Testament (band) Increasing popularity (1988-1992) How did the band increase their popularity? In support of The New Order, Testament opened for Megadeth on their So Far, So Good...
When did they do that?
When did the band, Testament, increase their popularity?
Testament's second album, The New Order, was released in May 1988, and found the band continuing in a similar vein. The album was a minor success, peaking at number 136 on the Billboard 200, and managed to sell over 250,000 copies. In support of The New Order, Testament opened for Megadeth on their So Far, So Good... So What! tour in Europe, and toured the United States with the likes of Death Angel, Vio-Lence and Raven.  After touring in support of The New Order, the band headed back into the studio to record their third studio album Practice What You Preach. Released in August 1989, the album minimized the occult and gothic themes found in the lyrical content of their first two albums, instead focusing on real-life issues such as politics and corruption. Practice What You Preach performed better on the charts than The New Order, reaching at number 77 on the Billboard 200, and included the hit single, the title track, which saw extensive airplay on Headbangers Ball. Testament toured for nearly a year behind Practice What You Preach with several bands, including Annihilator, Wrathchild America, Mortal Sin, Nuclear Assault and Savatage. By 1990, the album had sold over 450,000 copies.  In October 1990, Testament released their fourth studio album Souls of Black. Although reviews were mixed, the album managed to sell respectably, in no doubt largely off the strength of the single title track, and saw the band perform on arena tours, including the European Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies. They also opened for Judas Priest on their Painkiller tour from October to December 1990, and Slayer on their Seasons in the Abyss tour from January to March 1991.  Attempting to reconnect with an audience distracted by the growing grunge movement, Testament released The Ritual in 1992. The Ritual saw a stylistic move away from thrash to a slower, slightly more traditional heavy metal sound. The Ritual peaked at 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's highest chart position at the time, and the power ballad "Return to Serenity" managed to receive radio airplay, peaking at number 22. In support of the album, Testament toured Europe and North America, headlining their own tours, as well as opening for Iron Maiden on their Fear of the Dark tour, and Black Sabbath on their Dehumanizer tour. However, the success of The Ritual did not put an end to the tensions within the band. CANNOTANSWER
Testament's second album, The New Order, was released in May 1988,
Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup comprises rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since been rejoined by one of its songwriters Skolnick, who was out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy has been a member of Testament since 1986, when he replaced original singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had joined Exodus as the replacement of Paul Baloff. He and Peterson are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums, with the latter being the only constant member overall.

Labeled as one of the "big six" of the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene (along with Exodus, Death Angel, Lååz Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence), Testament is often credited as one of the most popular and influential bands of the thrash metal scene, as well as one of the leaders of the second wave of the genre in the late 1980s. They have also been referred to as one of the "big eight" of thrash metal, along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel. The band has sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era and over 14 million copies worldwide. To date, Testament has released thirteen studio albums (one of which is a collection of re-recorded songs), four live albums, five compilation albums, twelve singles and three DVDs.

After signing to Atlantic Records in 1986, and changing their name from Legacy to Testament, they released their debut album The Legacy in 1987, followed a year later by The New Order (1988); both albums were acclaimed by critics and the press, including heavy metal-related publications. The band achieved mainstream popularity with its third album Practice What You Preach (1989), which was Testament's first album to climb up the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. A string of more successful albums were released during the early-to-mid-1990s, including Souls of Black (1990), The Ritual (1992) and Low (1994), with the first two also entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. After Atlantic dropped the band in 1995, Testament (who had at this point had begun to experiment with a death metal-influenced sound) continued to record and perform until their temporary hiatus in 2001, when Billy was diagnosed with cancer. By 2005, his cancer was in remission and Testament had resumed activity, which briefly saw a reunion of The Legacy lineup and member changes in the interim. Since Skolnick's return to the band, Testament has experienced a  resurgence of popularity, with two of their studio albums—Dark Roots of Earth (2012) and Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)—entering the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, and they have continued to tour consistently. The band released their latest studio album, Titans of Creation, on April 3, 2020. They are working on new material for their next studio album as of 2021.

History

Early years and first two albums (1983–1989)
The band was formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983 under the name Legacy by guitarist Eric Peterson and his cousin, guitarist Derrick Ramirez. They soon added drummer Louie Clemente, vocalist Steve Souza and bassist Greg Christian and began playing club shows with bands such as Slayer, Lȧȧz Rockit, Death Angel and others. Clemente left the band in 1985 and was replaced by drummer Mike Ronchette. Derrick Ramirez departed soon after and young guitarist Alex Skolnick, who had studied under Bay Area guitarist Joe Satriani, was brought into the band. Legacy had been writing original material since forming and released a self-titled, four-song demo in 1985. Steve Souza left the band in 1986 to join Exodus and was replaced by Chuck Billy at Souza's suggestion. Mike Ronchette also left the band, and former drummer Louie Clemente returned.

The band was signed to Megaforce Records in 1986 on the strength of the demo tape. While recording their first album, the band was forced to change their name to Testament (which, according to Maria Ferrero in the May 2007 issue of Revolver, was suggested by Billy Milano of S.O.D. and M.O.D.), because the "Legacy" name was already trademarked by a hotel R&B cover band. Legacy played their last show prior to this name change at The Stone in San Francisco on March 4, 1987.

Testament's debut album, The Legacy, was released in April 1987 on Megaforce Records, and also distributed by Atlantic. They received instant fame within thrash circles and were often compared with fellow Bay Area thrash pioneers Metallica. Thanks to this, and the regular rotation of their first-ever music video "Over the Wall" on MTV's Headbangers Ball, the band quickly managed to increase their exposure by heading out on successful American and European tours with Anthrax, who were supporting their Among the Living album. On this tour, the Live at Eindhoven EP was recorded. Testament also opened for Slayer as well as their labelmates Overkill, and Megadeth on their Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? tour.

Testament's second album, The New Order, was released in May 1988, and found the band continuing in a similar vein. The album was a minor success, peaking at number 136 on the Billboard 200, but managed to sell over 250,000 copies on the strength of the airplay of "Trial by Fire" and the cover of Aerosmith's Nobody's Fault" (through radio and television), as well as relentless touring schedules. In support of The New Order, Testament opened for Megadeth on their So Far, So Good... So What! tour in Europe, and toured the United States with the likes of Overkill, Voivod, Death Angel, Vio-Lence, Nuclear Assault, Sanctuary, Raven, Forbidden and Heathen. They also made a number of festival appearances in the summer of 1988, such as Metalfest in Milwaukee, Aardschokdag in The Netherlands, and replaced Megadeth for some dates on the European Monsters of Rock tour, also featuring Iron Maiden, Kiss, David Lee Roth, Great White and Anthrax. By the time The New Order tour ended in early 1989, Testament had not only cemented their reputation as one of the most acclaimed thrash metal acts, but had also graduated to headlining their own shows.

Commercial breakthrough (1989–1992)
Testament released their third studio album, Practice What You Preach, in August 1989. The album minimized the occult and gothic themes found in the lyrical content of their first two albums, instead focusing on real-life issues such as politics and corruption, and while staying true to its thrash metal roots, it saw the band drawing influences from traditional heavy metal, jazz fusion and progressive/technical metal. Practice What You Preach was a commercial breakthrough for Testament, reaching at number 77 on the Billboard 200, and it was accompanied by three singles (the title track, "The Ballad" and "Greenhouse Effect") that received significant airplay from AOR radio stations and MTV's Headbangers Ball, further helping raise the band's profile. Testament toured for almost a year behind Practice What You Preach with several bands, including Overkill, Annihilator, Wrathchild America, Mortal Sin, Xentrix, Nuclear Assault, Savatage, Flotsam and Jetsam, Mordred, Dark Angel and a then-relatively unknown Primus. Despite selling over 450,000 copies, the album has never been certified gold by the RIAA.

In October 1990, Testament released their fourth studio album Souls of Black. Although reviews were mixed, the album managed to sell respectably, in no doubt largely off the strength of the single title track, and saw the band perform on arena tours, including the European Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies. Testament supported Souls of Black with two North American tours, opening for Judas Priest on their Painkiller tour from October to December 1990, and Slayer on their Seasons in the Abyss tour from January to March 1991. They also toured Japan, and played shows with Anthrax and Sepultura. Shortly after completing the Souls of Black tour, the band released their first VHS documentary Seen Between the Lines, containing live clips recorded during the Souls of Black world tour, four promotional music videos and video interview segments.

Attempting to reconnect with an audience distracted by the growing grunge movement, Testament released The Ritual in 1992. Recorded at One on One Recording in Los Angeles under producer Tony Platt, it saw a stylistic move away from thrash to a slower, slightly more traditional heavy metal sound, and a somewhat more progressive atmosphere, with the title track being the longest song Testament had recorded up to this point. Drummer Louie Clemente acknowledged this musical change in a 1992 interview with Deseret News, explaining, "The Ritual is slower and geared toward the old style of metal while The Legacy was pure thrash. In fact, every release has been different. We've progressed naturally." Clemente said in the same interview that Platt's involvement within the album helped Testament "get more of a vibe." The Ritual peaked at 55 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest chart position at the time, and the power ballad "Return to Serenity" managed to receive radio airplay, peaking at number 22. Despite selling more than 485,000 copies in the United States, the album has never received gold certification. In support of The Ritual, Testament toured Europe and North America, headlining their own tours, as well as opening for Iron Maiden on their Fear of the Dark tour, and Black Sabbath on their Dehumanizer tour. However, the success of the album did not put an end to the tensions within the band.

Transitional period (1992–2004)
For the remainder of the 1990s, Testament had undergone a series of changes in its lineup, as well as a change of pace in its musical style. The first member of The Legacy-era lineup to leave the band was lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, who performed his last show with them on Halloween 1992. Skolnick has stated that one of the reasons he left Testament was because he wanted to expand his musical horizons rather than continuing to play thrash metal music. A few months later, drummer Louie Clemente left the band.

Skolnick and Clemente were temporarily replaced by Forbidden members Glen Alvelais and Paul Bostaph, respectively. This lineup released the 1993 live EP, Return to the Apocalyptic City. Soon after, Alvelais quit the band and Paul Bostaph departed to join Slayer. Their next album, Low (1994), featured John Tempesta on drums and death metal guitarist James Murphy, formerly of Death, Cancer, and Obituary. Low was a diverse album, featuring various influences such as alternative, hard rock, death metal, groove metal, progressive, and as well as a ballad, "Trail of Tears". The band's remaining fans reacted favorably to the album, although it did little to expand Testament's fanbase. Some fans, however, viewed Testament's move away from the mainstream as a liberation that allowed them to expand artistically, not being pressured by sales and success as they once were. Despite the fact that the album charted lower than the band's previous three albums on the Billboard 200 at number 122, its title track "Low" received decent airplay from Headbangers Ball on MTV and the Los Angeles-based radio station KNAC, just before both outlets went off the air in early 1995. Testament toured for over a year in support of Low, playing with numerous acts such as Machine Head, Downset., Korn, Forbidden, Kreator, At the Gates, Moonspell, Crowbar, Suffocation and Gorefest. Their first full-length live album Live at the Fillmore, released in the summer of 1995, was recorded during this tour and marked their first release since they ended their eight-and-a-half-year tenure with Atlantic Records.

Tempesta left Testament after the recording of Low to join White Zombie, being replaced by Jon Dette for the following tour, though the latter would leave the band in 1995. Dette's replacement was Chris Kontos, who had formerly been part of Machine Head. This lineup is featured on the Judas Priest cover Rapid Fire. After the 1996 club tour, Greg Christian, James Murphy, and Chris Kontos departed the band. During the time Kontos was in Testament he suggested the band drop the name altogether and call the band "Dog Faced Gods". This idea was turned down by Billy and Peterson who wanted to continue with the Testament name. The two later temporarily disbanded Testament.

The band's follow-up album, Demonic, released June 1997, took a new approach, and found Testament experimenting with death metal more. The album featured Eric Peterson on both lead and rhythm guitar (although Glen Alvelais made a guest appearance, and played on the subsequent tour), early member Derrick Ramirez on bass guitar, and former Dark Angel drummer Gene Hoglan. Hoglan left before the Demonic tour to join Strapping Young Lad, with Steve Jacobs doing the South American leg of the tour and Jon Dette returning later. Hoglan's loyalty to Strapping Young Lad and his desire to not remain a member of Testament actually came to realization during a published interview the band conducted with Metal Maniacs Magazine.

By 1998, Ramirez, Alvelais and Dette had departed and James Murphy had returned for the June 1999 release of The Gathering. The rhythm section on The Gathering was highly respected, consisting of metal fretless bass pioneer Steve Di Giorgio (formerly of Death and Sadus) and original Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. The sound of the album was largely a combination of death metal and thrash metal, with a minor black metal influence from Eric Peterson's side project, Dragonlord.

Soon after the release of The Gathering, lead guitarist James Murphy was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Through various fundraisers, Murphy was able to afford surgery and eventually made a full recovery, but was unable to recall anything from the recording of The Gathering. In 2001, Chuck Billy was also diagnosed with germ cell seminoma, a rare form of testicular cancer, but it only affected Billy's lungs and heart.  His cancer was also treated successfully. In August 2001, friends of Billy organized the Thrash of the Titans benefit concert, featuring seminal Bay Area thrash metal bands Vio-lence, Death Angel, Exodus, Forbidden, Sadus and Heathen, as well as Anthrax, S.O.D. and Flotsam and Jetsam. The show was headlined by a Legacy reunion, featuring Steve Souza on vocals, and former guitarist Alex Skolnick, who had not played with the band since 1992, and bassist Greg Christian. Late in 2001, Testament released First Strike Still Deadly, a collection of re-recordings (with modern studio technology) of songs from their first two albums. The album featured the lineup of Billy, Peterson, Di Giorgio, the return of Alex Skolnick on guitar, and John Tempesta on drums.

By 2003, Chuck Billy had made a full recovery, and the band began performing live again with a new drummer, Jon Allen of Sadus. In 2004, the band changed their lineup once again for their summer festival appearances. Jon Allen was replaced by Paul Bostaph, returning to the band for a second stint after a decade's absence. Lead guitarist Steve Smyth departed to join Nevermore and was replaced by ex-Halford guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak. Shortly after Steve Smyth's departure, Eric Peterson fell down a flight of stairs, breaking his leg, and was unavailable for some dates. He was temporarily replaced by Steve Smyth.

Reunion of classic lineup and The Formation of Damnation (2005–2010)

In May 2005, it was announced that Testament would be doing a brief Europe-only reunion tour – known as the "10 Days in May Tour" – featuring the classic lineup of Billy, Peterson, Skolnick and Christian, with drum duties shared between John Tempesta and Louie Clemente. After the success of the initial tour dates, Testament announced more dates in the U.S., Europe, and Japan with the classic lineup. Later that year, Skolnick also toured the East Coast with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The band went on to release a live DVD and CD from the tour entitled Live in London. In interviews on the DVD, Eric Peterson expressed his desire to record the follow-up to The Gathering with the classic Testament lineup. He also stated that Alex Skolnick had begun writing songs for the new album. Chuck Billy was very vocal about how happy he was to have Alex, Greg, Louie, and John Tempesta in the band once again, and hoped to maintain a stable lineup going forward. Also in 2005, Testament's long-out of print documentary Seen Between the Lines was released on DVD for the first time.

Testament played for the first time in the Middle East at the Dubai Desert Rock festival in March 2006. Other notable bands that performed for the Desert Rock Festival were Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Reel Big Fish and 3 Doors Down.

In July 2007, the band played a show at Jaxx Nightclub in Springfield, Virginia, with Paul Bostaph filling in on drum duties. It was later confirmed that Bostaph would be officially returning to the band to record the new album. The band debuted a new song at that show titled "The Afterlife", which they also played at Earthshaker Fest.

In February 2008, the band released the song "More Than Meets the Eye" from the new album on their Myspace page.

In April 2008, Testament was confirmed for Ozzy Osbourne's Monsters of Rock festival to take place on July 26, 2008, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Testament released their first studio album in nine years, The Formation of Damnation, on April 29, 2008, through Nuclear Blast Records. It was the first Testament album to feature Alex Skolnick on guitar since 1992's The Ritual, and the first to feature bassist Greg Christian since 1994's Low.

The band was confirmed to be the main event on the first day of the "Gillmanfest," a rock festival to be held on May 24, 2008, in Valencia, Venezuela, visiting Colombia for the second time in the band's extensive career. In June 2008, Testament headlined the 3rd stage at Download Festival, held at Donington Park, UK. The band also toured the US as a supporting act for Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, and Motörhead on the "Metal Masters Tour". The band announced that they had recruited guitarist Glen Drover (ex-Megadeth and King Diamond) to fill in on their upcoming Mexican tour dates with Judas Priest, due to Alex Skolnick's prior commitment to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Testament would embark on the "Priest Feast" European tour with headliners Judas Priest and Megadeth in February and March 2009. On March 25, 2009, Testament played a special one-off show at the O2 Islington Academy in London, where they performed their first two albums (The Legacy and The New Order) back-to-back, with British thrash band Sylosis in support. Also in 2009, Testament set out on a 6-week tour across the US to promote The Formation of Damnation, touring with Unearth and Lazarus A.D. In early 2010, Testament toured the United States with Megadeth and Exodus. Alex Skolnick did not participate in the tour due to previous obligations and Glen Drover again filled in for him. In the summer of 2010, the band toured Australia, and supported Megadeth and Slayer on the American Carnage Tour. Testament also headlined for the first time in the Philippines for the annual Pulp Summer Slam on April 17, 2010 with heavy metal band Lamb of God.

Dark Roots of Earth (2010–2013)

As early as 2009, Testament started writing new material for their tenth album. In an interview with Metalheadz, Peterson stated that there were about four songs written and that "there's other guys in the band who like to play the more rock melodic style but the next one is gonna be a bit heavier." In a January 2011 interview during the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, Billy revealed that Testament had been working on six new songs, with four or five "maybe left to write," and would begin recording their new album by early March. On May 18, 2011, Skolnick posted an update on his Twitter, saying, "Another tune done! My riffs from last week [plus] some of [fellow Testament guitarist Eric Peterson's] plus new ones we wrote today. Planning one more, then we've got more than we need."

Testament began recording their tenth studio album on June 20, 2011. Paul Bostaph was unable to take part in the recording due to a "serious injury", although he was expected to rejoin when the band began touring to support the album. Bostaph was replaced by Gene Hoglan, who had played drums with Testament on their 1997 album Demonic.

Testament appeared at the California dates of the summer 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, replacing In Flames.

The band toured in the fall of 2011 with Anthrax and Death Angel. Overkill was invited to the tour, but due to the pre-production of their sixteenth studio album The Electric Age, they did not participate. John Tempesta filled in for Bostaph on the tour. It was announced on December 1, 2011 that Paul Bostaph had left Testament. Gene Hoglan, who had recorded the drum tracks for the new album, was brought back after the band had expressed pleasure in his playing, hoping that he would continue with the band for the foreseeable future.

After many delays, the band's tenth studio album Dark Roots of Earth was released on July 27, 2012. The album debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, their highest chart position to date. Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler made a guest appearance on the bonus track "A Day in the Death".

Dark Roots of Thrash and Brotherhood of the Snake (2013–2019)

In August 2012, Peterson stated that Testament would record an eleventh studio album if Dark Roots of Earth did well. A week prior to the release of Dark Roots of Earth, Billy promised that Testament would not take "huge gaps" between albums anymore, and would "work hard and tour for two years or so," and try to release another album when they could. Hoglan had also said that he would "absolutely dig" to be a part of the writing of the next Testament album.

On September 13, 2013, Billy told Rock Overdose that from January to April 2014, Testament would be writing and recording their eleventh studio album for a 2014 release. Testament released a live DVD/double album Dark Roots of Thrash on October 15, 2013. The release documents the band's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York, in February 2013.

In January 2014, bassist Greg Christian left Testament again, and was replaced by a returning Steve Di Giorgio. Christian has claimed that the reasons behind his departure were because of money disputes and differences with the band.

When asked in an April 2015 interview about Testament's plans to begin recording their twelfth album, Peterson said that his "main goal" was to "get home [from tour] in June, finish it up and get in the studio by September." Billy also said that the band's goal was to have the album finished by Thanksgiving. Slovenian bassist Tilen Hudrap (Pestilence, Vicious Rumors, Paradox, Thraw) and Bay Area drummer Alex Bent (Arkaik, Dragonlord, Decrepit Birth, Battlecross) filled in for Di Giorgio and Hoglan respectively at the prestigious Canadian open-air festival Heavy Montreal in August 2015, which was attended by more than 70,000 spectators.

In May 2016, Billy confirmed their twelfth album would be entitled Brotherhood of the Snake. Of the album's lyrical content, he commented, "The Brotherhood of the Snake was actually a society about 6,000 years ago that debarred all religions. It was just a fascinating topic that caught our eye and attention and spawned a lot of songs. We're going with that vibe. There will be some songs that deviate, but the majority will be around that and aliens and religion. Then I'll probably tap into my native heritage and write some songs about that. It's not just going to be one concept, but there is some interesting stuff that we're finding to write about." Brotherhood of the Snake was released on October 28, 2016, and received generally positive reviews from critics, and scored Testament their second-highest chart position on the Billboard 200, peaking at number twenty. Shortly after its release, Testament embarked on an international tour with Amon Amarth, and toured North America in April–May 2017 with Sepultura, Prong, Infernal Tenebra and Dying Gorgeous Lies. The band also toured Europe with Annihilator and Death Angel in November and December 2017, and again in March and April 2018, with Annihilator and Vader supporting. Along with Anthrax, Lamb of God, Behemoth and Napalm Death, Testament opened for Slayer on their final North American tour, which took place in the spring and summer of 2018. Testament also performed at Megadeth's first-ever cruise called Megacruise in October 2019.

Titans of Creation and planned fourteenth studio album (2019–present)
By March 2017, Testament had begun writing the follow-up to Brotherhood of the Snake, with plans to release it in 2018. Billy stated in March 2018 that Testament would start working on their thirteenth studio album after they finish touring in support of Brotherhood of the Snake in August, hoping not to repeat the four-year gaps between their last three albums. He later stated that opening for Slayer on their farewell tour would be "the final lap for [them] touring" in support of Brotherhood of the Snake. Work on the follow-up album began in February 2019, and pre-production began in May with Andy Sneap as the mixer. Drummer Gene Hoglan revealed in a June 2019 interview on the "Talk Toomey" podcast that the band had finished recording the album for a 2019 or early 2020 release. Peterson later stated that it would be released in January 2020.

The band, along with Exodus and Death Angel, took part in The Bay Strikes Back tour of Europe in February and March 2020. Following the tour, Chuck Billy and his wife Tiffany tested positive for COVID-19, making him the third person to have contracted the virus during the tour following Will Carroll of Death Angel and Gary Holt of Exodus. Bassist Steve Di Giorgio was later diagnosed with COVID-19, becoming the second member of Testament to have tested positive for the condition.

Testament released their thirteenth studio album Titans of Creation on April 3, 2020. They were due to headline a US tour to promote the album, with support provided by The Black Dahlia Murder, Municipal Waste and Meshiaak, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, Testament did not tour in support of Titans of Creation for over a-year-and-a-half; touring for the album was scheduled to start in the fall of 2021, with the band resuming their Bay Strikes Back tour in the US with Exodus and Death Angel, but the COVID pandemic led to its postponement to the spring of 2022. Following this will be summer European tour, which will include festival appearances, as well as headlining dates with Exodus, Death Angel and Heathen, and one with Sepultura.

In a May 2020 interview with Exodus and former Legacy frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza on his "Toxic Vault" video channel, Billy was asked if he was going to write another Testament album during the COVID-19 pandemic. His response was, "We're not writing a record yet. I won't release what we're doing, but we are gonna write some stuff. Just to do something, not a record but maybe something just to have some singles." In a July 2020 interview with Australia's Riff Crew, Billy commented on his take on the possibility of writing another Testament album during the pandemic, saying, "Well, if it is truly, as someone says, a two-year period, of course, we're gonna go write another record, and when it all settles, we'll have two records… And if it had to be that long, then, yeah, we would probably consider just writing another record." Peterson reiterated Billy's comments in September 2020 that the band could work on new material before they tour to support Titans of Creation. In a March 2021 interview on Alive & Streaming, an internet podcast hosted by Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar, Billy confirmed that Peterson has been writing new material for what could result in the next Testament album.

On January 21, 2022, the band and longtime drummer Gene Hoglan announced on their respective social media accounts that he had once again left Testament to pursue "an exciting new chapter of [his] career and free agency, with all that it will entail."

Legacy and influence
Inspired by the new wave of British heavy metal and local Bay Area music scenes, Testament has been credited as one of the leaders of the second wave of thrash metal in the late 1980s, as well as one of the most influential Bay Area thrash metal acts. AllMusic described them as "one of the first thrash acts to emerge from the Bay Area in Metallica's wake during the '80s."

Numerous hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Aerosmith, AC/DC, Angel Witch, Black Sabbath, Boston, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Dio, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, the Michael Schenker Group, Montrose, Ozzy Osbourne (particularly the Randy Rhoads era), Samson, Saxon, Scorpions, The Sweet, Thin Lizzy, UFO (particularly the Michael Schenker era), Van Halen and Venom have been cited as an influence or inspiration behind Testament's music. The band's other musical influences include The Beatles, as well as guitar players like Jeff Beck, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Frank Marino, Mahogany Rush, Pat Travers and Johnny Winter, and their Bay Area thrash metal contemporaries Metallica and Exodus.

Testament has influenced multiple bands, such as Pantera, Sepultura, Death Angel, Annihilator, White Zombie, Korn, Machine Head, Drowning Pool, Kataklysm, Lamb of God, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Gojira, Killswitch Engage, Exhorder, Havok, Evile, Blind Guardian, Sevendust, Suicidal Angels, Trivium, Nightwish, Shadows Fall, Terror, Unearth, Skeletonwitch, Warbringer, Primal Fear, Fight, Sons of Texas, Incite, Demolition Hammer, and Forced Entry.

In the video for Bowling for Soup's "Punk Rock 101", guitarist and vocalist Jaret Reddick can be seen wearing one of Testament's t-shirts.

Members

Current members
 Eric Peterson – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals  
 Chuck Billy – lead vocals 
 Alex Skolnick – lead guitar, backing vocals  
 Steve Di Giorgio – bass , backing vocals

Discography

 The Legacy (1987)
 The New Order (1988)
 Practice What You Preach (1989)
 Souls of Black (1990)
 The Ritual (1992)
 Low (1994)
 Demonic (1997)
 The Gathering (1999)
 First Strike Still Deadly (2001)
 The Formation of Damnation (2008)
 Dark Roots of Earth (2012)
 Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)
 Titans of Creation (2020)

References

External links

 

1983 establishments in California
Musical groups established in 1983
Musical groups from Berkeley, California
Musical quintets
Nuclear Blast artists
 
Thrash metal musical groups from California
Do-support (or do-insertion), in English grammar, is the use of the auxiliary verb do, including its inflected forms does and did, to form negated clauses and questions as well as other constructions in which subject–auxiliary inversion is required.

The verb "do" can be used as an auxiliary even in simple declarative sentences, and it usually serves to add emphasis, as in "I did shut the fridge." However, in the negated and inverted clauses referred to above, it is used because the conventions of Modern English syntax permit these constructions only when an auxiliary is present. It is not idiomatic in Modern English to add the negating word not to a lexical verb with finite form; not can be added only to an auxiliary or copular verb. For example, the sentence I am not with the copula be is fully idiomatic, but I know not with a finite lexical verb, while grammatical, is archaic. If there is no other auxiliary present when negation is required, the auxiliary do is used to produce a form like I do not (don't) know. The same applies in clauses requiring inversion, including most questions: inversion must involve the subject and an auxiliary verb so it is not idiomatic to say Know you him?; today's English usually substitutes Do you know him?

Do-support is not used when there is already an auxiliary or copular verb present or with non-finite verb forms (infinitives and participles). It is sometimes used with subjunctive forms. Furthermore, the use of do as an auxiliary should be distinguished from the use of do as a normal lexical verb, as in They do their homework.

Common uses
Do-support appears to accommodate a number of varying grammatical constructions:
question formation,
the appearance of the negation not, and
negative inversion.
These constructions often cannot occur without do-support or the presence of some other auxiliary verb.

In questions
The presence of an auxiliary (or copular) verb allows subject–auxiliary inversion to take place, as is required in most interrogative sentences in English. If there is already an auxiliary or copula present, do-support is not required when forming questions:

 He will laugh. → Will he laugh? (the auxiliary will inverts with the subject he)
 She is at home. → Is she at home? (the copula is inverts with the subject she)

This applies not only in yes–no questions but also in questions formed using interrogative words:

 When will he laugh?

However, if there is no auxiliary or copula present, inversion requires the introduction of an auxiliary in the form of do-support:

 I know. → Do I know? (Compare: *Know I?)
 He laughs. → Does he laugh? (Compare: *Laughs he?)
 She came home. → Did she come home? (Compare: *Came she home?)

The finite (inflected) verb is now the auxiliary do; the following verb is a bare infinitive which does not inflect: does he laugh? (not laughs); did she come? (not came).

In negated questions, the negating word not may appear either following the subject, or attached to the auxiliary in the contracted form n't. That applies both to do-support and to other auxiliaries:

 Why are you not playing? / Why aren't you playing?
 Do you not want to try? / Don't you want to try?

The above principles do not apply to wh-questions if the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject. Then, there is no inversion and so there is no need for do-support: Who lives here?, Whose dog bit you?

The verb have, in the sense of possession, is sometimes used without do-support as if it were an auxiliary, but this is considered dated. The version with do-support is also correct:

 Have you any idea what is going on here?
 Do you have any idea what is going on here?
 (Have you got any idea what is going on here? – the order is similar to the first example, but have is an auxiliary verb here)

For elliptical questions and tag questions, see the elliptical sentences section below.

With not
In the same way that the presence of an auxiliary allows question formation, the appearance of the negating word not is allowed as well. Then too, if no other auxiliary or copular verb is present, do-support is required.

 He will laugh. → He will not laugh. (not attaches to the auxiliary will)
 She laughs. → She does not laugh. (not attaches to the added auxiliary does)

In the second sentence, do-support is required because idiomatic Modern English does not allow forms like *She laughs not. The verb have, in the sense of possession, is sometimes negated thus:

 I haven't the foggiest idea.

Most combinations of auxiliary/copula plus not have a contracted form ending in -n't, such as isn't, won't, etc. The relevant contractions for negations formed using do-support are don't, doesn't and didn't. Such forms are used very frequently in informal English.

Do-support is required for negated imperatives even when the verb is the copula be:

Do not do that.
Don't be silly.

However, there is no do-support with non-finite, as they are negated by a preceding not:

It would be a crime not to help him (the infinitive to help is negated)
Not knowing what else to do, I stood my ground (the present participle knowing is negated)
Not eating vegetables can harm your health (the gerund eating is negated)

With subjunctive verb forms, as a present subjunctive, do is infrequently used for negation, which is frequently considered ambiguous or incorrect because it resembles the indicative. The usual method to negate the present subjunctive is to precede the verb with a not, especially if the verb is be (as do-support with it, whether it be indicative or subjunctive, is ungrammatical):

I suggest that he not receive any more funding (the present subjunctive receive is negated)
It is important that he not be there (the present subjunctive be is negated)

As a past subjunctive, however, did is needed for negation (unless the verb is be, whose past subjunctive is were):

I wish that he did not know it
I wish that he were not here

The negation in the examples negates the non-finite predicate. Compare the following competing formulations:

I did not try to laugh. vs. I tried not to laugh.
They do not want to go. vs. They want  not to go.

There are two predicates in each of the verb chains in the sentences. Do-support is needed when the higher of the two is negated; it is not needed to negate the lower nonfinite predicate.

For negated questions, see the questions section above. For negated elliptical sentences, see the elliptical sentences section below.

Negative inversion
The same principles as for question formation apply to other clauses in which subject–auxiliary inversion is required, particularly after negative expressions and expressions involving only (negative inversion):

 Never did he run that fast again. (wrong: *Never he did run that fast again. *Never ran he that fast again.)
 Only here do I feel at home. (wrong: *Only here feel I at home.)

Further uses
In addition to providing do-support in questions and negated clauses as described above, the auxiliary verb do can also be used in clauses that do not require do-support. In such cases, do-support may appear for pragmatic reasons.

For emphasis
The auxiliary generally appears for purposes of emphasis, for instance to establish a contrast or to express a correction:
 Did Bill eat his breakfast? Yes, he did eat his breakfast (did emphasizes the positive answer, which may be unexpected).
 Bill doesn't sing, then. No, he does sing (does emphasizes the correction of the previous statement).

As before, the main verb following the auxiliary becomes a bare infinitive, which is not inflected (one cannot say *did ate or *does sings in the above examples).

As with typical do-support, that usage of do does not occur with other auxiliaries or a copular verb. Then, emphasis can be obtained by adding stress to the auxiliary or copular:

 Would you take the risk? Yes, I would take the risk.
 Bill isn't singing, then. No, he is singing.

(Some auxiliaries, such as can, change their pronunciation when stressed; see Weak and strong forms in English.)

In negative sentences, emphasis can be obtained by adding stress either to the negating word (if used in full) or to the contracted form ending in n't. That applies whether or not do-support is used:

 I wouldn't (or would not) take the risk.
 They don't (or do not) appear on the list.

Emphatic do can also be used with imperatives, including with the copula be:

 Do take care! Do be careful!

In elliptical sentences
The auxiliary do is also used in various types of elliptical sentences, where the main verb is omitted (it can be said to be "understood", usually because it would be the same verb as was used in a preceding sentence or clause). That includes the following types:

Tag questions:
 He plays well, doesn't he?
 You don't like Sara, do you?
Elliptical questions:
 I like pasta. Do you?
 I went to the party. Why didn't you?
Elliptical statements:
 They swam, but I didn't.
 He looks smart, and so do you.
 You fell asleep, and I did, too.

Such uses include cases that do-support would have been used in a complete clause (questions, negatives, inversion) but also cases that (as in the last example) the complete clause would normally have been constructed without do (I fell asleep too). In such instances do may be said to be acting as a pro-verb since it effectively takes the place of a verb or verb phrase: did substitutes for fell asleep.

As in the principal cases of do-support, do does not normally occur when there is already an auxiliary or copula present; the auxiliary or copula is retained in the elliptical sentence:

He is playing well, isn't he?
I can cook pasta. Can you?
You should get some sleep, and I should too.

However, it is possible to use do as a pro-verb (see below section #Pro-verbs & Do-so Substitution even after auxiliaries in some dialects:

Have you put the shelf up yet? I haven't done (or I haven't), but I will do (or I will).
(However it is not normally used in this way as a to-infinitive: Have you put the shelf up? I plan to, rather than *I plan to do;  or as a passive participle: Was it built? Yes, it was, not *Yes, it was done.)

Pro-verbal uses of do are also found in the imperative: Please do. Don't!

Pro-verbs and do-so substitution
The phrases do so and do what for questions are pro-verb forms in English.  They can be used as substitutes for verbs in x-bar theory grammar to test verb phrase completeness. Bare infinitives forms often are used in place of the missing pro-verb forms.

Examples from Santorini and Kroch:

Tests for constituenthood of a verb-phrase in X'-grammar
The do so construction can be used to test if a verb-phrase is a constituent phrase in X'-grammar by substitution similarly to how other pro-forms can be used to test for noun-phrases, etc.

In X-bar theory, the verb-phrase projects three bar-levels such as this:

    VP
   / \
 ZP  X'
     / \
    X'  YP
    |
    X 
    |
   head

With a simple sentence:

         S
         |
         VP
        /  \
       /    \
      /      \
     /        \
    NP         \
   /  \         \   
 DP    N'        V'
 |     |        / \
The  children  /   \
              /     \
              V'     PP
             /  \   /_\
            /    \  with gusto
           V     NP
           |     /_\
          ate  the pizza

Here again exemplified by Santorini and Kroch, do so substitution for testing constituent verb phrases in the above sample sentence:

         S
         |
         VP
        /  \
       /    \
      /      \
     /        \
    NP         \
   /  \         \   
 DP    N'        V'
 |     |        / \
The  children  /   \
              /     \
              V'     PP
             /  \   /_\
            /    \  with gusto
           V     NP
           |     /_\
        did so   the pizza

Use of do as main verb
Apart from its uses as an auxiliary, the verb do (with its inflected forms does, did, done, doing) can be used as an ordinary lexical verb (main verb):

Do your homework!
What are you doing?

Like other non-auxiliary verbs, do cannot be directly negated with not and cannot participate in inversion so it may itself require do-support, with both auxiliary and lexical instances of do appearing together:

 They didn't do the laundry on Sunday. (did is the auxiliary, do is the main verb)
 Why do you do karate? (the first do is the auxiliary, the second is the main verb)
 How do you do? (a set phrase used as a polite greeting)

Meaning contribution
In the various cases seen above that require do-support, the auxiliary verb do makes no apparent contribution to the meaning of the sentence so it is sometimes called a dummy auxiliary. Historically, however, in Middle English, auxiliary do apparently had a meaning contribution, serving as a marker of aspect (probably perfective aspect, but in some cases, the meaning may have been imperfective). In Early Modern English, the semantic value was lost, and the usage of forms with do began to approximate that found today.

Origins

Some form of auxiliary "do" occurs in all West Germanic languages except Afrikaans. It is generally accepted that the past tense of Germanic weak verbs (in English, -ed) was formed from a combination of the infinitive with a past tense form of "do", as exemplified in Gothic. The origins of the construction in English are debated: some scholars argue it was already present in Old English, but not written due to stigmatization. Scholars disagree whether the construction arose from the use of "do" as a lexical verb in its own right, or whether periphrastic "do" arose from a causative meaning of the verb or vice versa. Examples of auxiliary "do" in Old English writing appear to be limited to its use in a causative sense, which is parallel to the earliest uses in other West Germanic languages. Others argue that the construction arose either via the influence of Celtic speakers or that the construction arose as a form of creolization when native speakers addressed foreigners and children.

See also

English verbs
English clause syntax
Intensifier

References

English grammar
Word order
Syntax
Generative syntax Anacoenosis  is a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a question to an audience in a way that demonstrates a common interest.

Discussion

The term comes from the Greek  (anakoinoûn), meaning "to communicate, impart".

Anacoenosis typically uses a rhetorical question, where no reply is really sought or required, thus softening what is really a statement or command. 

Asking a question that implies one clear answer is to put others in a difficult position. If they disagree with you, then they risk conflict or derision. In particular if you state the question with certainty, then it makes disagreement seem rude.

Particularly when used in a group, this uses social conformance. If there is an implied agreement by all and one person openly disagrees, then they risk isolating themselves from the group, which is a very scary prospect.

If I am in an audience and the speaker uses anacoenosis and I do not agree yet do not speak up, then I may suffer cognitive dissonance between my thoughts and actions. As a result, I am likely to shift my thinking toward the speaker's views in order to reduce this tension.

Examples
Do you not think we can do this now?
Now tell me, given the evidence before us, could you have decided any differently?
What do you think? Are we a bit weary? Shall we stay here for a while?
"And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could I have done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" Isaiah 5:3-4
The entire speech of Marc Anthony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar forms an extended example of anacoenosis. Marc Anthony begins by building common cause with the audience on stage, addressing them as "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." His speech then poses a number of rhetorical questions to them as part of his refutation of Brutus' words: "Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? / When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: / Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;/ And Brutus is an honourable man. / You all did see that on the Lupercal / I thrice presented him a kingly crown, / Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?" (Act 3, Scene 2)

See also
Rhetorical question

References 

Figures of speech
Rhetoric