From 1985 to 1996, Sepultura had frontman and guitarist Max Cavalera, and ever since they've had Derrick Green. But what is the group never had Green and instead had Testament frontman Chuck Billy? it could've happened, but Billy's timing for his audition was a little off. Billy says he auditioned for the band on a very spur-of-the-moment decision, but by the time his audition tape was in, the band had already landed on Derrick Green.
Here's what Chuck had to say in an interview with Eon Music.
"Yeah, around that time was right before the 'Demonic' record, so we had finished our Atlantic contract, and we were shopping for a new deal. We didn't really have a deal yet, and at the last minute, I just said, 'You know what? Maybe I should try to find a band that's solid, that's going to keep touring and continue on,' and at that point, Sepultura was taking auditions, and I think it was at the end that I decided, 'Screw it, I'm going to do it.' I think I did three songs; I did 'Refuse/Resist', I did 'Territory', and I wrote my version of 'Choke', and gave it to them. But by the time I had delivered, they had already made their decision for Derrick, which in the end, was probably the way it all should have worked out."
I really, genuinely wonder what Sepultura would be like today if Green was replace with Billy. More importantly, what would Testament have done for a frontman? Would Testament then have grabbed some other to-be iconic frontman, and everything would've been thrown into chaos? I guess we'll never know.