Testament Tickets

Testament: veteran thrash metalheads

Based in California, Testament are an energetic thrash metal band that formed in 1983. In the early days, the group was known as Legacy but it was soon changed to its current name. Widely respected in the thrash metal music scene, Testament has sold approaching one and a half million records to date, which marks the band out as one of the most commercially successful of the thrash metal genre.

To many fans, the highlights of the band's career came in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Testament was at its most popular. However, for some devotees of thrash metal, their later work is just as interesting and engaging. Indeed, the band's most commercially successful album so far is 2012's Dark Roots of Earth, which reached a high of number 12 in the US charts. Catch them live when they next visit the UK: buy Testament tickets now at StubHub. 

Testament: early days and rise to fame

Formed by the guitarist Eric Peterson and his cousin, a singer called Derrick Ramirez, Testament recruited Alex Skolnick on lead guitar and Mike Ronchette on drums. The early lineup was completed by Greg Christian on bass, and Steve Souza, who took over on lead vocals. This version of the band went on to record the group's first demo tracks in 1985. After a few further alterations to the lineup, Testament signed a deal with Megaforce Records. The Legacy, reflecting the band's first name, was their debut LP, which was released in April 1987. It was well received on the hard rock scene and led to some notable support slots on tours, such as dates with Anthrax on both sides of the Atlantic, and shows with Megadeath and Overkill.

The New Order was the band's follow-up album. It was a minor mainstream hit in the US, with "Trial by Fire" being selected as a single. In 1989, Practice What You Preach was even more successful, getting to number 77 in the Billboard 200 Charts (and the UK top 40). Testament's next album, Souls of Black, did just as well in the US in 1990, and reached number 35 in the UK. A fifth studio album, which was also successful, came out in 1992, but later releases in the 1990s were not so strong in terms of sales.

Although their albums over the next 15 years or so were much anticipated by their fans, Testament's songs seldom achieved mainstream radio airplay. The Formation of Damnation, of 2008, fared better, however, while In 2012, Dark Roots of Earth scored the band a hit record all over Europe. It also got to number one in the US Top Hard Rock Album charts and number 12 overall. Brotherhood of the Snake, Testament's 11th studio album was also hugely successful. Don't miss your chance to catch the metal veterans live when they next play the UK: buy testament tickets at StubHub. 

Similar bands to Testament

Once you've sorted your Testament tickets, take a look at some of the other artists listed at StubHub UK. Josh Homme's Queens of the Stone Age are always adding dates to their busy schedule, while Slayer always put on a fantastic show.