TESTAMENT are further along on the follow-up to "Para Bellum" than anyone had reason to expect. Speaking to the Appetite For Distortion podcast, Chuck Billy said guitarist Eric Peterson and drummer Chris Dovas have close to nine tracks in progress, with the band aiming to start recording in the summer of 2027.
"Writing with Eric and Chris now, just really delivering a lot of tunes right now, we're in a good place where we're probably gonna deliver records every couple of years instead of every four years at this pace right now, which is a good thing for us," the singer said.
The change in pace comes with a change in direction, and Billy was blunt about where it is coming from. Asked which newer bands are feeding into the writing, he pointed straight at his rhythm section and his guitarist.
"Some of those songs, especially with Chris, he'll bring it to Eric, more bands like LORNA SHORE or more real death stuff. Chris really loves his death metal, and he likes playing fast. And Eric loves black metal and loves playing fast, so it's a good combination for the two of them," he said. "They're just really in a good writing groove right now. So I think they got maybe good close to nine tracks that they brought over to me to start listening to. So we're way ahead of the game. Hopefully, I think next summer is our goal to get in to start recording the record."
At 40 years in, Billy framed the experimentation as a matter of appetite rather than proof. "In our music, I think we're beyond trying to prove a point. When you're a younger band, you're playing hard and fast and give it your best shot right now," he said. "Especially vocally I'm trying some new stuff, finding some new voices and tones that I haven't used, which I think's pretty cool after 40 years to still be able to be pushed to an uncomfortable spot."
He also described the balancing act openly — taking "just real heavy shit" from the current generation and asking how much of it he can fold into what he already does. "Maybe it'd strike a nerve a little. I don't know."
"Para Bellum" came out last October via Nuclear Blast, recorded with Juan Urteaga and mixed for the first time by Jens Bogren, with cover art once again by Eliran Kantor. Dovas was the album's biggest single change, accelerating the writing process and helping shape song structures alongside Peterson. This past spring TESTAMENT wrapped the U.S. leg of the "Thrash Of The Titans" tour alongside OVERKILL and DESTRUCTION.