Prosthetic Records

Few bands in metal have left an undeniably visible, and long-lasting, footprint on the landscape modern metal, butTESTAMENT undoubtedly lands on that short list of bands that continue to inspire current day bands and trends in addition to leaving timeless albums full of music that continues to get revisited by metalheads young and old alike.

Bursting out of the Bay Area as Legacy in 1983 and later molding into the classic line-up that would be remembered for years,TESTAMENT was birthed in 1986 at a time when thrash metal was just beginning to change the American musical landscape. With a handful of timeless classics released throughout the 80s and 90s,TESTAMENT was one of the few bands that seemed to get angrier, thrashier and more intense with each release. Case in point: The scathing guitar work, frantic rhythm section and ever-increasingly intense vocal deliveries of mainman Chuck Billy on two of TESTAMENT’s most brutal albums, 1997’s Demonic and 1999’s The Gathering.

Over those few years TESTAMENT released these two unrelenting records, the band’s longtime cohorts Eric Peterson (guitar) and Chuck Billy (vocals) managed to enlist several of metal’s most respected musicians including James Murphy (guitar), Steve DiGiorgio (bass), two former members in the form of Glen Avelais (guitar) and Derek Ramirex (bass), rounded off by Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo, two of metal’s most esteemed drummers.

The end results are two of TESTAMENT’s most brutal records, Demonic and The Gathering, which will now see a January 2008 reissue worldwide, remastered with new layouts, after being out of print, and ultimately unattainable for the legions of TESTAMENT fans both new and old, for far too long.

“TESTAMENT is far and away one of the most influential bands in all of modern metal,” says Lamb of God’s Chris Adler. “While other veteran acts soak up much of the spotlight with sing a-longs, TESTAMENT maintains the unsurpassed musicianship, integrity and brutality that continues to create an untouchable legacy.”

Now available worldwide to fans young and old, to the uninitiated and those owning the entire catalog alike, andDemonic and The Gathering are staples in one of heavy metal’s most accomplished and longest lasting acts. Serving as a pre-cursor to the band’s forthcoming new album, the first of entirely new material in nine years since the release of The Gathering, two odes to TESTAMENT’s staying power, musical intensity and masterful musicianship are available once again.