TESTAMENT Frontman: New Album Picks Up 'Where We Left Off With The Last Record'

San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans TESTAMENT will tentatively release their new album, "The Dark Roots Of Earth", on April 27 via Nuclear Blast Records. Due to a "serious injury," TESTAMENT drummer Paul Bostaph was unable to take part in the recording sessions for the CD and was replaced by Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (DARK ANGEL, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK). Bostaph has since announced his departure from the group.

LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler plays on one track on "The Dark Roots Of Earth", which was helmed by veteran British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY).

In a brand new interview with SoundSpike, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy stated about the forthcoming CD's musical direction, "It's kind of like where we left off with the last record, except I think there are some more songs that aren't as thrashy. But they're definitely metal. I don't know how to describe it. I keep saying you don't really have to be a metalhead to enjoy some of these songs that we got. There's just really good songs on the record. It's a little different."

On the topic of the new CD's title, Billy said, "We've always been a planet-conscious band. Now that we have pretty close to the original lineup — with Alex [Skolnick, lead guitarist] and Greg [Christian, bassist] back in it — it's almost like going back to our roots. It's like all of us connecting, joining as one to the planet."

Due to the fact that the TESTAMENT bandmembers live throughout the United States, the songwriting process for "The Dark Roots Of Earth" was different to the way it was in "the old days," Billy said, "We're not just a band that comes down to the studio and just practices every day like the old days," he said. "It takes some coordinating of everybody's time and schedules to get together. But we've been playing together for 25 years. We all know what works and what doesn't, the limits and the ranges."