're doing, but we are gonna write some stuff. Just to do something, not a record but maybe something just to have some singles." [3] In a July 2020 interview with Australia's Riff Crew, Billy commented on his take on the possibility of writing another Testament album during the pandemic, saying, "Well, if it is truly, as someone says, a two-year period, of course, we're gonna go write another record, and when it all settles, we'll have two records… And if it had to be that long, then, yeah, we would probably consider just writing another record." [4] Peterson reiterated Billy's comments the following month that the band could work on new material before beginning to tour in support of Titans of Creation. [5] In a March 2021 interview on Alive & Streaming, an internet podcast hosted by Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar, Billy confirmed that Peterson had begun writing new material for what could result in the next Testament album. [6]
On January 21, 2022, the band and longtime drummer Gene Hoglan announced on their respective social media accounts that he had once again left Testament to pursue "an exciting new chapter of [his] career and free agency, with all that it will entail." [7] On March 1, it was announced that drummer Dave Lombardo had rejoined the band in time for the North American leg of The Bay Strikes Back tour, which became Testament's first major outing with Lombardo, who had left the band before the 1999–2000 tour for The Gathering . [8] The band later discussed the possibility of recording a new album with Lombardo, [9] [10] [11] and Billy stated in September 2022 that the band would likely begin work on it after the conclusion of The Bay Strikes Back tour. [12] He later stated that he hoped they would begin recording their new album towards the end of 2023 for a 2024 release. [13] When asked in a June 2023 during their appearance at Hellfest when the album would be recorded, Peterson said, "Hopefully maybe October, November. If not, probably January, February. But we're shooting for this year — at the end of the year. I think I'll be done writing in September. So we just have to wait for vocals. Which can take a while. But we'll see what happens." [14] It was announced the same month that Testament had renewed their deal with Nuclear Blast for three more albums, and the label had acquired the rights to the band's first six studio albums for future reissues. [15] Work on the new album resumed in July 2023, with Peterson describing its direction as a combination of thrash, NWOBHM, "thrash black [and] heavy hard rock blues", [16] and it was announced nearly two weeks later that the songwriting process of the album had begun. [17] By December 2023, Testament had begun tracking their new album with mastering engineer Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound in Nashville, [18] [19] [20] but progress was slow, with Di Giorgio confirming in March 2024 that pre-production on the album had begun, [21] and Billy revealing in June that "most of the drums" were recorded. [22] [23] The band members later announced that their new album would not be released until 2025. [24] [25]
In April 2023, Lombardo announced that he would not be joining Testament throughout their 2023 tour dates, giving scheduling conflicts as the reason and expressing uncertainty that he would return to the band afterwards. [26] He was officially replaced by former Seven Spires drummer Chris Dovas, who had filled in for Lombardo for a few U.S. dates the previous fall. [27]
On August 19, 2025, Testament released the first single titled "Infanticide A.I." from their then-untitled fourteenth album, being streamed exclusively on SiriusXM Liquid Metal with Jose Mangin. [28] Two days later, they revealed Para Bellum as the title of their new album, which will be released on October 10, 2025. [1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For the Love of Pain" | 5:35 |
| 2. | "Infanticide A.I." | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Shadow People" | 5:45 |
| 4. | "Meant to Be" | 7:33 |
| 5. | "High Noon" | 3:52 |
| 6. | "Witch Hunt" | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Nature of the Beast" | 4:28 |
| 8. | "Room 117" | 4:18 |
| 9. | "Havana Syndrome" | 4:40 |
| 10. | "Para Bellum" | 6:30 |
| Total length: | 50:24 | |
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