Testament has been chipping away at their first new material with drummer Dave Lombardo since 1999's The Gathering. According to guitarist Eric Peterson in an interview with Bloodstock TV, he's going to start piecing all the band's ideas together into a new album hopefully out in late 2023.
"I'm gonna start working on some new material, I've been working on ideas," said Peterson. "But gonna try to put the puzzle together. So yeah, hopefully in late 2023 we'll have a new record out."
When asked what it's like to be playing with Lombardo again for the first time after all these years, Peterson joked that Testament has certainly gotten faster. "His groove is a lot different," he said. "I noticed we sped up a little bit, which is a good thing. I like that we're speeding up." So who knows – maybe the new record will be at warp speed the entire time.
Testament vocalist Chuck Billy also touched on the idea of new material next year in a recent interview, saying the band has been having a blast with Lombardo behind the kit.
"We had a great time [playing with Dave Lombardo]. I think he really enjoys playing in the band, enjoys the music. And we’re now talking about, 'Let’s talk about maybe making a new record.' So hopefully that’s in the future.”
He added: "Eric has a bunch of music… He’s gotta go all in mentally to create some songs, so after [the second U.S. leg of The Bay Strikes Back tour] we don't have anything in the books till April. So from November till April, it's time to get in there and start working on new songs. So hopefully we'll have a new record out by next year."
