The Metal Voice recently interviewed Metal Allegiance and Testament guitarist ,Alex Skolnick, about the Metal Allegiance show on September 6 in Sayreville, NJ at the Starland Ballroom. Alex also gave an update on the upcoming Testament studio album.

Says Alex: "Our current drummer Chris Dovas, I think he's really lit a fire under everyone. I think everybody's gonna be really impressed. We've had some amazing drummers. I think that's one of the reasons why, I'll call it, the resurrection period of the Testament has gone so well, uh with all due respect to Louie (Clemente) who's still a great friend of ours, the original drummer. He wasn't like a drummer's drummer and when he left the band he never joined another band. Everyone we have since then has been a drummer's drummer. So when I came back to the band in the mid 2000s we always had  a drummer's drummer. And we did a tour cycle with Dave Lombardo which was amazing but scheduling conflicts were too much. And to really do a new album with this band (with Lombardo) especially for the drummer it's such a level of commitment. I would have been surprised if that worked out so I know some people were hoping that would continue and they would see us with Dave Lambardo but I'll tell you nobody's complaining. Something new is happening with Chris and it's very well captured on this record. There is something for everybody on this record. There's super fast high energy songs, there is a slow song that we haven't done for a long time. The type that we haven't done with some elements that we've never done before. I think it's definitely going to be a Testament record but it's going to have a lot of  diversity as well."

When asked if he has song contributions on the new Testament album, Alex responds: "I have, yes. We met a few times and worked like we used to kind of bouncing ideas off each other. This one there's a lot more contributions and people seem to like it when we write together. I  have a whole song, at least one whole composition on this record."

Skolnick recently spoke with Eddie Trunk and revealed that the next Testament album will be out next year.

SiriusXM's Trunk Nation, hosted by Eddie Trunk, airs daily at 3 PM, ET on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk. Audio clip and transcription below, courtesy of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation.

Alex Skolnick: "Well, I think everybody knows yeah, we went through a couple different drummers the past couple years. I know it's very spinal tap."

Eddie Trunk: "None of them exploded, did they, Alex?"

Skolnick: "Life imitating art. No, thankfully not. There were scheduling conflicts with Gene Hoglan. Then we got Dave Lombardo, who's just, it was amazing. But when it came to going all in on a next record, Dave was overbooked and we needed somebody. And we've got a new drummer. His name's Chris Dovas. He wasn't even born when the first Testament record came out. But I got to say he's lighting fires, speaking of explosions. He's lit a fire under everybody and just great to play with. He nails everybody's parts from before, but he has his own style. And excited about the next record, it's actually gonna come out next year. The drum tracks are done, just a rhythm, guitars, bass leads, and some vocals need to be done. But it is in progress. It'll be turned in before the end of the year and it'll be listenable next year."

Earlier this month, Kreator issued the following update in regards to their Klash Of The Titans 2024 co-headlining tour with Testament, and special guests Possessed.

"Starting next month, we are bringing Klash Of The Titans back to North America with thrash metal masters Testament and one of our favourite bands in the world Possessed. Alongside our standard VIP packages, we also have a VERY special additional VIP guitar offering for these shows, where you can get an exclusive stage-played guitar, signed by Mille. These are some of our biggest shows in the US to date. Make sure you have tickets to join us for a tour of pure metal madness. Hail to the Hordes!"

Further VIP details can be found here.

Tour dates are listed below.

September
12 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort
13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union Event Centre
16 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
17 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
18 - Vancouver, BC Canada - Vogue
20 - Calgary, AB Canada - MacEwan Hall
21 - Enoch, AB Canada - River Cree Casino
22 - Saskatoon, SK Canada - Coors Event Centre
24 - Winnipeg, MB Canada - Burton Cummings Theatre
26 - Maplewood, MN - Myth Live
27 - Chicago, IL - Radius
28 - Huber Heights, OH - Rose Music Center
29 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre

October
1 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora
3 - Toronto, ON Canada - History
4 - Montreal, QC Canada - MTelus
5 - New Haven, CT - College Street
6 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
8 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
10 - Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theatre
11 - Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Casino
12 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
13 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
15 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
16 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
18 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall (Lawn)
19 - San Antonio, TX - The Aztec
20 - Dallas, TX - The Factory
22 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
23 - Albuquerque, NM - Albuquerque Convention Center
24 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
26 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
27 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield