Testament (band)

Testament
Testament performing in 2017
Background information
Also known as	Legacy (1983–1986)
Origin	Berkeley, California, U.S.
Genres	Thrash metal
Discography	Testament discography
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Atlantic Megaforce Spitfire Burnt Offerings Inc. Nuclear Blast
Spinoffs	Dragonlord Dublin Death Patrol Hatriot Metal Allegiance
Members	Eric Peterson Chuck Billy Alex Skolnick Steve Di Giorgio Chris Dovas
Past members	Greg Christian Derrick Ramirez Mike Ronchette Louie Clemente Steve "Zetro" Souza Glen Alvelais Paul Bostaph James Murphy John Tempesta Jon Dette Chris Kontos Jon Allen Steve Smyth Mike Chlasciak Nick Barker Gene Hoglan Dave Lombardo
Website	testamentlegions.com

Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California.^[1] 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 frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had left to replace Paul Baloff in Exodus. Peterson and Billy are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums. The band has released thirteen studio albums (one of which is a collection of re-recorded songs), four live albums, five compilation albums, thirteen singles and three DVDs. They are estimated to have sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era,^[2][3] and over 14 million copies worldwide as of 2016.^[4]

Testament is often credited as one of the most popular and influential bands of the thrash metal scene,^[5][6][7] as well as one of the leaders of the second wave of the genre of the late 1980s,^[8][9] and they are considered a significant member of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal", alongside Exodus, Death Angel, Lȧȧz Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence.^[10][11] By the time they changed their name from Legacy to Testament in 1986, the band had assumed a stable lineup that included Billy, Peterson, Skolnick, and two other founding members, bassist Greg Christian and drummer Louie Clemente; it is often referred to as the "classic lineup" of Testament.^[12] They were one of the early thrash metal bands to sign to a major label, Atlantic Records, through which they released the band's first six studio albums. Their first three studio albums, The Legacy (1987), The New Order (1988) and Practice What You Preach (1989), cemented Testament's reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands, with the latter becoming their first to enter the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[13]

The band's next three albums – Souls of Black (1990), The Ritual (1992) and Low (1994) – saw similar success, with the first two charting highly on the Billboard 200, while The Ritual was supported by Testament's only charting US hit "Return to Serenity".^[13] Clemente and Skolnick had both left Testament by the end of 1992, and within the next decade, the band had endured many personnel changes that included guitarists Glen Alvelais, James Murphy, Steve Smyth and "Metal" Mike Chlasciak, bassists Derrick Ramirez (who was originally in Legacy as a guitarist) and Di Giorgio, and drummers Paul Bostaph, John Tempesta, Jon Dette, Chris Kontos, Gene Hoglan, Dave Lombardo, Steve Jacobs and Jon Allen. In 2001, at around the same time Billy was diagnosed with germ cell seminoma, Testament reunited with Souza, Skolnick and Tempesta for the album of re-recorded material First Strike Still Deadly. Following Billy's recovery from cancer in 2002, Testament resumed activity, and their "classic lineup" briefly reunited in 2005, resulting in the live album Live in London; however, Skolnick and Christian would rejoin the band permanently, the latter remaining until 2014. Testament's popularity was revived with the albums The Formation of Damnation (2008), Dark Roots of Earth (2012), Brotherhood of the Snake (2016) and Titans of Creation (2020), all entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200,^[13] and they have continued to tour consistently.^[3] The band is currently working on new material for their fourteenth studio album, which is tentatively due for release in 2025.^[14]