Testament

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'The Forty-Year Anomaly Tour' is set to be announced shortly.

Testament's Chuck Billy discusses his KISS fandom, his family's musical background and key moments of the band's career.

A new wave of Welcome To Rockville bands have been unveiled as part of the drip tease line up reveal prior to it's full release next week.Joining the previously released group will be joined by The Prodigy, Testamen...

The full lineup reveal will be made next week.

Next year's event will take pl ace May 14th-16th.

Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival has announced another round of artists for its 2027 edition, scheduled for May 13th–16th at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH.The latest additions include:MeshuggahTestamentSylo...

Sonic Temple has announced the second wave of bands playing the Columbus, Ohio-based festival this year with yet another blend of metal and pop-punk bands. This new lot of bands […]

Six more artists were revealed over the weekend.

The public triumphs and private pains of Testament vocalist Chuck Billy are on full display in his new book, Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy. If you think you know the story of Chuck Billy, you’re not even close to the ground-shaking truth. Co-written with Dave Erickson, the memoir is built as two interlocking testaments. The Old Testament goes back to the birth of Bay Area thrash, the formation of Testament, and the chaos of becoming one of the genre’s defining voices. The New Testament is more personal: in 2001, at the age of 38, Billy was blindsided by a diagnosis of germ cell seminoma, a rare form of testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and heart. He draws on his Native American and Mexican-American heritage, spiritual healers, and visions — along with the fierce support of the metal community — to tell the story of his fight and his recovery. At the center of that community was the Thrash of the Titans benefit concert held in San Francisco, California, in the summer of 2001. Organized by friends of Billy, the show brought together Bay Area peers like Exodus, Death Angel, Vio-lence, Forbidden, Sadus and Heathen, alongside Anthrax, S.O.D. and Flotsam and Jetsam. The night was headlined by a reunited Legacy, the predecessor to Testament, with former guitarist Alex Skolnick back in the overall fold for the first time since 1992. The show turned old rivals into brothers and helped spark a genre revival while keeping Billy in the fight. Holding My Breath features a foreword by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and an afterword by Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe, two of metal’s most revered voices bearing witness to Billy’s legacy. It promises both an insider’s account of thrash’s rise and a deeply human look at mortality, cultural identity, and chosen family. It’s a gift to lifelong Testament fans and to anyone who has faced the unthinkable and refused to let go. We sat down with Billy to dig a little deeper into his story, the upcoming book, and what it means to be resilient as all hell. You structured the new book in two halves – one covers Testament’s rise in the Bay Area thrash scene, and the other half covers your cancer diagnosis and recovery. What do you think this dual structure adds to the storytelling?Chuck Billy Well, we didn’t really put it together until we started the book. When we started, we didn’t have a title. We were just going to tell the story, and we knew we were going to get to the cancer part. But for me, talking through it was very therapeutic, and I connected a lot of dots by doing the book. That was probably the most interesting part for me: seeing how all the different things happened for a reason, or at the right place at the right time. I never really wanted to do a book, because I’m [a] private guy and never really wanted to share that. But it’s been 25 years since I survived cancer. I had a great 25 years of Testament after beating it. I see the whole world differently, and I’m still getting the opportunity to tour. So, it definitely was a different Chuck. When we started putting the book together, that’s when it was like, “You know what? Holding My Breath, that might be a good title.” That’s where my story starts: a stubborn kid, eight months old, holding his breath. He figured out that by holding his breath and passing out, he got a reaction from somebody. I don’t know what I wanted or needed at eight months old, but I was doing that. I think that set the pace for who I was going to be in life, because I’ve always been that stubborn kid holding my ground. But after talking through the book, I almost look at it like, maybe that childhood prepared me for that battle with cancer? I was diagnosed at 38, thinking, “This is it, wow. It’s going to happen.” And then somehow the world had better plans. A real estate agent knocking on my door and selling my house really set off the chain of events that got me through it. So, after talking through it, I realized there are two Chucks, two stories. But most importantly, [there’s] the one part of the story where they threw the benefit show and a lot of the Bay Area bands came back: Exodus, Death Angel, Heathen, Violence, Forbidden. All the bands that weren’t around anymore came back together for that one show and performed their asses off. It was great, and they’re still doing things today. It even brought me back to Testament. If that show hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have jammed again with Alex or Louie [Clemente, original Testament drummer] or Greg [Christian, original Testament bassist]. There was never going to be that opportunity except for this show. It was such a big thing for the Bay Area, and for me and my band. I was supposed to go at that age and should have just passed — the tumor might have ruptured, so on. I probably would have passed at 38 just like I thought I was supposed to, but somehow I got through it. So, there’s a story to be told there, and something to be documented. I noticed there was mention of spiritual healers in the public relations material for the book. What did that offer that traditional medicine didn’t?Well, I don’t have an answer. People came to me for answers after I beat cancer, and I don’t have one. I just know what I had to do to get through it. A positive, strong mindset definitely helps big time. I was doing chemo, and I was very fortunate to not get ill. I lost all my hair, but I never really got ill from it. I seem to have gotten through it in that sense. But then there’s the whole story about my friend Nancy telling me, after a show in LA, that she’d had a dream that me and Charlie [a Native American healer] were sitting around a fire, putting on war paint and about to go into battle together. I’m kind of like, “Ok, we’re partying at the Rainbow. Whatever, Nancy. Let’s order some more drinks.” And then Charlie showed up at my house unannounced and gave me a healing. It was a very strong healing, and probably the most important one, because he predicted what was going to happen — the wind and my spirit guide and all that. Once I started going down that path, it kept me mentally focused away from what else I was doing. I was on this path, and I was going to get a positive result. That’s just the way I am. And again, holding my breath, I was just being the stubborn guy, trying to get my way and get through this the way I knew how. That’s how I got through the whole thing. Especially the Native part of it, because it was so unbelievable and unreal. It made me look at spirituality, religion, all that, a little bit differently, because of the things I saw and experienced during that. So it was pretty heavy, man. The book features a foreword by Rob Halford and an afterword by Randy Blythe. Was it intentional to have a classic heavy-metal singer right up front, and then one of the newer stars at the end? That feels weird to say, because Lamb of God has been around for 20-something years – but you get it.The thought was there at the beginning. We started thinking about who was going to do the foreword and afterword, but I put it off as long as I could. The publishers were like “Hey, did you ever talk to Rob and Randy?” And I’d say, “Oh man,” and put it off, because you don’t want the rejection. Then I finally said, “Ok, I’ve got to do it, it’s do or die.” I [asked] and both said they’d be into doing it. Rob’s came back first and blew me away. It almost brought tears to my eyes. It was the right choice, because Rob Halford and Judas Priest played a big part in my life. That was the band I cut school to play guitar to, learning every Judas Priest riff because I wanted to play guitar like KK [Downing]. That was my band. And then to get to perform and tour with Priest years later… There was no other choice [for the foreword]. Maybe Ronnie James Dio if he [had been] around, but that’s probably it. And then Randy… After my cancer illness, Testament got to tour with Lamb of God and newer bands. We became friends, and it made sense for Randy to be the guy. What do you hope people take away from the book?I really want them to know that stubborn kid, the big kid on the block. I don’t want to say bully, but some people could say that. That kid who made his way to the front of the band Testament was still acting stubborn in Testament — I did that for many years. I’ve finally been able to breathe a little easier, especially over the last couple of records. Things have loosened up a lot, and I think because of it, we’ve made two really great records. The last one [2025’s Para Bellum], as far as the songwriting goes, we really stretched out and tried something that felt great. It was challenging for me, vocally, because I didn’t challenge the riffs like I used to. Again, holding my breath, I said, “Just give them to me and I’m going to do my best.” It put me in a very uncomfortable spot, but I think it forced me to get creative and try new things. I found some new voices and textures to put on the record, which for me, 40 years later, making records and still finding new things to do, I thought was very cool. It’s like, “Wow, this is something new for us.” And in the end, we were like, “Those songs came out very different, but very good.” Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy is out November 10th via Permuted Press. You can pre-order the book now in Revolver’s shop.

Testament vocalist Chuck Billy has announced three events surrounding the release of his upcoming memoir, Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck Billy.Pre-order Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck...

TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy's memoir, "Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck Billy", is due on November 10, 2026 via Permuted Press. Co-written with Dave Erickson, "Holding My Breath" features a foreword by Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST) and an afterword by Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD) — two of...

Jose Mangin, Brian Posehn and more will be involved.

In a new interview with the She Shreds With Rasan podcast, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy spoke about the band's musical evolution, from TESTAMENT's debut album, 1987's "The Legacy" to the group's latest effort, "Para Bellum", which came out in 2025. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well...

In a new interview with Stig Gøran Nordahl of Norway's Metal Express Radio, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy confirmed that there are plans for him and his bandmates to release a remixed version of their fourth album, 1990's "Souls Of Black". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Me and [TESTAM...

In a recent interview with Jack Mangan and Mark Pruett of S.L.A.M. Support Life And Music, TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick spoke about how the advent of social media has made it possible for bands and musicians to build an audience without record deals. "Social media, it's been around a while now...

The rock and metal drum influencer managed to correctly identify numerous tracks prior.

Nearly 11 months after the release of Para Bellum, Testament frontman Chuck Billy confirmed in a recent interview on the 'Appetite For Distortion' podcast that the band is planning to enter the studio next year to begin recording their next album for a late 2027 or early 2028 release.

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In a new interview with the Appetite For Distortion podcast, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy spoke about a possible follow-up to the band's "Para Bellum" album, which came out last October via Nuclear Blast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Writing with [TESTAMENT guitarist] Eric [Peters...