TESTAMENT Bassist STEVE DI GIORGIO Describes Forthcoming Album As "Pretty Evil"
December 23, 2024, 15 hours ago
Earlier this month, Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio was interviewed by Impact Metal Channel. During their chat, which can be viewed below, Di Giorgio talks about the as yet untitled follow-up to Titans Of Creation, which was released in 2020 via Nuclear Blast. An excerpt has been transcribed as follows:
"It's pretty close to being done," begins Di Giorgio. "There's still some things here and there to finish. So there's some bits to record still, but it's pretty easy to say the majority of the album is done. So it feels like an album now. But we keep throwing tours in the middle of the recording process, so we just put it on hold and go play for two months and come back and turn on the system and work on it some more. So it'll take a while, but, yeah, I think we'll be mixing in the early part of the year, which means release probably middle of the year."
When asked to describe the upcoming album, Di Giorgio replied: "It's pretty evil. The last album has some cool, catchy songs mixed in with some fast stuff. And it's one of my particularly favorite Testament records, the way it came out, Titans. So if I say anything, it's supposedly in a good way catchy; it's not a turn-off. But this new one, I would definitely say it is much more evil-sounding. Having the new kid [Chris Dovas] on drums has really picked things up, and [vocalist] Chuck [Billy]'s singing just as good as ever. And for being 62 now, he still sounds like Chuck."
"And we have this — they've been talking about it even before we wrote the song; it's a ballad-type song. But it's a Testament ballad. There's acoustic guitar in it, but then there's still elements of kind of heavy, slow. But having Floor Jansen sing on it, the Nightwish singer. She's gonna do a little guest spot in the song. So, there's a pretty big variety, considering there's a ballad combined with some pretty fast, evil shit, too. So, I guess, just to keep it simple, it's another Testament record. The Testament variety is there in all forms again. But this early, it's also hard to tell until it's done and we can sit back and listen to it. Especially me — I'm the worst guesser of how something's gonna be. Sometimes I think it's silly and everybody gets behind it, or sometimes I'm really excited about it and kind of no big reaction. So, I don't know what that means. But I'll just wait and see. But I know that playing it in the studio was intense. It wasn't easy to play, so I think that's why I feel it's evil, 'cause it was like some difficult, fast passages and stuff."
Catch Testament live at the following shows:
May
9 - Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival 2025 - Columbus, OH
18 - Welcome To Rockville 2025 - Daytona Beach, FL
June
18 - The Tivoli - Brisbane, Australia
20 - Metro Theatre - Sydney, Australia
21 - Northcote Theatre - Northcote, Australia
22 - The Gov - Hindmarsh, Australia
24 - Metropolis - Fremantle, Australia