New TESTAMENT Drummer CHRIS DOVAS: 'I'm Here To Stay'

In a new interview with The Meista - Brews & Tunes, TESTAMENT's new drummer Chris Dovas spoke about how he landed the gig with the veteran San Francisco Bay Area thrashers.

Dovas became an official member of TESTAMENT in April as the replacement for Dave Lombardo, who had lasted less than a year after formally joining the long-running metal act in March 2022. The former SLAYER drummer is currently a member of the MISFITS, MR. BUNGLE, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD and SATANIC PLANET, among others. He also played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES from 2016 up until 2020.

Dovas told The Meista - Brews & Tunes: "I sent [TESTAMENT] some videos a while ago. Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] then called me because Dave had some MISFITS dates. And so I filled in for a week and a half or two in September of 2022 on 'The Bay Strikes Back' tour. And then Dave's schedule just got really crazy, as you saw Dave's statement and everything, and I got the callback, which was super cool. So Eric was, like, 'You already know all the songs. Can you do these tours?' And that's what happened. And now I'm here to stay, which is super cool. It's an honor to be a part of it too, 'cause I grew up listening to TESTAMENT… If you told the middle school me or something that I would be doing this now, I wouldn't have believed it. But, yeah, it's an honor and I'm super happy to be a part of it."

Asked if there is new TESTAMENT music in the works, Dovas said: "Everything's in the early stages. Me and Eric are working on some stuff, as you've probably seen some of the interviews with Eric and stuff. Just from what the band's publicly announced and everything, there's some songs in the works, and we're working on that now, and it's coming out really cool. I don't know what I'm allowed or what I'm not allowed to say yet, so I'll just kind of keep it at that, 'cause that's what I've seen them mention publicly. It's gonna be cool, though. I can say it's sounding really great."

This past May, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy threw shade at Lombardo while introducing Dovas at the group's May 2 show at the Teatro Royal Center in Bogotá, Colombia. Before launching into "D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)", which originally appeared on the sole TESTAMENT album Lombardo played on, 1999's "The Gathering", Chuck presented the band's new drummer to the audience, saying: "Stand up and take a bow. Give it up for Mr. Chris Dovas. Lombardo who? Yeah. That's Chris Dovas right there. Don't forget it."

In April, Lombardo revealed in an interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET that he would sit out the remainder of TESTAMENT's 2023 shows, with no guarantee that he will return to the band.

A few days after Dave's interview was published, Peterson said that Dovas's addition to the group had turned out to be "a blessing in disguise" after Lombardo's "short-lived return".

Dovas, who is also a member of SEVEN SPIRES, previously filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour". Lombardo was unable to make those gigs due to a scheduling conflict with the MISFITS.

On April 17, Peterson shared a video of Dovas performing with TESTAMENT and he wrote in an accompanying message: "What can I say? Things sometimes just happen for a reason, I mean just when everything seems to go ok BAM! Nope! but then something opens up… @chrisdovas happened.

"Chris replaced Dave on our last North American run cause of over booked scheduled from Dave, but it was a blessing in disguise. Chris has turned out to be totally unbelievably amazing and a very kind and awesome brilliant drummer."

The guitarist continued: "We are more than thrilled for our fans to experience his more than meets the eye capabilities with our South American and European tours coming up, also in this last minute situation we've connected on a killer spree, working on new ideas this last week has become more than promising, I am stoked to say it's gonna be KILLER peeps!

"Anyway rest assure Chris will push the envelope so to speak and make TESTAMENT heavier and more precise than before! More to come!!!!! W00t!

"I have to add it was a pleasure and a great time to have Dave back in his short lived return again".

Lombardo told BLABBERMOUTH.NET that he was unsure as to whether would play with TESTAMENT again in the foreseeable future, including performing on the band's next studio album. "I don't know, because everything is starting to snowball with MR. BUNGLE and EMPIRE STATE BASTARD and the MISFITS," he said. "I've been with the MISFITS since 2016. TESTAMENT is a well-oiled machine. They're always touring and releasing albums. To try to find that space or that time to release something… I don't know."

When asked whether this meant his status with TESTAMENT was "uncertain," Lombardo replied, "Yes. It's wait-and-see. I can't guarantee anything because of my commitments. I did fulfill my contractual commitment for 2022, which was quite extensive. We did one of the longest tours I have done. It was like seven weeks in Europe, which was great. I really needed to get out there and build my chops after the pandemic. That was a lifesaver. We'll see. The relationship is good. The doors are open. The communication is there. I told them that I was seeing some clashes coming up. This was in the first week of January when I reached out to Eric and told him. This has been brewing for a while. Actually, I saw it in November/December of last year. I started seeing, 'Oh no. This is going to happen. This is not going to happen.' It's very tricky."