Mostly teaming a fast tempo with aggression, thrash is a metal subgenre that has its fair share of great, epic groups. The "Big Four" immediately come to mind, comprised of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, though many need to remember that this isn't where the subgenre's greatness ends. Of those groups that don't figure amongst the "Big Four", two exist which several fans (but not all) claim should figure amongst that group. One is Exodus. And the other is Hit The Lights' focus for this specific installment: Testament. 2008's "The Formation Of Damnation" marked a return to form, and arguably deserved greater mainstream attention, attention that new releases by the likes of Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer enjoy.
Testament's ninth album "
The Formation Of Damnation" saw issue during April 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records, boasting artwork from
Eliran Kantor. In part, the group recorded the album with producer
Andy Sneap at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. "
The Formation Of Damnation" marked the return of original members
Greg Christian (bass), and
Alex Skolnick (guitars), whose last releases as a part of
Testament were 1994's "
Low" and 1992's "
The Ritual" respectively. Also, the record marks the inaugural
Testament album to be recorded with
Paul Bostaph, whose CV boasts stints with such heavyweight acts as
Slayer,
Exodus and
Forbidden. In its inaugural week of release, the full length debuted at number fifty-nine upon the Billboard 200 chart, shifting 11, 900 copies. On 16th June 2008 at Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Awards ceremony, "
The Formation Of Damnation" won an award for "
Best Album", beating
Children Of Bodom's "
Blooddrunk",
Atreyu's "
Lead Sails Paper Anchor",
Avenged Sevenfold's eponymous album, and
Down's "
Down III: Over The Under". Later that year, the magazine named the album as the fourth greatest of 2008.
Throughout August 2008, Testament toured North America as part of the "Metal Masters Tour" with Heaven And Hell, Motörhead, and Judas Priest. February to March 2009 saw Testament unite with Judas Priest as touring partners once more, travelling across Europe alongside Megadeth as a part of "Priest Feast". During late July 2009, Testament embarked upon a tour of the United Kingdom, performing at Sheffield's Corporation, Glasgow's Garage, Newcastle's Academy, Bristol's Academy, London's Shepherds Bush Empire, and Birmingham's Academy.
On July 22nd at 14:00 GMT, Hit The Lights' Robert Gray telephoned Testament's tour manager, who subsequently handed the phone to guitarist Eric Peterson. Discussing the successor to "The Formation Of Damnation" amongst other topics, the act were due to perform that night in Newcastle, England at the Academy.
Eric Peterson: Hello. This is Eric.
UG: How are you Eric?
I'm doing good. How are you doing?
I'm ok. Would it be alright if I began the interview?
Yeah.
Thus far, how is Testament's July 2009 European tour going?
It's going great. Right now, we're touring England. All the touring we've done, opening for other bands, is paying off I think. A lot more people are coming out. It's been long, though (laughs). With 'The Formation of Damnation', we've been on the road for a long time.
Do you prefer conducting a headlining set?
I prefer to play every night, no matter what it is. I don't like a lot of days off.
Is conducting supporting performances and headlining performances different then? Testament played a London date during March 2009, and prior to that, the group toured the United Kingdom during November 2009 as a part of 'Priest Feast'.
Yeah. They're both cool. I prefer headlining, probably, as you get more time to play. Half hour isn't that long to play.
"I prefer to play every night, no matter what it is. I don't like a lot of days off."
Yeah, it was pretty hard. We came up with a pretty good one though, which slapped people in the face, and woke people up. We have ninety songs, so to pick six of them is difficult.
Upon Testament's July 2009 European tour, what set list is the group performing?
We're performing some of the more well known songs, a lot of the title tracks. Then, we're performing three tracks from 'The Formation of Damnation'. One of them we didn't play the last time around, which was "The Persecuted Won't Forget". We threw in "The Legacy" (from 1990's 'Souls of Black'), which is a slower piece, and has heavy sections here and there. Yeah, man. It's a pretty good set, with old versus new.
So you really enjoy this specific set list's diversity?
Yeah. We have many songs that go over well with the crowd, I think.
In light of how long Testament has been together, did it feel extremely good to receive an overwhelming reception for 'The Formation of Damnation'?
Yeah. It was good timing. Everyone said thrash was back, and we had just performed at a lot of festivals. Also, we had just toured around the world with this so-called reunion - although me and Chuck have been around for the whole time, but we went with it. We came out with a new album, and I think it was the right choice of direction since it has the older style mixed with the new style. It received good reviews, and got people to embrace us.
'The Formation of Damnation' was issued in April 2008. Looking back, what are your thoughts upon that album?
'The Formation of Damnation' sounds great. I hadn't listened to the album for awhile; I put it on the other day, and there's a lot of songs on there that I wish we could play (laughs). Likely next time, we'll play some of the other songs from 'The Formation of Damnation'. I'm happy with it.
For some concerts, Testament has played an album's entire tracks live. With the next album, would the group consider playing all of its track live during some concerts?
We did that in London the last time we were here. We played our first two albums (1987's 'The Legacy' and 1988's 'The New Order') in their entirety, and thought "Why didn't we do the last album in its entirety?", which would've been cool. It felt as though we relied on our old material - our new material is just as good, if not better.
So with Testament's next album, the group would consider performing all of its track live for some concerts?
Probably not. If people wanted us to though, I'm sure we'd look into it. We didn't intend to perform the first two records' tracks live, but it got brought up in a way, and then we decided to do it. You never know.
Are there plans for another Testament DVD release?
Actually, yes. We actually have a director coming to our London show to talk to us, and he's a really well known DVD director for that type of material. He's probably slightly above our expectations, as he's handled releases by a lot of the bigger bands. We'd love to get him onboard though, and are talking about doing something. Yeah, we need a new one. 'Live in London' is good, but with 'The Formation of Damnation', there's so many songs that were left out. This lineup is pretty strong now, and we're pretty solid. That'd be pretty cool.
So plans for a new Testament DVD are in their early stages?
Yeah. We are actually plotting (laughs).
So Testament doesn't have a specific concert in mind to film?
There's a couple of different areas we're thinking of, but we're going to wait and see what makes more sense.
Would you prefer to film a headlining show, or a festival performance?
No. We're looking at a headlining show. Festivals are hit and miss - if it's not your show. You're thrown up there. They're fun though, and the crowds are great.
In June, you released a signature guitar, Old Skull V, through Dean Guitars. Could you tell me about that?
Yeah, I have a signature out. Old Skull V is a great guitar for the price, and has a lot of great features that you wouldn't get for that price; triple binding, neckthru guitar, neckthru neck, neckthru body, whatever, Pearl block inlays, comes with an 81 and an 85 EMG, has Grover tuners, and has a Tune-o-matic bridge. The Old Skull is a pretty good guitar man, and plays really well I think. The artwork isn't too much. It isn't like an album cover or something - it's our old skull that we've had from the beginning.
What do you particularly like about Dean Guitars?
The craftsmanship is great, and has a really home made feel. It has a good balance, the necks feel great, and they just sound great. A Les Paul has just has that sound, and a Dean guitar is similar to that, but has a little bit more bite. Yeah, they're great.
In recent interviews, Testament's members have discussed plans for a new album.
When we return home from touring, we'll take possibly three weeks off. We have a new studio, which we've renovated. We're anxious to get in there, and will start working on some new material in October likely. We have a lot of ideas left over from 'The Formation of Damnation', and some new ideas kicking around. Yeah, we're ready to go. We won't wait seven years. Testament is really well primed right now to release another album. We haven't been on a long record-record-record type cycle, and the last one was a long haul. We're ready to go.
When discussing Testament's forthcoming album, you said "all the work" the group is "doing right now is setting up for a bigger idea". By that, what did you mean?
Everyone said "Ok, here's Testament's comeback record. Ok, this is it". 'The Formation of Damnation', in theory, set up for our next album. All this hard work will go somewhere, as opposed to us just doing all this work for nothing, and then taking two years off, and getting back in line. With the music business, you get what you get when you can get it (laughs).
"We came out with a new album, and I think it was the right choice of direction since it has the older style mixed with the new style."
Yeah. Our ultimate goal would be just to play bigger places, and have a bigger PA with better sounds so people can feel the whole ideology of what we're about. That's as opposed to being stuck in a small, little, two hundred to three hundred seater club. When we play bigger places, then you have the idea of what we're about
Which musical direction will Testament's forthcoming album venture in?
It'll keep many of the same ideas that we've had, mixing the old style in with the newer style. Of course as band, and being musicians, we'll experiment with new things. So, I would say more of everything (laughs). Heavier. More melodic. We have a slow song we'll record this time around, which we haven't recorded in a long time. We're pretty excited about this one - it's a pretty killer song.
Would that be a song you've mentioned during interviews which will feature strings?
Yeah, we'll try that if it works. It isn't recorded yet, and I'm not saying it will use strings. It's an idea, a vision that could be.
Why do you feel strings would particularly work for that specific song?
The song is very open and simple, so strings would add a lot of atmosphere I think, and place you more into the mindset of what the song is about, and take you there quicker. Just highlights, and shimmers, and things to pull you in.
In terms of production, are tracks of that nature difficult to work on? Sometimes, you can overproduce a track that features strings.
I've experimented with choir and strings with Dragonlord on a more intense level, though I think I have a pretty good idea in terms of production and arrangement. It'll be good.
Has writing for Dragonlord helped you feel that you can experiment slightly more with Testament's music?
Definitely. Writing for Dragonlord has definitely opened up some doors for me in terms of guitars, and everything. Yeah, definitely.
For Testament's forthcoming album, will you work with Alex Skolnick more?
That's the plan. We'll see what happens. I know Alex' schedule will be busy again with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We've talked about getting together, flying in and out, and working on material. I just happened to have more ideas when we recorded 'The Formation of Damnation'.
When you work with Alex, do songs venture into a different direction?
Totally, as he comes up with things that I wouldn't have thought of, or vice versa. Those are easily our best songs, as they have collaboration.
Perhaps Alex leans towards a certain musical direction, and you tend to lean towards another musical direction?
Yeah. Sometimes, it doesn't work out. People will only hear what works out, though.
Do you prefer collaborating, or writing alone?
I like both, actually. Both are nice. When I become hot about something that I really like, I like to work on it myself as I want it to be the way I envision it. Then, there's the other side where you come up with something, or have an idea from something else that you've heard, or that someone else is playing. It takes you somewhere you wouldn't have gone.
As you said, some parts for new tracks were written during writing sessions for 'The Formation of Damnation', and you also have some new ideas. Are these new ideas slightly different musically in comparison to ideas left over from the last album?
Yeah. They're an extension of what we're doing. For whatever reason, timing wise, we couldn't figure out what to do with the left over riffs on 'The Formation of Damnation'. Even though they were good riffs, we just said "Ok, let's save this. This is a good idea, but it isn't its time yet". I've had songs like that; I have riffs still from 'The New Order', little pieces of the puzzle that wouldn't fit in anything anywhere, but finally fit in on our last album. I have tapes from when I was playing in '83. I'm like "Wow, that's kind of cool" (laughs).
When you listen to these old tapes from the eighties, do they spawn ideas for new tracks?
Definitely, yeah.
Is there a specific number of songs that will feature on Testament's forthcoming album, or has that not been decided yet?
It hasn't been decided yet, though I would imagine we'll shoot to record ten tracks for our next album.
"Testament is really well primed right now to release another album."
Not right yet, no. I have a couple floating around, but nothing concrete.
Have any lyrics been written for these new songs?
No.
In terms of lyrics, are there plans to address specific topics with these new songs?
That often depends on the music. After Chuck is comfortable with the way a song is arranged, lyrics usually come at the end. I've never written a song where the lyrics came first. The music has always come first, but that'd be kind of cool.
You made reference to a new studio earlier in the interview. Does that mean Testament's forthcoming album will have greater production?
I'm just shooting to record something that has good production qualities, like 'The Gathering' (1999) and 'The Formation of Damnation'. Andy Sneap is sonically good. His sound isn't dated, and just sounds like Testament. Nice and crisp, tight, and sonically, it just hits you good (laughs). The studio I mentioned is just the same studio we've always recorded at. We've added a control room, and some other things. This time around, recording should be much more fun, as well as more comfortable.
Is Testament aiming towards a 2010 release date for its forthcoming album?
I think so. That could happen, I think.
Would that be late 2010, or early 2010?
I'm not really sure yet. We'll have to wait and see around December what happens. I'd like to release our next album in May, or June, though you never know. It might be released in September 2010, depending on how everything falls into place.
What do you feel the future holds for Testament?
We've had a lot of good luck, and we've had a lot of bad luck. Life's hard, but Testament is harder. We have to keep swinging at it. We still have the fire in us, and I'm still searching for that perfect metal riff. Hopefully, we can find something on the next record like that. The last will and testament (laughs).
So as you said, Testament certainly still has a lot of fire?
Oh yeah, especially with the new, original lineup. Right now though, I'd have to say we're pretty tired (laughs). We've performed almost a hundred and eighty shows this year, so we're just like "Urrghh".
Do you have a message for the fans of Testament?
Yeah. Thank you for the support you've given us. We're excited to be back with this lineup. If you haven't bought 'The Formation of Damnation' yet, and are still wondering, go buy it - it's killer. We'll be back in 2010 with a new record.
Ok. Thanks for the interview Eric. It's really appreciated.
Thank you.
All the best, and take care.
You too. Bye.
Bye.
Interview by Robert Gray
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
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Great badn though, both the new and old stuff.
