Testament

Testament formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983 under the name Legacy, started by guitarist Eric Peterson and his cousin Derrick Ramirez. Drummer Louie Clemente, singer Steve “Zetro” Souza and bassist Greg Christian joined. In 1986 Souza left for Exodus and suggested Chuck Billy as his replacement, and the band renamed itself Testament because several other groups already used the name Legacy.

The debut The Legacy came out in April 1987 on Megaforce, distributed by Atlantic, and was followed by The New Order in 1988. Practice What You Preach (1989) was their first album to reach the top 100 of the Billboard 200, peaking at number 77, and Souls of Black followed in 1990. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick played his last show with the band on Halloween 1992, and several line-up changes followed.

In 2001 Chuck Billy was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. The same year Testament released First Strike Still Deadly, a re-recording album of songs from their first two records. After Billy’s recovery the band resumed activity in 2002, and the classic line-up briefly reunited in 2005.

The Formation of Damnation (2008), released through Nuclear Blast, was Skolnick’s first studio album with the band in sixteen years. Dark Roots of Earth (2012) debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, their highest position. Gene Hoglan drummed from 2012 to 2022, Dave Lombardo rejoined in 2022 and left in 2023, and Chris Dovas took over the same year. After Brotherhood of the Snake (2016) and Titans of Creation (2020), Para Bellum, their first album with Dovas and mixed by Jens Bogren, was released through Nuclear Blast on 10 October 2025.

Current line-up: Chuck Billy (vocals), Eric Peterson (guitar), Alex Skolnick (guitar), Steve Di Giorgio (bass), Chris Dovas (drums)