CHUCK BILLY Says DAVE LOMBARDO Has Expressed Interest In Playing On Next TESTAMENT Studio Album

TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy talked about the return of drummer Dave Lombardo to the group’s ranks all through an interview earlier this week with the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station.

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An genuine member of thrash metal legends SLAYER, Lombardo was the customer drummer on TESTAMENT‘s 1999 studio album “The Gathering”, which moreover marked the first time the band labored with then-up-and-coming British producer/engineer Andy Sneap.

Requested concerning the potential of Lombardo caring throughout the writing and recording of TESTAMENT‘s subsequent studio album, Chuck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “All of it’s decided by Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist]; he’s the place to start of what we do. So, chatting with him, he’s, like, ‘Man, I’ve obtained so many riffs.’ He’s ready to place in writing one different report, which is good. And I really feel hopefully bringing Dave in and only a few new blood and someone to push him a bit of bit bit… ‘Set off I really feel Dave, actually, as soon as we did ‘The Gathering’ report… Eric‘s always been the one who’s programmed the drums on a drum machine and truly labored out the songs after which provided them to the drummers, the place I really feel on that particular report Dave merely said, ‘Dude, merely play.’ And he merely jumped in they normally merely started jamming and started merely creating like that. So there was one factor to that the place Eric really focused on the guitar work in its place of getting to stress regarding the drums. And I really feel hopefully him and Dave can start creating some cool magic by merely jamming as soon as extra and see what happens.”

Chuck continued: “After we first obtained [Dave] once more and talked about getting once more on tour and blah blah blah, [we said] ‘What about doing one different report?’ And the very very first thing, he’s, like, ‘Dude, might you consider one different report that we wrote collectively?’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah.’ [Laughs] ‘So let’s do that.’

“I really feel [Dave is] down [for doing a studio album with TESTAMENT],” Billy added. “I’m not holding my breath that Dave merely is in TESTAMENT solely nevertheless we’re gonna ought to type of maneuver spherical what happens. Nonetheless then as soon as extra, that’s the begin of the connection. We might be busy enough and he might merely be happy enough merely working with us and it actually works out. So we’re merely type of taking it ultimately at a time, one tour at a time. Everyone knows he’s gonna be with us for the next three excursions — everyone knows that for sure — so we’ll see what happens after that.”

Earlier this month, Lombardo suggested SiriusXM‘s Liquid Metal that he reached out to the TESTAMENT camp the equivalent day that the band launched it was splitting with its longtime drummer Gene Hoglan.

“I was nonetheless asleep, and my partner, she merely said, ‘Hey, Gene merely left TESTAMENT,’” Dave recalled. “And she or he’s been always telling me, ‘Man, I cannot sit up for you guys to get collectively for that ‘Gathering’ reunion.’ ‘Set off we had been talking about this two and a half, three years prior to now — sooner than the pandemic. And so I immediately — I didn’t even get my completely different eye open and I was texting Chuck. I said, ‘Hey, man, what’s going on on?’ I have no idea exactly what I mentioned in my textual content material, nevertheless it was fairly easy, ‘Hey, what’s occurring?’ And he immediately known as me once more. And I take into accout Tiffany [Chuck‘s wife] was on the phone; Chuck was on the phone. We had been, like, ‘Hey.’ It was an superior come-together second, like, ‘Hey, proper right here we go. That’s the second now we have been prepared for.’”

Dave went on to say that the timing was correct for his return to TESTAMENT.

“‘The Gathering’ reunion didn’t ought to happen putting Gene out, separating Gene and saying, ‘Gene, we’re gonna go along with Dave for a while now.’ Nothing like that occurred,” he said. “This occurred organically. And it occurred at a time the place my completely different bands, two of the bands that I’ve, MR. BUNGLE and DEAD CROSS, [Mike] Patton sings in them and he’s making an attempt to get healthful and is taking a bit of bit hiatus. And SUICIDAL TENDENCIES hasn’t been touring loads at present. So that leaves me with an entire lot of little odd duties proper right here and there that I work on in my free time. So it merely felt just like the exact second.

“I do know it could be deceiving because of I am in so many alternative bands, nevertheless there’s 24 hours in a day and I solely sleep eight hours, or seven to eight hours, so that leaves me 16 completely different hours,” he outlined. “And I don’t take Saturdays and Sundays off. So it was a no brainer.”

Chuck said that he was surprised to take heed to from Dave so shortly after TESTAMENT made the data of its reduce up with Gene public.

“Correct when it occurred, it was inside minutes after the announcement,” Billy recalled. “And Dave doesn’t take into accout, nevertheless [his text message to me was] merely ‘Lombardo?’ That was the textual content material. I’m, like, ‘You might be shitting me. Tiffany, Lombardo merely wrote me, ‘Lombardo?” I known as him instantly. I said, ‘Hey, dude, what’s occurring?’ He was, like, ‘Dude, I heard the data.’ I’m, like, ‘Dude, I’d have known as you instantly, nevertheless I merely thought it was type of far-fetched so to type of jam because of I do know you might be almost definitely pretty busy with all the other duties taking place.’ And he was, like, ‘No. I’ve obtained an enormous opening and I wish to get once more.’ And we talked about ‘The Gathering’, doing that when extra. And proper right here we’re — it is likely to be a actuality to get to play ‘The Gathering’ like we spoke of.”

“The Gathering” was extensively considered to be an enchancment over 1997’s “Demonic”, an album that seen Billy make use of a further guttural mannequin of vocals and was launched at a time when thrash acts as TESTAMENT had fallen out of favor.

Hoglan initially carried out drums on “Demonic”, nevertheless didn’t stick spherical prolonged enough to do any touring with the band. He formally joined TESTAMENT in 2011 and carried out on the group’s closing three albums: 2012’s “Darkish Roots Of Earth”, 2016’s “Brotherhood Of The Snake” and 2020’s “Titans Of Creation”.

TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL carried out the one 2021 date of “The Bay Strikes Once more Tour” closing November on the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. The gig handed off decrease than two months after the three bands shared the stage on the Aftershock pageant in Sacramento.

“The Bay Strikes Once more Tour” was initially scheduled to kick off on October 6 on the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit sooner than concluding in Oakland. The tour has since been rescheduled to occur in April and Would possibly 2022.

{Photograph} credit score rating: Stephanie Cabral