The Great Southern Brainfart has issued a new interview, conducted with TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson. An excerpt follows:

Q: Testament seems to have really found a good place to be musically and, as you said earlier, have come full circle. Is this a place where you’re happy and how do you see Testament progressing from here?

A: "Well, we know what we want now. When we were younger, we just kind of went into the studio and let the producer get the sounds and we just played the songs. Of course, we gave our opinions but I don’t think we knew then what we wanted as much as we do now. Now we know exactly what we want. Chuck (Billy; vocalist) knows exactly how he wants to sound and I know how I want to sound. I know what I want the drums to do and everything."

Q: So I’ve been digging the new live release Dark Roots Of Thrash. It’s really a great release but tell me how this release stands out from the previous Testament releases?

A: "You really need to see this DVD. To me it goes hand in hand. Of course, the listening part is cool but watching it and listening to it at the same time is really awesome. The previous live release was more of a reunion show. We had two different drummers. John Tempesta played the first half and Louie Clemente played the second half. It was more of our classic songs. This release is where the band is at now which is what I think is our peak. I’m sure it’s going to continue but we’re definitely on a roll. We’re on a level where all the engines are running and we’re playing songs from almost every record. There are things missing from some records but we’ve put together a set that is compiled of almost everything we’ve done from The Legacy to Dark Roots Of Earth."

Read the full interview at this location.

Dark Roots Of Thrash, a DVD/2CD release documenting Testament's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, NY this past February, is out today, October 18th, in Europe, and will be released October 21st (UK), and October 29th (North America) via Nuclear Blast. Check out 'Native Blood' from the DVD below:

Dark Roots Of Thrash was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you’re a part of the show!

Dark Roots Of Earth tracklisting:

DVD:

Intro

'Rise Up'

'More Than Meets The Eye'

'Burnt Offerings'

'Native Blood'

'True American Hate'

'Dark Roots Of Earth'

'Into The Pit'

'Practice What You Preach'

'Riding The Snake'

'Eyes Of Wrath'

'Trial By Fire'

'The Haunting'

'The New Order'

'Do Not Resuscitate'

'Three Days In Darkness'

'The Formation Of Damnation'

'Over The Wall'

'Disciples Of The Watch'

BONUS CONTENT:

Backstage Footage

'Native Blood' (Video Clip)

CD1:

Intro

'Rise Up'

'More Than Meets The Eye'

'Burnt Offerings'

'Native Blood'

'True American Hate'

'Dark Roots Of Earth'

'Into The Pit'

'Practice What You Preach'

CD2:

'Riding The Snake'

'Eyes Of Wrath'

'Trial By Fire'

'The Haunting'

'The New Order'

'Do Not Resuscitate'

'Three Days In Darkness'

'The Formation Of Damnation'

'Over The Wall'

'Disciples Of The Watch'

Trailer:

Testament are gearing up for their tour with LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and HUNTRESS, which starts on October 22nd. According to an update from the band, a limited number of Testament VIP tickets are now available for each show here.

Confirmed shows are as follows:

October

22 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
23 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
24 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
25 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
26 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre
28 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
29 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
30 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theater

November

1 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland by AMC
2 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
3 - Socorro, TX - Socorro Entertainment Center – Free Show
5 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium
7 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater
9 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
11 - Kent, WA - ShoWare Center
12 - Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
14 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre
15 - Calgary, AB - Big Four
16 - Saskatoon, SK - Saskatoon Prairieland Park
18 - St. Paul, MN - Myth
19 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
20 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
22 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
23 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
24 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
26 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring