TESTAMENT's CHUCK BILLY On His 1997 SEPULTURA Audition: 'I Turned In My Demo Too Late'

In a new interview with Greg Kennelty of the Mostly Yelling podcast, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy once again reflected on his audition for the lead-singer position in SEPULTURA when Max Cavalera quit the latter band in 1996. Regarding what that whole experience was like, Chuck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm a big believer in things happen for a reason, and I was late. I turned in my demo too late. And I thought I did a good job. They liked it, but they also said, 'Well, shoot, man, thanks for sending it, but we already chose [current SEPULTURA singer] Derrick [Green].' So they already had their decision made by the time I delivered. But it was fun to do. At that point — I can't remember if I did it before [TESTAMENT's] 'Demonic' record or after, but we must have been writing it that year before. So I think at that point, 'cause we [TESTAMENT] were done with all the Atlantic six records, and now 'Demonic' was our first record off Atlantic, and we were free agents. And I can't remember if it was Spitfire or Eagle Rock or who we put that record out with, but things definitely were changing at that time."

Asked what he was looking for at the time that caused him to be interested in the SEPULTURA gig, Chuck said: "Well, I didn't know what I was looking for. I was looking for maybe something more stable. I mean, we just were breaking up, losing all the original guys. The scene was changing. I was maybe looking for something that was established, that had some future, that I enjoyed. So I went for it. In the end, again, things happen for a reason. I was meant to be late and not get the gig, because all this TESTAMENT music wouldn't have been made years later. And what if I'd have made it into the band then and got sick [with cancer] in 2001? It would have just been a whole different thing."

Back in March 2022, Chuck was asked by Rocking With Jam Man if he was disappointed when he didn't get the SEPULTURA gig. Chuck responded: "No, 'cause TESTAMENT wouldn't be TESTAMENT. We wouldn't be able to write the records that we did — 'The Gathering' and all the great records of music. And the reunion of our original band wouldn't have happened.

"When I did the audition, I was too late; they already selected Derrick as the singer," he explained. "So that was a good thing. 'Cause if I would have got that gig, things would have been different for TESTAMENT."

Asked if he wishes that he had gotten the SEPULTURA job or if he likes how things turned out, Chuck said: "I like how it turned out, but at the time I wanted it to happen because music was up in the air; [TESTAMENT] was broken up; everything was changing; the music climate was changing. So I thought back when I auditioned that I wanted something secure — I wanted a security. And to me, finding a band that had something established is what I thought I wanted. Luckily, I didn't get it. Things would have been much different for me if I would have still been in SEPULTURA."

Pressed about whether he would have liked to have joined SEPULTURA if TESTAMENT had ended completely, Chuck said: "In a sense, but looking back now, I don't know. I mean, every band has their hardships and up and downs, so I don't know if I would have got into the band and then we would have hit a stone wall and had hardships there. I probably wouldn't have been in the band. I probably would have left the band. And who knows what I would have done."

Billy previously discussed his SEPULTURA audition in a 2016 interview with Eonmusic. At the time, he said: "Yeah, around that time was right before [TESTAMENT made] the 'Demonic' record, so we had finished our Atlantic [Records] contract, and we were shopping for a new deal. We didn't really have a deal yet, and at the last minute, I just said, 'You know what? Maybe I should try to find a band that's solid, that's going to keep touring and continue on,' and at that point, SEPULTURA was taking auditions, and I think it was at the end [of the audition process] that I decided, 'Screw it, I'm going to do it.' I think I did three songs; I did 'Refuse/Resist', I did 'Territory', and I wrote my version of 'Choke', and gave it to them. But by the time I had delivered, they had already made their decision for [the appointment of new singer] Derrick, which in the end, was probably the way it all should have worked out."

Asked if it would have been a strange feeling to be performing with a new bunch of guys after playing with the same band for most of his career, Chuck said: "It would have been, yeah. I don't know if I was really prepared, and if they would have said, 'Okay, you're in,' I would have said, 'Well, let me think about that!' I don't know what I would have done. I just did it on the spur of the moment, like, 'Fuck it! What have I got to lose?!'"

SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke about Billy's audition for the band during a 2015 appearance on "The Jasta Show". He said: "Chuck [laid down his vocals over] the [demo version of a then-new SEPULTURA song called] 'Choke' … Because we sent the instrumental [version] of a new song [to prospective singers to record their vocals over]. We didn't want anyone to sing 'Roots [Bloody Roots]' or 'Refuse/Resist', because we didn't want a clone. We wanted somebody to bring new ideas, to bring SEPULTURA to a different path, to a different level. And Chuck Billy, he did… He used more of the guttural [vocal style on his audition tape]. And it works. Because, recently, we did a 'Metal Allegiance' jam at NAMM in Los Angeles, and we played some SEPULTURA stuff with Chuck Billy singing, and it was great, man — it was great. So he did a great job. But, you know, he's Chuck Billy; he's TESTAMENT. We wanted somebody new."

A two-minute snippet of Chuck Billy's SEPULTURA audition tape can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Billy's memoir, "Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck Billy", is due on November 10, 2026 via Permuted Press. Co-written with Dave Erickson, "Holding My Breath" features a foreword by Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST) and an afterword by Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD).

"Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck Billy" is split into two sections: an "Old Testament" and "New Testament". The first part of the book plunges readers into the explosive birth of Bay Area thrash metal, the formation of TESTAMENT, the rivalries, the brotherhood, and the reckless, glorious chaos of becoming one of the genre's most powerful voices. The second part of the book addresses Billy's cancer diagnosis at age of 38, with the singer further reflecting on "his Native American and Mexican-American heritage, spiritual healers, visions, and the fierce love of a metal community."