Bassist GREG CHRISTIAN: There Are No 'Bros' In TESTAMENT

Former TESTAMENT bassist Greg Christian, who turned 48 years old today (Tuesday, April 29),has posted the following message on his personal Facebook page:

"Thank you so much for the birthday wishes.

"Lately, it's been all too easy to forget how many people's lives I've actually 'touched.'

"The last five months or so have been some of the most difficult of my 48 years on this Earth and seeing this support really helps. Thank you.

"I'm still kind of in shock by how everything went down with TESTAMENT. And all I'll really say about that is — there are no 'bros' in TESTAMENT. The catch phrase coined by the Chief himself is every one man for himself, and it's taken to a sickening extreme with zero humanity. C'est la vie. But I'm not done playing music yet. Far from it. But every day's a struggle. And on top of it all, I have to deal with a few haters (people I barely know) going out of their way to derail me in any way they can. Thanks, guys. LOL.

"Anyway... Thank you again for all the birthday wishes. I appreciate it more than you all can probably understand. Cheers!!!"

TESTAMENT in January announced the departure of Greg Christian and return of Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, DEATH, ICED EARTH).

Steve was previously a member of TESTAMENT on "The Gathering" (1999) and "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) albums.

In a recent interview with 100PercentRock.com, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy stated about Christian's latest departure from the band: "Well, I think Greg, he informed us that he wasn't going to be participating on the new record release and that was his last tour with us. We knew we had Australia coming up, so, of course, Steve DiGiorgio was probably one of the first ones to come to mind. He did 'The Gathering' record with us and we enjoyed that whole cycle of touring, so he was definitely, probably, our first choice. We didn't want to go through auditions and do all that. We just knew that he was here, and he could do it, and it was killer."

Asked if there was a particular reason that Greg just had enough of it, Billy replied: "Well, I think that the last tour he just wasn't getting along, and he just decided that that was going to be the last tour with us, so we just kind of said, 'Well, okay. I guess we'll have to maybe look for what's coming up in the future.' You know — there's nothing we can do."

Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November 2013 for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson.

Christian played on the following TESTAMENT albums:

* "The Legacy" (1987)
* "The New Order" (1988)
* "Practice What You Preach" (1989)
* "Souls Of Black" (1990)
* "The Ritual" (1992)
* "Low" (1994)
* "The Formation Of Damnation" (2008)
* "Dark Roots Of Earth" (2012)

Photo credit: Walter Morgan