No pressure. Two words that when applied cause the absolute opposite of their desired effect. Holing themselves away to write the follow up to 2012’s Dark Roots Of Earth, Testament began crafting their next chapter in the band’s history. Appearing sporadically for tour opportunities the band were somewhat biding their time. Knowing that their new record would be entitled The Brotherhood Of The Snake there was some form of narrative the band could follow. Speaking with the booming and entirely delightful, Chuck Billy we found out that, to quote the band there was more than meets the eye with their new release. Scheduling in studio time without being entirely prepared, something the band had never done before, their backs were firmly up against the wall. Nevertheless like the proverbial snake, when cornered the animal can become fierce, enraged and most importantly incredibly dangerous. With that in mind we’re let into the world of Testament and how with their strongest line up in years they came to write one of their most vicious records yet. No pressure.

Today I have with me Chuck Billy, how are you?

I’m great! How about yourself?

Yeah, I’m great! How has everything been so far?

Really good! We just finished our European festival run a few days ago and now we get a little bit of a break and get on the promotion to let everybody know about the new record coming out.

I think the last time that we spoke you were about to go bowling haha!

Oh yeah! Ok, that was really cool! They have one of those Brooklyn Bowls in New York. Its the first one and the guy, Alex (Skolnick) actually knows came to London to open this one here. So it was funny Alex saying “Hey I know you! What are you doing here!” I thought it was a cool concept, it was a good vibe, good sound, it was just a good place. You’ve got the bowling alley off to the right, you don’t really perform and then have a bowling alley during your show. I kept doing shout outs to all the bowlers, “Yeah! Did you get a strike yet?” It was kind of funny.

The last time that we spoke it was also just before you were going to go into the studio. Now that the record is recorded and everything, what was that process like?

Hell.

Hahaha!

It was pure hell, probably when I spoke to you we had a bunch of songs and riffs that were not complete yet probably at that point. We were kind of nervous, scared and frustrated all the same you know. Just because, we had hoped to have all the songs finished so that we can go into the studio to rehearse the songs but we didn’t have time to do that. We knew we had to get ’em recorded before we came to Europe before the summer festivals. We just decided, lets just book studio time and go for it. It was the first record that we ever did that we didn’t rehearse. Three of the guys, Alex, Steve and Gene didn’t even hear the songs when they came into the studio!

No way.

Yeah! It was just me and Eric that were working and that was the frustration between me and Eric. I think Eric was even frustrated too “What do you mean, I’m going to the studio, I haven’t even heard the song.” Coming up with something without having heard lyrics, solo or anything you just kind of play it. You don’t have the vibe of the song or anything. So that was the frustrating part of it but I think, with the pressure of everything. Our backs against the wall, everybody really stepped up and really came through on the recording. Especially Gene, since he was the first one up. He was probably pretty fired up and frustrated and angry and he pounded the shit out of the drums. That set the tone for the record too, you know the pace of it.

Do you think that this anger ended up shaping the record?

It did. We didn’t have months to second guess, “Oh lets do a demo or lets change that.” Everything was just on the spur of the moment, lyrics were written right in the studio. Choruses, some songs I wrote four times and wasn’t happy once I laid the tracks down. There was a lot going on, a lot of emotion in the record and we were really angry and frustrated going through it at the end. It was even at the point when the record was done, I was like “Eric, I’m not going to do any press because its just going to seem like I’m talking shit.” You’re going to do it all, its all because of you. I was pointing the finger at him but after it was done we said no matter what happened and what we feel, its a good record! It all came out and the emotions poured onto the tracks.

Its quite interesting from a musical standpoint. Testament’s material is pretty meticulous, its quite technical. Was that not a problem for all of the other guys?

It wasn’t a problem, no because Eric had a lot of parts and a lot of the stuff but nothing was complete. That was the thing, they didn’t hear a complete song, completed start to finish. You’re like “What are we doing, why are we in the studio now?” We had no choice, we had to get it out. We wanted a record this year, we had to do it.

What about, this is Steve DiGiorgio’s first record with you guys,

Second.

Ah second.

Third! He did The Gathering, First Strike Still Deadly… The last interviewer said “Yeah its been seventeen years since… Really! Has it been that long that he was in the band?!”

What was it like having him back in the recoding studio?

It was a breath of fresh air. Just in the studio, live and just touring together Steve is a character, a breath of fresh air into the band. He get Eric to kind of get out of his shell. Eric on tour, he stays real close to the bus and doesn’t do a lot. He’s kind of a little loner on the bus. Steve came back and next thing you know, they’re seeing the town going out for dinner… Off hanging out, wow this is good Steve! You’re getting Eric off his ass and get him to get involved a little bit.

Not being a hermit.

Obviously The Brotherhood Of The Snake is the title, did that kind of slightly change lyrically because you had that pressure underneath you?

No because I had written the songs. I had a lot of lyrics done for a year and a half. That’s why I was very frustrated because the songs didn’t get complete. I was kind of like “What are you doing man? Just finish the song!” I had a bunch of parts, I didn’t know where the leads went. I just wrote lyrics over the lead sections. I wrote lyrics over where I felt. Sometimes Eric would say no you can’t do that there that’s the lead, actually I like what you’re doing. Lets forget the lead and put that somewhere else.

I think its almost like an old school turn out. Especially with bands in the modern day where they kind of process everything. I think its going to give it a bit more of a vintage vibe.

I think that if we had to overthink ourselves and second guess ourselves. I think if we would have we would have been too critical. The song arrangements would have been cut down. Whereas this one there’s a lot of different riffs going into another riff. “Wait a minute, where did that riff come from?”. It works together.

What about the producer was he a bit on edge as well?

Well while we recorded it, he didn’t know either he was just tracking the record. By the time that Andy got it to mix it, all the tracks were there. He really made it come to life.

He had the easiest job!What about the album’s artwork can you explain a little bit about that?

Eric is the one really who is involved with Eliran who creates the covers. When I told Eric, Brotherhood of The Snake, he liked the title. Of course we knew that there would be a snake somewhere in the artwork but I didn’t see it. Eric had been working with Eliran and once it got pretty close he showed me and right away I liked it. I thought this looks good! Eliran works pretty quick with Eric.

That’s crazy though, the amount of detail, is it a painting?

I don’t think so!

What have you got coming up at the end of the year then?

This year we’re doing Amon Amarth tour in October and November. Take the holidays off and then we do an American tour early next year and then we’ll come back for the summer of festivals and the US actually has a lot of festivals going on now starting. We didn’t get to play a lot of them, we did like two or three of them so we want to do both. Jump back and forth to make sure that we do both of them.

You mean European and US?

Yes and then come back here at the end of next year for a headline.

Is there a different interaction with US audiences and European audiences at festivals?

At festivals, no its pretty similar, its the same kind of vibe. Just taken America a lot more years to do, to pull together and pull of festivals. Now that its happening and I think that people read and come over and think “Why can’t we have one in America!” I don’t think that the audiences are mature enough, the drinking age of twenty one its just different mentality over here.

To finish up what has been an album that you have been listening to over the last six months to a year?

Well its been the Lamb of God record, that one has been stuck in my CD player. I really love the production and the songs. To me was like their best stuff, for me. The guitar tone and everything and after touring with them and becoming good friends, it just kind of got stuck in the CD player!

Just Lamb of God?

Just that album.

Wow.

My wife is like, “Again? You’re playing it again?” “Yeah it sounds good!”

Testament’s The Brotherhood Of The Snake is out October 28th via Nuclear Blast.