THE BEAST

On September 30,   TESTAMENT   frontman   Chuck Billy   spoke to Canada's   The Metal Voice   about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2020's   "Titans Of Creation"   album. He said: "October 15th is the last show of [the summer/fall 2022 leg of   'The Bay Strikes Back Tour'   with   EXODUS , and   DEATH ANGEL ], so we'll work [on new material] right up to Christmas and then right after New Year's we'll get right back at it. I know [guitarists]   Eric   [ Peterson ] and   Alex   [ Skolnick ] have been working and jamming together, and I hear there's an epic song that's been created. I haven't heard it yet, but I hear it's epic. That's all they say — 'it's epic.' I'm, like, 'Okay.' That's the word they throw at me. But we'll see."

As for the musical direction of the new   TESTAMENT   songs,   Chuck   said: "I think   TESTAMENT   will always stay in the vein of   TESTAMENT   and not not follow trends or follow what's hip today. Even though there's a lot of great new bands I love and I go, 'Man, that's great. I really love it.' But we can't change; we wanna kind of stay   TESTAMENT . I hear it from fans when you talk to 'em. They always say, 'Thank you for being who you are for so long.' So we just have to continue that."

Last month,   TESTAMENT   recruited drummer   Chris Dovas   ( SEVEN SPIRES ) to play the first six dates of the summer/fall leg of   "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" . He was filling in for   Lombardo , who was unable to make the gigs due to a scheduling conflict with the   MISFITS .

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour"   will conclude on October 15 in San Jose, California.

An original member of thrash metal legends   SLAYER ,   Lombardo   was the guest drummer on   TESTAMENT 's 1999 studio album   "The Gathering" , which also marked the first time the band worked with then-up-and-coming British producer/engineer   Andy Sneap .

Lombardo   rejoined   TESTAMENT   in February following the departure of   Gene Hoglan .

TESTAMENT   released a   "Titans Of Creation"   video album on September 9 via   Nuclear Blast . The limited-edition collectible features performance videos of all the tracks on the record. The footage was compiled at a soundstage in San Francisco and was edited into music video-style clips that were made available on Blu-ray accompanying the CD with bonus photos and liner notes plus a button and sticker in a longbox. Staying true to the record, the performances feature   Gene Hoglan   behind the kit. This version is limited to 6,500 units worldwide.

"Titans Of Creation"   was produced by   Billy   and   Peterson   while   Juan Urteaga   of   Trident Studios   handled co-producing, recording and engineering.   Andy Sneap   was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album.   Eliran Kantor   stepped up once again to create a new masterpiece of artwork for the cover of this release.

Via Blabbermouth