TESTAMENT's CHRIS DOVAS Shares Drum-Cam Video Of 'D.N.R.' Performance From Melbourne, Australia

TESTAMENT drummer Chris Dovas (ex-SEVEN SPIRES) has uploaded drum-cam video of him performing the song "D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)" with his bandmates at the Melbourne stop of their recently completed Australian tour on June 21 at Northcote Theatre. Check out the footage below.

Last October, TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson spoke to Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", about Dovas's addition to the band after Dave Lombardo's short-lived return. Regarding how Dovas landed the gig, Peterson said: "Well, when Gene [Hoglan] left, the word got out and we had a lot of video tapes come in and I was talking to a couple of different players. [Chris] was my pick. And then Lombardo reached out to Chuck [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] and then he reached out to me and everybody really wanted to go with that. So I kind of told Chris, like, 'Let's keep you on the back and see what happens.' And, of course, a couple of months later, I'm, like, 'Hey, Lombardo can't do this next [run]. And he can only do these selected shows,' and I was, like, 'Oh god, here we go again.' The other guys were, like, 'Well, let's call up [former TESTAMENT drummer John] Tempesta or [Paul] Bostaph,' which we knew wouldn't be permanent, but maybe they'd come and… I'm, like, 'Hey, let's give this kid a try.' And when he came in, we were just, like, 'Whoa.' The energy level, and just making us play faster, but not to where we go, 'Slow down. We can't play that fast anymore.' He almost made it easier, his groove, and he brought some life back. And the new record that we put together, me and him… there's a good vibe there."

Peterson went on to say that TESTAMENT's follow-up to 2020's "Titans Of Creation" was being mixed by Swedish producer Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with OPETH, KREATOR, PARADISE LOST, SOILWORK and AMON AMARTH, among others. "Titans Of Creation" was co-produced by Juan Urteaga, who previously worked with TESTAMENT on "Dark Roots Of Earth" (2012) and "Brotherhood Of The Snake" (2016).

Last September, Billy spoke Metal Express Radio's Bryce Van Patten about how the songwriting process has changed since TESTAMENT's early days in the late 1980s and 1990s. He said: "Oh, it's night and day. Before, back then, we all lived the same place, we all had to go to the same studio, where now it's by e-mail, sharing the songs. Everybody has home studios to work out demos. Definitely a different writing process, but still Eric is one of the main writers. And ever since we brought in our new drummer, Chris Dovas, he's been here two years — he was 24 when he came into the band; he's 26 [now]. But he's a smart kid. [He] graduated [from] the Berklee [College] Of Music. [He] knows theory [and is] great in the studio with Pro Tools. He's really into modern bands and new and upcoming stuff, and he's got an old soul so he knows the history of the music. But I think him working hand in hand with Eric as long as they did, he really pushed Eric and drove Eric to get challenged. And I wouldn't say 'copy', but I think Chris and what he listens to and the style Eric likes, it brought an influence to the new songs."

Prior to joining TESTAMENT as a full-time member, Dovas filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour".

In July 2023, Dovas told The Meista - Brews & Tunes about how he landed the gig with the veteran San Francisco Bay Area thrashers: "I sent [TESTAMENT] some videos a while ago. Eric 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."

In May 2023, Billy threw shade at Lombardo while introducing Dovas at TESTAMENT's 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."