If you are a fan of Thrash Metal, you certainly know Testament, one of the most influential names in the genre in question. Active since the early 1980s, Testament has a respectable discography, which includes immortal classics such as “The Legacy”, “The New Order”, “Souls Of Black” and “The Gathering”.
Before being called Testament, the legendary Thrash Metal group had another name: Legacy. And the decision to change the “baptismal name” did not come from guitarist Eric Peterson or vocalist Chuck Billy, but rather from the vocalist of another band.
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“It was Billy Milano, from SOD (Stormtroopers Of Death) [quem deu a ideia]. He called Jonny Z [fundador da Megaforce Records] and presented the idea. We liked it immediately, and Eric started playing with the logo – and when we saw it, it all made sense,” said vocalist Chuck Billy during an interview with Metal Hammer magazine in 2007.
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“In fact, we also endorse the idea that the words ‘Legacy’ and ‘Testament’ mean similar things. So it wasn’t a seismic shift. We always intended, though, to call the [primeiro] ‘The Legacy’ album. We wanted some kind of connection with what had happened before”, added the frontman, who before entering the studio to record Legacy’s debut, knew that the band would have to change its name.
“We knew this was coming before we went into the studio. We found out there was another band that had already trademarked the name – I think it was a Jazz band, or something like that. But anyway, we had to come up with something new. It wasn’t a shock for us.”
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In the end, Legacy became Testament. Formed by Chuck Billy (vocals), Eric Peterson (guitar), Alex Skolnick (guitar), Greg Christian (bass) and Louie Clemente (drums), the quintet recorded “The Legacy”, a classic Thrash album, which was released in April 1987.
Testament is currently recording tracks for their next studio album, which is the successor to “Titans Of Creation”, released in 2020.
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