TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy is featured in a new inrterview with Brandon Marshall at Sonic Excess. An excerpt is available below

SE: Tweny years ago, Testament played with SLAYER and MEGADETH on the Clash of the Titans Tour. How do you think the American Carnage Tour will be different, and why not call it Clash of the Titans II?

Billy: "I don't know why they didn't call it that, but I think this time around...shit, that was 20 years ago, that was a big party with all the bands and crew. There was a lot of Jagermeister going around. Of course back then, the partying was more intense. We thought we would perform better being drunk, but that's what we thought (laughs). As for today, I can't speak for Slayer and Megadeth, but for Testament, it's more about the performance, and the show for the fans that are paying money. Before, it wasn't. It was more about ourselves and how much fun we're having and how much we can get fucked up; never thought about the people who are paying money to see us. Now, in our life and in our career, our number one priority is performing good and sounding good and giving our fans their money's worth, especially in today's economy. We want to give them as much as we can for their buck, and that's why we offer the V.I.P. passes. We have never done that before, and when we did we just started seeing so much fan appreciation. So, we kept doing it. It really is a chance for fans to speak their minds to us in person or just hang for an hour. This time in our career, it's all about the fans and the performance."

SE: Testament is known for being a strong live band, and lately, a lot of buzz has been generating around your live shows.

Billy: "A lot of bands that do albums don't cut the mustard when it's time to play live. Some bands use samples or just put so much on their records that it doesn't come across the same way live. I think Testament plays our songs better live then we do on the record, because we always have had more energy, and it's always more powerful."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Testament are set to hit the road this summer as part of the American Carnage tour alongside Slayer and Megadeth. The complete itinerary is as follows:

Canadian Carnage

July

23 - Pavillon de la Jeunesse - Quebec City, QC
24 - Heavy MTL, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC
26 - Metro Centre - Halifax, NS
27 - Moncton Coliseum - Moncton, NB
29 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
30 - John Labatt Centre Center - London, ON

American Carnage

August

11 - Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, NY
12 - Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
14 - Tsongas Arena - Boston, MA
15 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
16 - Chevrolet Theatre - Wallingford, CT
18 - Tower City Amphitheatre - Cleveland, OH
19 - Joe Lewis Arena - Detroit,MI
20 - UIC Pavillon - Chicago, IL
21 - Roy Wilkins Auditorium - Minneapolis, MN
23 - Cap Fed Park @Sandstone - Kansas City, KS
25 - Magness Arena - Denver, CO
26 - Tingley Coliseum - Albuquerque, NM
27 - Dodge Theatre - Phoenix, AZ
29 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre - San Diego, CA
30 - Long Beach Arena - Long Beach, CA
31 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

September

1 - Arco Arena - Sacramento, CA
3 - Wamu Theatre - Seattle, WA
4 - Washington County Fairgrounds - Portland, OR

Testament will also return to Australia in August. Dates are as follows:

August

6 - Billboard - Melbourne, Australia
7 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia
8 - The HiFi - Brisbane, Australia

Watch for updates at this location.