A little over a week ago we posted about Testament vocalist Chuck Billy talking about how he's hoping to hit the studio come June or July for a brand new record. Everyone got all excited because not only is the prospect of new Testament enticing, but the news was coming straight from a band member.
Now, for no readily apparent reason, Billy is singing a completely different tune about a new record. In an interview with The Age of Metal, Billy says he's hoping to have the record done and finished by the end of the year. As transcribed by Blabbermouth:
"I don't know. I can't set a date. But at this point in time in our careers, when it's ready, it's ready. And at the end of the day, we're the ones that have to live with it for the rest of our life and tour on it. So we wanna make sure it's ready. And we're fortunate to have Nuclear Blast really supporting us and not sweating us on it. They're just, like, 'When it's ready, we'll know, we'll be ready and we'll go.' So I hope towards the end of the year, it's done and finished."
I think what Billy means is he's hoping the group has the record recorded, mixed and mastered by the end of the year. So if Testament hits the studio in June or July, that would mean six or seven months' worth of studio time and then all the extra stuff that needs to be done… which is a lot more than I'd imagine any group would ever need. Then again, that's my interpretation and that's the best case scenario. Worst case is that Billy means the group will enter the studio at the end of the year and the record will be out sometime 2016.
In another intervie with CrypticRock.com, Billy paints a clearer picture of how far along they are:
"We are actually working on the new record, so Eric [Peterson, guitar] and I have been doing a lot of the work ourselves.
"This [U.S.] tour [with Exodus] will actually be the first tour where we are all together in one place for an extended period of time. This will be a chance to not only talk about the music and mess around with new ideas, I have been thinking that being on the road and playing all the songs from our beginning may allow us to channel those songs toward something new, be inspired, and get ourselves into the right mentality to work together as a unit."
He continued: "We are more than halfway done with the new songs, but we keep tweaking it.
"I think that when we all get together and play it, it will start molding into something workable, maybe even change a bit."
In Billy's defense, he did say "hopefully" when he shot for the June/July timeline. So now we're left the burning question- is Testament's studio time delayed or is Billy just giving a really conservative timeframe?
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