Testament singer Chuck Billy compared the band’s first album with their latest record and said their sound could belong to two different bands.
“`A guest on the podcast «She Shreds With Rasan», Billy talked about how Testament’s music changed from «The Legacy» in 1987 to «Para Bellum» in 2025. «It’s a totally different universe», he said, explaining that back then it was a bunch of young guys making thrash metal as they saw it as a then-new genre, while on «Para Bellum», with new drummer Chris Dovas, the band follows the pulse of the times — especially on the drums.
Tuning played a big part too. At first they didn’t know what suited them, while on «Para Bellum» they have found a tuning that fits his voice. So «The Legacy» sounds much higher, and «Para Bellum» warmer, deeper and more aggressive. «If you put them side by side, you might understand that it’s the same band, but you’ll definitely say it’s definitely a different band», he commented.
Billy also mentioned Testament’s influence on younger bands, many of whose members were born after «The Legacy» came out. «Metal is like a weed. You can’t kill it», he said, and added that he likes seeing how the music moves forward, recalling the chain that started from punk rock and led to thrash.
«Para Bellum» is Testament’s 14th studio album and was released on October 10, 2025 by Nuclear Blast. It is their first record with Dovas on drums, who took the place of Dave Lombardo, after having played with them at some American shows. The production was handled by Billy and guitarist Eric Peterson with Juan Urteaga as co-producer, the mixing was done for the first time on a Testament record by Jens Bogren, and the cover was painted again by Eliran Kantor. The line-up also includes guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Steve DiGiorgio.
The album reached No. 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart and No. 9 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, with first singles «Infanticide A.I.» and «Shadow People».
Testament formed in the San Francisco area in the early 1980s, initially under the name Legacy, and took the name Testament shortly before putting out «The Legacy» in 1987 through Megaforce and Atlantic.
See also: Testament: Alex Skolnick on the negative side of social media and Anthrax: Frank Bello on «Cursum Perficio».
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/chuck-billy-on-testaments-musical-evolution-over-last-four-decades-its-totally-a-different-universe-thats-for-sure
