TESTAMENT Singer Comments On 'Christmas Metal Symphony' Concert

January 9, 2009

TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy has commented on his appearance at the "Christmas Metal Symphony" show, which was held December 28, 2008 at 013, Tilburg, Holland.

The concert included appearances by such renowned hard rock and heavy metal artists as Doro Pesch, Chuck Billy, Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X),Mats Levén (THERION, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN),Johan Edlund (TIAMAT),Ian Parry (CONSORTIUM PROJECT, ELEGY),Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION, AYREON),Floor Jansen (AFTER FOREVER) and George Oosthoek (ORPHANAGE). They were backed by a six-piece band and a 30-piece classical orchestra as they performed the finest metal songs of all time. This unique show contained songs from all metal genres — from prog-metal to rock, from death to speed and from industrial to symphonic.

The backing band consisted of the following musicians:

Koen Herfst (EPICA) - Drums
Marcel Coenen (SUN CAGED) - Guitar
Johan Van Stratum (STREAM OF PASSION) - Bass
Frank Schiphorst (CONTROL HUMAN DELETE) - Guitar
Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION) - Keyboards
Joost van den Broek (AFTER FOREVER) – Keyboards

Billy commented on the performance: "It was a challenge I've wanted to pursue for a long time, since I've never had the opportunity to sing with an orchestra. The songs took a new life with them. The arrangements they came up with were really spooky and eerie. When I did the first rehearsal, I wanted to pay attention to the music ahead of the performance. It was so cool sounding, I was blown away. It's definitely something I would like to try more with TESTAMENT."

Fan-filmed video footage of Chuck's performance at the "Christmas Metal Symphony" show can be viewed below.

A number of high-quality photos of the concert are available at Metal-Experience.com.

The complete setlist was as follows:

01. Blood Of Kingu (THERION) (feat. Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio)
02. Victim Of Changes (JUDAS PRIEST) (feat. Mats Levén)
03. Son Of The Staves Of Time (THERION) (feat. Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio)
04. Passion (STREAM OF PASSION) (feat. Marcela Bovio)
05. Out In The Real World (STREAM OF PASSION) (feat. Marcela Bovio)
06. Enter Sandman (METALLICA) (feat. Ian Parry)
07. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH) (feat. Ian Parry)
08. Breaking The Law (JUDAS PRIEST) (feat. Doro Pesch, Ian Parry)
09. All We Are (DORO) (feat. Doro Pesch, Floor Jansen)
10. I Rule The Ruins (DORO) (feat. Doro)
11. Souls Of Black (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy)
12. Return To Serenity (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy, Mats Levén)
13. More Than Meets The Eye (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy, George Oosthoek)
14. Arise (SEPULTURA) (feat. George Oosthoek)
15. Mountains Of Madness (ORPHANAGE) (feat. George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen)
16. A New Level (PANTERA) (feat. George Oosthoek)
17. Cain (TIAMAT) (feat. Johan Edlund)
18. Brighter Than The Sun (TIAMAT) (feat. Johan Edlund, Marcela Bovio)
19. When The Smoke Is Going Down (SCORPIONS) (feat. Johan Edlund)
20. My Pledge Of Allegiance No. 1 (AFTER FOREVER) (feat. George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen)
21. Equally Destructive (AFTER FOREVER) (feat. Floor Jansen)
22. The Evil That Man Do (IRON MAIDEN) (feat. Floor Jansen)
23. Intro Based on "The Odyssey" (SYMPHONY X) (orchestra only)
24. Evolution (The Grand Design) (SYMPHONY X) (feat. Russell Allen)
25. Paradise Lost (SYMPHONY X) (feat. Russell Allen)
26. Dawn Of A Million Souls (AYREON) (feat. Russell Allen)
27. Phantom Of The Opera (NIGHTWISH version) (feat. Russell Allen, Floor Jansen)

"More Than Meets The Eye" (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy, George Oosthoek):

"Return To Serenity" (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy, Mats Levén) (video by Mark van Nierop):

"Souls Of Black" (TESTAMENT) (feat. Chuck Billy) (video by Mark van Nierop):

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).