Testament split with longtime drummer Gene Hoglan earlier this year and brought former drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, etc.) back into the fold. Now in an interview with the podcast, Hoglan explained in a recent episode of the Talk Toomey podcast that the split was very friendly, adding that "nobody wanted it to happen. But I know Testament, they've gotta keep going."
Hoglan further elaborated that he began to curate a lot of his projects during the pandemic, and that his schedule simply didn't align with what Testament wanted to do this year.
"During the pandemic, I took time to start curating a lot of my projects, a lot of the things going on, so when I was laying things down on the calendar, they were just starting to kind of conflict with some of Testament's plans, and it's understandable.
"So when it came down to, 'Man, we all have to do something here.' And it all came together pretty easy, pretty quickly for Testament. When I was, like, 'Guys, I don't know if I can make all what you need, and I know you guys need somebody there slamming for you guys the whole round.' Bringing in a guy for a few dates here and there while I take off and do some one-off kind of things, or while I've had album projects planned for coming up in summer 2022 planned in 2021 kind of thing.
"So it just became a situation where it's, like, 'Man, you guys need to keep moving forward. I need to keep moving forward myself. You never know about the future, but at least for right now, we'll get you guys somebody else.' And look who they ended up with — the mighty Mr. Dave Lombardo. Win-win all over the place. Testament fans are super happy."
In a previous interview, Testament vocalist Chuck Billy revealed that both Paul Bostaph and Chris Adler also applied to join the band. Bostaph had already been in Testament here and there between 1992 and 2011, while Adler contributed drums to the bonus track "A Day In The Death" on the band's 2012 record Dark Roots Of Earth.
Testament will hit the road this July in Europe, and then will head back to North America for another tour with Exodus and Death Angel.
7/9 DE Ballenstedt Rock Harz Festival
7/10 CZ Vizovice Masters of Rock
7/11 PL Krakow Studio (w/ Exodus & Heathen)
7/12 SK Bratislava Refinery Gallery (w/ Sepultura, Exodus, Death Angel, Heathen)
7/14 DE Neukirchen-Vluyn Dong Open Air
7/16 AT Leoben Area 53 Festival
7/17 IT Cremona Luppolo in Rock
7/19 IT Rome Rock in Roma (w/ Exodus, Death Angel, Heathen)
7/21 DE Fritzlar Rock am Stück
7/23 BG Plovdiv Hills of Rock
7/24 RO Sibiu Art Mania
7/26 SI Tolmin Metaldays
7/29 PT Vagos Vagos Metalfest
7/30 ES Burgos Anden 56 (w/ Exodus & Heathen)
7/31 ES Pamplona Totem (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/3 ES Malaga Paris 15 (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/4 ES Villena Leyendas del Rock
8/5 ES Madrid La Riviera (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/6 ES Barcelona Razzmatazz (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/9 FR Bordeaux Rocher de Palmer (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/12 UK Catton Park Bloodstock Festival
8/13 BE Kortrijk Alcatraz Festival
8/14 DE Saarbrücken Garage (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/16 AT Innsbruck Music Hall (w/ Exodus, Heathen)
8/17 DE Dinkelsbühl Summer Breeze
8/19 DE Sulingen Reload Festival
8/20 NL Eindhoven Dynamo Metalfest
8/21 FR St. Nolff Motocultor
w/ Exodus & Death Angel
9/9 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren
9/10 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
9/12 – Wichita, KS -Cotillion
9/13 – Kansas City, MO – Truman
9/15 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
9/16 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
9/18 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
9/19 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
9/21 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
9/22 – Silver Spring, MD – Fillmore
9/23 – Stroudsburg, PA – Sherman Theater
9/26 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theater
9/27 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
9/28 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
9/30 – Montreal, QC – Mtelus
10/1 – London, ON – London Music Hall
10/3 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere's
10/4 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
10/6 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
10/8 – Calgary, AB – Palace Theatre
10/10 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore
10/12 – Ventura, CA – Majestic Ventura Theater
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
10/14 – Reno, NV – Cargo
10/15 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic
