TESTAMENT's CHUCK BILLY On Retirement: 'I'm Gonna Let My Mind, Body And Soul Tell Me When It's Time'

In a new interview with The Logan Show, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy was asked if there are any plans for him and his bandmates to retire at some point in the not-too-distant future. Chuck responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm gonna let my mind, body and soul tell me when it's time. Because I'm up having fun. I think I'm doing a better job than I've done — I think right now I'm probably at the top of my singing. I'm taking pretty good care of myself for going on tour. So I feel strong on tour, but I don't try to kill myself. I can't do six weeks and 38 shows or something. We're all still ready to go. But we've still got a two-record deal with Nuclear Blast, so we've still got a lot of music to write. And we'll keep playing until someone says 'stop playing' [laughs], or 'I can't' or 'I'm not having fun'. No wants to get out there and embarrass themselves."

Last November, TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson was asked by The Metal Meltdown if he could ever see him and his bandmates retiring from playing music. He responded: "We're gonna take it to the end. I mean, that's what Chuck says. I could keep going forever. That's what I think. But who knows? I still feel young, and I don't feel like I'm 60. [Laughs]"

He continued: "Well, it's weird too, 'cause I remember — if I could go back and see myself now and just think how I'm thinking and hear what I'm doing, I would be, like, 'Whoa.' 'Cause I remember when my grandfather was 60, he was bald and he had this little pencil holder and he was wearing polyester pants up to [his stomach]. And I just don't see that. And I think people now that are older, I think maybe 'cause of our lifestyle… And I think metal keeps you young too… METALLICA — look at METALLICA; they're still kicking ass and their last record was pretty cool. There's other bands. And EXODUS is on fire. They got one of their old singers [Rob Dukes] back. I haven't heard any of [EXODUS's new music] yet, but I know Gary's [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] like me; he is on fire. OVERKILL is still around."

Peterson added: "We're all at that age now where it's, like, am I still into this? Do I still feel like it? I mean, ANTHRAX is still out there kicking. It's funny — there's a lot of bands that all of us listened to, like JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN, when we were 18, 17, 19, whatever, and they were in their late 20s or whatever age they were, but they're all probably, like, 10, 15 years older than us, and they're still out there. So there's hope. I remember being in my late 20s and even 30s and seeing, 'Okay, IRON MAIDEN's still going.' And they're still going now. So, yeah, we've still got some time, I think.

"It gets harder when you get [older]," Eric admitted. "And you've just gotta take care of yourself and just eat right and work out. I think if you do that and just maintain yourself and just don't do go too crazy… I know we all still drink still, but it's a little bit harder to recuperate.

"Sadly, there is gonna be a time where thrash metal bands from my genre, it's gonna be gone and then there's gonna be a new wave of stuff. But I'm still seeing the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands still out there. And those are the bands that we listened to. So, I think there's still some time. But as far as far as the other bands [who have reformed and are still touring and making music], more power to 'em coming back and trying to give it a go."

Back in 2018, Chuck stated about how long he could see TESTAMENT carrying on: "We've never really thought about an endgame or an end plan. Over the years, it was always tougher before we had our reunion [in 2005]. Maybe thoughts in the back of our mind said, 'Maybe this is not working out. Maybe we should stop.' But once we had the reunion and everybody was back, we've had a solid lineup, and we've been on tour like a real working band again. So right now, things are good and everybody's surviving and fans seem to be enjoying the shows and there is no goal like that."

TESTAMENT's latest album, "Para Bellum", came out in October 2025 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was recorded with Juan Urteaga and mixed for the first time by Jens Bogren. The cover art was once again painted by Eliran Kantor.

When "Para Bellum" was first announced in August 2025, it was accompanied by the official music video for the LP's first single, "Infanticide A.I.", directed by Joey Durango.