Testament

Testament came roaring out of Berkeley in 1983 under another name, Legacy, and by the time they became Testament in 1986 the classic lineup had locked in: Chuck Billy, who took over the microphone from original frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza that year, Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick on guitars, Greg Christian on bass and Louie Clemente on drums. Megaforce got them first, but Atlantic Records swooped, making them one of the early thrash bands on a major label.

The Legacy in 1987 and The New Order in 1988 put them at the front of the second wave of Bay Area thrash, all razor riffs and Billy's barrel-chested bark, with Skolnick's fluid leads cutting through the storm. Practice What You Preach, in 1989, was their first album into the top 100 of the Billboard 200, a tighter, more pointed record that even found room for the brooding slow burn of "The Ballad". Souls of Black followed in 1990 and The Ritual in 1992, with "Return to Serenity" as their only US chart single.

Then the lineup began to spin. Clemente and Skolnick were gone by the end of 1992, and a parade of drummers came through, Paul Bostaph, John Tempesta, Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo among them. Billy was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and recovered the following year, Skolnick eventually came back for good, and later albums such as The Formation of Damnation and Dark Roots of Earth put them back in the top 100. They have sold over 14 million records worldwide.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.