If the "Big 4" could be expanded to the "Big 6," it's quite possible that Testament and Exodus would be included, as both bands helped solidify thrash as one of metal's leading styles in the mid to late '80s (due to the arrival of such classic albums as The Legacy and Bonded by Blood, respectively). And starting April 1st, both bands will be touring the US as part of the 'Dark Roots of Thrash II Tour,' with Shattered Sun rounding out the bill.

Testament's frontman, Chuck Billy, recently spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato about how the tour came about, what fans can expect setlist-wise and if they decide to invest in the VIP package that both bands are offering, and an update about studio album #11.

BraveWords: How did the tour with Exodus and Shattered Sun come about?

Chuck Billy: "Us and Exodus, I think we've been talking and joking, 'We need to tour together! We need to play together!' And it just never happened, schedule-wise, until now. And I think maybe the time is right now - Zet's back in the band, and we've got some history with Zet, being the past singer of Legacy, before Testament became Testament. So when it came about that our schedules were going to make it happen, it was kind of hard to believe. Like, 'OK, what's going to happen? Something's going to spoil this.' But, it didn't. So the plans are on. We're ready to rock, everybody's excited. I spoke to Zet, everybody's all fired up. The Shattered Sun guys are all fired up, they're excited - this is their first North American tour. So this will be fun to see them cut their teeth out there on the road with us."

BraveWords: From what I understand, Testament will have a pretty cool setlist.

Chuck Billy: "We figured we'll do The Legacy and The New Order in their entirety, and then maybe come back and do an encore and do two, three, four…I don't know, depending what songs we work out, what we'll play at the end. We're kind of just stepping back, because right now, we're writing our new record - me and Eric are working on it a lot ourselves. Gene, Steve, and Alex are out doing their other projects and touring, and this is actually going to be a time where we'll get together as a band, and probably review a lot of the demos me and Eric did work on - hopefully at soundcheck and on the bus. And give us more time to fine-tune what me and Eric have done over the last four months. We're looking forward to that. Bands got to go on tour these days - so we've got to tour, we've got to get together to work on a record, so we're kind of killing two birds with one stone on this trip. And having fun doing it."

BraveWords: Testament will be welcoming back bassist Steve DiGiorgio on this tour, too.

Chuck Billy: "This is his first US run with us. He did the Motörboat Cruise and Australia with us last year. So this will be his first US run back in the band. Looking forward to it. Steve's a lot of fun to have on the road, and happy he's back in the band. We're having a good time."

BraveWords: Is Steve a permanent Testament member now?

Chuck Billy: "Well, you can never say who's permanent in this band. But Steve is always welcomed to be here with us, as long as he chooses. Put it this way - we don't want him to go anywhere!"

BraveWords: What are some songs off The Legacy and The New Order that you're looking forward to performing live?

Chuck Billy: "There's quite a few, like 'First Strike is Deadly' and 'Do or Die' - songs like that, songs that we probably wouldn't pick to put in our set, if it was just doing a regular tour. So I think that's the fun part about it - we get to go back and rehash the old vibes. Once you start playing these old songs, you remember your history and the fun you had back then writing and playing these songs. So I think that sticks out. It's fun relearning them. We should know them like the back of our hand once we start playing them, like, 'OK, we got it.' It shouldn't take much. It should be fun."

BraveWords: Testament and Exodus are also offering a combined VIP experience for fans.

Chuck Billy: "Us and Exodus getting together to do a meet-and-greet package that we're offering to fans, that you can meet both bands, pretty much for one price. Instead of making people decide who they want to buy a package for, we decided, 'Let's just get together and come up with a great price for the fans, and they get their tickets, a custom laminate, exclusive poster that was only made for the VIP members, photos and autographs with both bands, spend about an hour with us, hang out. It's pretty loose and relaxed. It's an opportunity for fans to say hello and ask any questions."

BraveWords: You mentioned that Testament is working on a new album.

Chuck Billy: "We've got about six or seven songs. I wrote lyrics for maybe five or six of them, we've demoed them up. But I still think they will be tweaked and once the whole band hears it, will have their comments and mold it more into shape, as we're all together. But I think it's definitely going to be a thrash record. I think a lot of the songs are fast-tempoed songs. So far, that's what I've been writing to. It's definitely a thrash record."

BraveWords: When do you think the new album will come out?

Chuck Billy: "I hope - in a perfect world - by the end of the year. I don't know if that's the best time. Or the first thing next year. But the plan is we're going to be together as a group the next three months, until June. So we have a lot of time to work stuff out on the road. Hopefully we're ready to go right into the studio when we come back from Europe at the end of June. Hopefully July/August/September, we get in there and get it recorded and mixed and have it done. So at that point, we'll see what makes sense - if we want to go with an October/November release or not, I don't know. We'll see."