Metal Loyalists of the world don’t need me to educate them about the importance or relevance to the genre when it comes to Testament. The proof is in the pudding they might say when it comes to the extensive body of work that has always managed to not only stay true to the band’s original vibe, but also managed to continue to raise their own personal bar and inspire any Metal fan and band who wisely choose to listen to them. PiercingMetal.com had been keeping up with the adventures of the band since the reunion of the original lineup and how the crushed the senses with numerous live appearances on events like the Metal Masters tour and the appearance with Children Of Bodom as they continued to support the stunning “Formation Of Damnation” CD that came courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records. Moving like a freight train on greased tracks, the adventure continues and brings us to this evenings most stellar of events.
This evening would be one that ranks up there in the “Special Moments in Metal History” book as members of the band Testament made their way down to the Sirius Satellite Radio station in NYC for an interview and performance segment on the “Artist Confidential” show. The band would be the guests of show host Lou Brutus who would field questions about the bands goings on at them in between the group delivering a whopping dose of Metal that would surely test the strength of the studio booth walls. The special nature of such an event found Testament bringing in about twenty or so lucky fans who would be able to sit and watch the entire thing take place with only a few inches of clear studio wall between them and their idols. Before the program began the host Lou Brutus came out to let the attendees know a little bit more about the show and how it had previously had such icons in music like Willie Nelson and Paul McCartney. Legends without any question and tonight the program was braving new waters by having the influential Bay Area Thrashers in the room dishing out what they do best.
The band then came out and walked around in order to meet the fans and let them take some photos with them. They also managed to get some time in with the Sirius Satellite Radio personnel and here are a couple of shots from that part of the night.
Jose Mangin who is very instrumental on the Metal side when it comes to Sirius Satellite Radio and is the host of a program called “Hard Attack”. He has been a long time supporter of Testament and their efforts and was presented a guitar by the band which he was very floored by.
Also walking around was none other than Eddie Trunk who has a program on Sirius Satellite, a radio show called “Friday Night Rocks” on terrestrial radio and his own television program on VH1 Classic called “That Metal Show” – whew, talk about a schedule. The band was going to be interviewed on his Sirius show shortly after the pleasantries were exchanged by the band with their well wishers.
I was happy to catch sight of Richard Christie who works with the Howard Stern program now but is very well known to the Metal heads as being the drummer for Death, Iced Earth and a new project that is called Charred Walls Of The Damned. I have no idea about what this band will hold for us all but with a name like that I am sure it will be nice and heavy. I also saw former Testament drummer Louis Clemente at the event but lost track of him when I was snapping the candids. It was nice to see him there showing some support for the guys.
We’ve put a full gallery together of all the rest of the bands photo-op time with their Sirius Satellite supporters and they can be enjoyed via the link below. At the time of this writing I am unsure as to when the episode will air for this particular Artist Confidential, but in these days of MySpace, Facebook and even Twitter I am sure that the moment that it is announced that everyone who has interest in tuning in will be able to do so. Given I am not a subscriber to the Satellite Radio service myself, I am hoping that the recorded video that the band shot for this is made available on some future release or the record company’s YouTube.com page. Stay tuned to your usually checked sources and I am certain that the information will get to you.
Testament & Sirius Satellite Folks
If you have not yet purchased “The Formation Of Damnation” then get yourself onto that without any further hesitation because you are missing out on one of the best Metal releases of 2008. We’ve covered the band over on the main site so please feel free to search for them in the Reviews Main Page or on the Gallery Section. Congratulations and thank you Testament for continually reminding us about how this should be done.
Best ever =)