Chuck Billy, iconic singer of Testament, recently expressed his wish to tour with Metallica, a flagship group of the Thrash Metal scene and a source of inspiration for him.
A long-standing ambition for Testament
In an interview with Andrew McKaysmith for the podcast Scars And GuitarsChuck Billy shared his aspirations for the future, despite almost four decades of touring and recording with Testament. Asked about his goals, he replied: “I think my number one goal is to be able to tour with Metallica, a band that grew up in our scene, in our area, and paved the way for this kind of music. We never got that opportunity, although we played together at a few shows and festivals. I don’t know why it never happened.”
Billy also revealed how much Metallica has influenced his career, specifically citing James Hetfield, whose vocal style has often guided his own musical choices: “James is a big inspiration to me. Even today, I often wonder what he would do on a song.”
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Testament and Metallica: a relationship marked by occasional encounters
Although members of Testament and Metallica have crossed paths over the years, a full tour between the two groups has never occurred. Chuck Billy recalled a memorable meeting in Germany where the two groups met in a festival corridor. “It was like seeing old friends again. Lars or James even teased us by saying: 'You still have all your hair!'”
This desire to tour with Metallica goes back several years. In 2021, during an interview in The Jasta ShowChuck had already mentioned this wish and humorously speculated that the relationships of certain members could be in question: “Eric [Peterson, guitariste de Testament] got married to Kirk's ex [Hammett, guitariste de Metallica]. Maybe that played a role? We often joke and say, 'Eric, what did you do to us? Why did you go out with her? Now we can't play with Metallica anymore.'”
Mutual respect between the two groups
Metallica has often shown respect for Testament and other Bay Area thrash bands. In 2017, James Hetfield cited Exodus and Testament as among his favorite thrash bands outside of the “Big Four” (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax). “We grew up with them in the Bay Area. I think they're great,” he said.
Despite the years, Chuck Billy remains hopeful that a joint tour with Metallica could one day come to fruition, providing fans with an explosive reunion of two thrash metal legends.
