testament
Former TESTAMENT Bassist GREG CHRISTIAN On His Departure: ‘I Got Sick Of Not Getting Paid’
TESTAMENT's original bassist, Greg Christian, who was most recently forced out of the band earlier this year, has posted the following message on his Facebook page:
"I had an idea LMAO — a weekly 'column' here. I was prompted to do this by seeing vague, partial at best, and usually pretty incoherent responses — in TESTAMENT interviews — in regards to my departure. And never once an actual, factual statement. Because it's pretty cut and dry. I got sick of not getting paid, and they got sick of me getting hostile about it. Not sure they even realized they pushed me into a position of being bitter and resentful, then blamed me for not being happy. But whatever… All I'm doing here is simple — since they obviously lack the ability to speak to the press in the same manner I was spoken to regularly, I'll do it for them. And I'll try to keep it clean, maybe a little tongue in cheek about the ridiculousness, and not bitter and nasty. [I will] do my best.
"The point is just — be how you're going to be, be who or what you're going to be, but stand up and be it. Don't be one way to me, then stutter and backpedal about it to others, especially if it's because you know how not right the truth really looks.
"So I'll throw a little something out there once a week, mostly to entertain myself, since I can't afford a movie LMAO (shoulda paid me lol).
"Anyway... here goes volume 1.
"Two things I heard the last time I spoke to Chuck [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] in January and no comment from me here — just two excerpts from our conversation. FYI, my response to both was 'Ya. Okay.'
1. I was never part of anything
2. We all made the same on the road
"?!?!?! ?!?!?! ?!?!?!
"Tune in next week to hear the casual comment (and surrounding circumstances) that became the straw that broke the camel's back."
In a recent interview with Germany's Rock Hard magazine, TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson stated about Christian's latest departure: "Well, you know, I'll just say this… Greg, basically, I think, was basically struggling in his mind with what he was doing. And he just seemed very unhappy on tour, and he has a lot of different reasons; he can only describe that. But he just seemed very unhappy, and we just let him go. Like, 'OK, you're unhappy. Then go.' 'Cause it was a lot of tours where he was unhappy. That's all I can really say about that. Steve DiGiorgio came onboard for the Soundwave tour we did in Australia. Steve DiGiorgio is great. We hadn't played with him for awhile, but it's awesome."
Speaking to 100PercentRock.com, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy stated about Christian's split with the group: "Well, I think Greg, he informed us that he wasn't going to be participating on the new record release and that was his last tour with us. We knew we had Australia coming up, so, of course, Steve DiGiorgio was probably one of the first ones to come to mind. He did 'The Gathering' record with us and we enjoyed that whole cycle of touring, so he was definitely, probably, our first choice. We didn't want to go through auditions and do all that. We just knew that he was here, and he could do it, and it was killer."
Asked if there was a particular reason that Greg just had enough of it, Billy replied: "Well, I think that the last tour he just wasn't getting along, and he just decided that that was going to be the last tour with us, so we just kind of said, 'Well, okay. I guess we'll have to maybe look for what's coming up in the future.' You know — there's nothing we can do."
Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November 2013 for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson.
TESTAMENT’s CHUCK BILLY To Guest On New THE HAUNTED Album
TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy will make a guest appearance on the new album from Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED, due later in the year via Century Media Records. The song, tentatively titled "Trendkiller", has been described by producer Juan Urteaga, who recorded Billy's vocal tracks, as "sick as heck!"
THE HAUNTED's new CD is being recorded at Antfarm studio in Åbyhøj, Arhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen.
The band released a new three-song single, "Eye Of The Storm", on January 20 in Europe and January 21 in North America via Century Media Records.
"Eye Of The Storm" was made available as limited-edition seven-inch EP (1,000 copies split as follows: 500 on black vinyl, 300 on red vinyl and 200 on white vinyl) and as digital single, featuring the new songs "Eye Of The Storm", "Infiltrator" and "My Enemy".
"Eye Of The Storm" track listing:
01. Eye Of The Storm
02. Infiltrator
03. My Enemy
The single marked the recording debut of THE HAUNTED's new lineup, which was announced last summer, featuring founding members Patrik Jensen (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass), returning members Marco Aro (vocals) and Adrian Erlandsson (drums), as well as new guitarist Ola Englund.
THE HAUNTED's 2014 lineup:
* Patrik Jensen - Guitar
* Ola Englund (SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED) - Guitar
* Marco Aro (THE RESISTANCE, FACE DOWN) - Vocals
* Jonas Björler - Bass
* Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums
Vocalist Marco Aro (ex-FACE DOWN, also in THE RESISTANCE) was previously involved with THE HAUNTED for three acclaimed releases between 1999 and 2003 as well as for several worldwide touring campaigns. Drummer Adrian Erlandsson (also in AT THE GATES and PARADISE LOST) belonged to the original lineup of THE HAUNTED together the Björler twins after the demise of their previous legendary group, AT THE GATES. Together with Jensen, they launched THE HAUNTED's self-titled debut in 1998, an album which has been widely considered as the kick-start for a new era in the thrash metal movement and which, despite its initial underground status, climbed to be a massively inspirational record for a whole new generation of musicians and bands in the following decade. Guitarist Ola Englund is a highly talented young player from Sweden, who has recently been active as touring and recording member of U.S. death metal institution SIX FEET UNDER.
Bassist GREG CHRISTIAN: There Are No ‘Bros’ In TESTAMENT
Former TESTAMENT bassist Greg Christian, who turned 48 years old today (Tuesday, April 29), has posted the following message on his personal Facebook page:
"Thank you so much for the birthday wishes.
"Lately, it's been all too easy to forget how many people's lives I've actually 'touched.'
"The last five months or so have been some of the most difficult of my 48 years on this Earth and seeing this support really helps. Thank you.
"I'm still kind of in shock by how everything went down with TESTAMENT. And all I'll really say about that is — there are no 'bros' in TESTAMENT. The catch phrase coined by the Chief himself is every one man for himself, and it's taken to a sickening extreme with zero humanity. C'est la vie. But I'm not done playing music yet. Far from it. But every day's a struggle. And on top of it all, I have to deal with a few haters (people I barely know) going out of their way to derail me in any way they can. Thanks, guys. LOL.
"Anyway... Thank you again for all the birthday wishes. I appreciate it more than you all can probably understand. Cheers!!!"
TESTAMENT in January announced the departure of Greg Christian and return of Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, DEATH, ICED EARTH).
Steve was previously a member of TESTAMENT on "The Gathering" (1999) and "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) albums.
In a recent interview with 100PercentRock.com, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy stated about Christian's latest departure from the band: "Well, I think Greg, he informed us that he wasn't going to be participating on the new record release and that was his last tour with us. We knew we had Australia coming up, so, of course, Steve DiGiorgio was probably one of the first ones to come to mind. He did 'The Gathering' record with us and we enjoyed that whole cycle of touring, so he was definitely, probably, our first choice. We didn't want to go through auditions and do all that. We just knew that he was here, and he could do it, and it was killer."
Asked if there was a particular reason that Greg just had enough of it, Billy replied: "Well, I think that the last tour he just wasn't getting along, and he just decided that that was going to be the last tour with us, so we just kind of said, 'Well, okay. I guess we'll have to maybe look for what's coming up in the future.' You know — there's nothing we can do."
Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November 2013 for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson.
Christian played on the following TESTAMENT albums:
* "The Legacy" (1987)
* "The New Order" (1988)
* "Practice What You Preach" (1989)
* "Souls Of Black" (1990)
* "The Ritual" (1992)
* "Low" (1994)
* "The Formation Of Damnation" (2008)
* "Dark Roots Of Earth" (2012)
TESTAMENT Working On New Material
According to a new tweet from TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, he is currently "holed up" in a San Francisco Bay Area motel with fellow TESTAMENT axeman Eric Peterson and their guitars and mini-amps writing tunes for the band's next studio album. Skolnick says: "[We have] great ideas so far!"
TESTAMENT last week announced the departure of bassist Greg Christian. Metal fretless bass pioneer Steve DiGiorgio has rejoined TESTAMENT as Christian's replacement.
Steve was previously a member of TESTAMENT on "The Gathering" (1999) and "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) albums.
Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson.
"Dark Roots Of Thrash", a DVD/2CD release documenting TESTAMENT's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York this past February, was made available on October 18, 2013 (Europe) and October 29, 2013 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. "Dark Roots Of Thrash" was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you're a part of the show.
TESTAMENT Parts Ways With Bassist GREG CHRISTIAN, Announces Return Of STEVE DIGIORGIO
San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans TESTAMENT have released the following statement:
"It is with much respect that we announce our mutual parting with bassist Greg Christian. Metal fretless bass pioneer Steve DiGiorgio will be returning to TESTAMENT.
"Steve previously was a member of TESTAMENT on 'The Gathering' (1999) as well as 'First Strike Still Deadly' (2001). He will be joining TESTAMENT on their upcoming shows in Australia on the Soundwave Festival, Japan and Mexico City. Steve will also be taking part in the new TESTAMENT album.
"We are looking forward to continuing the momentum you, the fans, have made possible."
Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson.
"Dark Roots Of Thrash", a DVD/2CD release documenting TESTAMENT's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York this past February, was made available on October 18, 2013 (Europe) and October 29, 2013 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. "Dark Roots Of Thrash" was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you're a part of the show.
Video: TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX, NIGHTWISH, Ex-HELLOWEEN, ACCEPT Singers Perform At ‘Christmas Metal Symphony’
Fan-filmed video footage of the first two shows of this year's Christmas Metal Symphony European tour — which kicked off this past Friday night (December 13) in Trollhättan, Sweden and played again last night (Saturday, December 14) in Kristianstad, Sweden — can be seen below.
Magnum Opum Rockestra (under conductor Marcel Heijnen), a 32-strong orchestra accompanied by the METALFORCE 1 rock band and led by singers/vocalists which influenced the metal scene in recent years and decades, are taking part in the Christmas Metal Symphony European tour. Musical director of the production is Joost van den Broek. Singers taking part in the trek include Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT), Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN, UNISONIC) and Floor Jansen (REVAMP, NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER).
It is a well-known fact in the world of international metal fans that Tilburg in The Netherlands was host of this impressive metal show for two years. As a direct result of the succes of these shows, the requests for bringing it to the rest of Europe kept growing. Nowthe time is right to fulfill these wishes and bring this monster on the road.
Christmas Metal Symphony comes with six fantastic international metal vocalists, a six-piece metal band with musicians from bands like EPICA, AFTER FOREVER and STREAM OF PASSION and an impressive 32-piece symphonic orchestra.
The heavy backbone of the show is METALFORCE 1. These musicians were handpicked by Joost van den Broek and these Santa's Little Helpers contain some of the finest metal artists:
* Marcel Coenen (SUN CAGED) - Guitar
* Johan Van Stratum (STREAM OF PASSION) - Bass
* Abel Carnizales (LABIRINTHO) - Guitar
* Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION) - Keyboards
* Koen Herfst (EPICA) - Drums
* Joost Van Den Broek (AFTER FOREVER) - Keyboards
Over the last 35 years of metalmusic, bands have written many concept albums and concept shows; great stories and fantastic songs. The team of Christmas Metal Symphony therefore decided that with the impressive heritage of all these great metal songs ever written, it would be a shame not to use them. So for this reason you can expect performances of your all time favorite metal songs, by some of the best international artists who are part of that great metal history themselves. All of this in a great Christmas and metal setting and brought to you as a full metal show; loud and extremely powerful… just like the doctor ordered!
Kristianstad fan-filmed video footage:
TESTAMENT Bassist Leaves Tour, EXODUS’ JACK GIBSON Steps In
TESTAMENT bassist Greg Christian has been forced to leave the band's current North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE for "personal reasons." Filling in for him beginning with tonight's (Wednesday, November 19) concert at Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson (pictured).
"It's an honor to be filling in for Greg," Jack tells BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "I've always thought he was one of the best metal bass players alive.
"TESTAMENT is already family. Gene [Hoglan, TESTAMENT drummer] is a god.
"This should be a lot of fun!"
"Dark Roots Of Thrash", a DVD/2CD release documenting TESTAMENT's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York this past February, was made available on October 18 (Europe) and October 29 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. "Dark Roots Of Thrash" was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you're a part of the show.
EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt is continuing to fill in for fallen SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman on the latter band's current tour.
ICED EARTH Taps Former SLAYER/TESTAMENT Drummer JON DETTE
For the remainder of ICED EARTH's European tour with VOLBEAT, Jon Dette (SLAYER,TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX) will sit behind the drums, taking over for Raphael Saini, who filled in during the summer festivals, the recording of ICED EARTH's new album, and the club leg of theVOLBEAT tour.
"Raphael came in and helped us out of a tight spot this summer with a full schedule of festivals, a new album to finish, and no room for diversion on the schedule," said ICED EARTHin a statement. "He came in and delivered and we are very grateful for that. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours."
Added Raphael: "When I had the chance to join ICED EARTH for their summer festivals and the new album, I couldn't say no: I was really excited even though I knew that it was going to be something temporary.
"I am honored to be part of the band's history, an amazing album, and to have worked with some supremely talented musicians. My journey will continue, there's more to come."
ICED EARTH earlier in the year parted ways with drummer Brent Smedley for "personal family reasons."
The second leg of ICED EARTH's tour with VOLBEAT kicks off at O2 World in Berlin, Germany, tomorrow, November 6, and wraps at Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark on December 1.
ICED EARTH will release its new album, "Plagues Of Babylon", in January 2014 via Century Media Records. The cover artwork was created and illustrated by Eliran Kantor(TESTAMENT, ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS, GWAR).
TESTAMENT’s ALEX SKOLNICK: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Riffs Are ‘All Over’ SLAYER’s Iconic Tunes
Peter Atkinson of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal-Rules.com: The last time you toured with SLAYER, was Jeff Hanneman still with the band?
Skolnick: The last time we toured with them, I think it must have been one of the last tours that Jeff did. Of course, no one knew that at the time. He hadn't developed his health issues so Gary [Holt, SLAYER's current touring guitarist] wasn't there yet, he was still going full-time with EXODUS, who we also toured with. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. That was 2010, and it was only 2011 when the "Big Four" shows happened and he [Hanneman] couldn't do those, which was such a shame.
Metal-Rules.com: You wrote a very eloquent and well-circulated tribute to Hanneman after his death. TESTAMENT toured with SLAYER many times, but did you really know him that well or was that more to show respect for his talents?
Skolnick: I never really knew him well at all. He was very difficult to get to know, actually. And I don't say that disrespectfully. Even close friends of his said it would take a long time to get to know him. Robb Flynn, a friend of ours from MACHINE HEAD, wrote that he'd toured with them, like, eight times and he still felt like he barely knew him. He kept to himself more. I don't think he related to many people — that was just the way he was — but he was a towering presence, no question. I wrote about him more from his reputation, which is tremendous. When you think about the music, the music is great and he is such a part of it. With all due respect to Kerry [King], when you take a look at the iconic SLAYER tunes, it'sHanneman's riffs all over it.
Metal-Rules.com: I haven't seen anything about Chuck's [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] health in a long time, so I'm assuming no news is good news there and his health is good. How's the rest of the band holding up, since none of you are kids anymore?
Skolnick: Yeah, thankfully, that's worked out really well. Chuck's been much better [after a battle with rare form of cancer in 2001]; he's been in great shape. Everybody in this band, knock on wood, is in relatively good health. I think as time goes on and you realize that you don't have as much free time as you once had, your perspective changes. Fortunately, most of us realize that and take better care of ourselves. I was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol and never really developed a taste for other substances, so I think that worked to my benefit. I was taking care of myself early on, and I would get a lot of funny looks, but it seems like now many people are catching up to me.
Metal-Rules.com: TESTAMENT's been pretty busy, especially over the last few years, and just about everyone has at least one other band going on the side — notably Gene [Hoglan, drummer] with DETHKLOK and now, apparently, with DARK ANGEL again. Are you all finding you are able to balance TESTAMENT with the other things you want to do?
Skolnick: That's been the toughest, I think, with Gene. I used to be the thorn in the side, with my trio shows and I was doing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA for a long time. I narrowed it down to TESTAMENT, my trio [ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO] and a world music project I'm working on. But I have control over those, so I am able to let the chips fall where they may withTESTAMENT, because usually their shows are booked well in advance. Occasionally, there are some curveballs where we get last-minute things like festivals or something. I'm mostly able to work my activities around the TESTAMENT schedule. Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] and Chuck do their side projects [DRAGONLORD and DUBLIN DEATH PATROL, respectively] so sporadically that it never poses scheduling problems. With Gene, it got a little bit easier when he wasn't playing in FEAR FACTORY anymore, which happened last year. And theDETHKLOK shows are usually booked far in advance, so we can work around those. Occasionally, he'll have to miss a few dates, a friend of ours, Mark Hernandez fromFORBIDDEN, was able to fill in and it worked out. But with all of us, we really feel like the core lineup and we do everything that we can so the fans get to see this lineup.
Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.