Testament (band)

Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup includes rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member (though both he and Billy, who replaced original frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza in 1986, appear on every studio album). The band has released fourteen studio albums (one of which is a collection of re-recorded songs), four live albums, five compilation albums, thirteen singles and three DVDs. They are estimated to have sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era, and over 14 million copies worldwide as of 2016. Testament is credited as one of the leaders of the second wave of thrash metal of the late 1980s, and they are considered a significant member of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal" (along with Exodus, Death Angel, Lȧȧz Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence). By the time they changed their name from Legacy to Testament in 1986, the band had assumed a stable lineup that included Billy, Peterson, Skolnick, and two other founding members, bassist Greg Christian and drummer Louie Clemente; it is often referred to as the "classic lineup" of Testament. While the band was initially signed to Megaforce, they were one of the early thrash metal bands to sign to a major label, Atlantic Records, through which the band's first six studio albums were released. Their first three studio albums – The Legacy (1987), The New Order (1988) and Practice What You Preach (1989) – cemented Testament's reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands, with the latter becoming...