Stage Buzz: Testament at The Rave/Eagles Club • Milwaukee & Ramova Theatre • Chicago
Testament
Bay Area thrash titans, Testament, will be ripping across the US on their 20-date “Thrash of the Titans” US leg of their 2026 world tour. The trek begins in Portland, OR, on March 14 and runs through the beginning of April, including stops at the historic Rave/Eagles Club on Friday, March 2o, and at Ramova Theatre, Chicago, on 3/22.
Fellow thrash legends and metal brothers Overkill and Destruction are slated as the opening acts, making this one of the most mosh-worthy tours of the Spring. “We’ve known Overkill and Destruction close to 40 years; Overkill was the first band that took us across America back in ’87/’88,” vocalist Chuck Billy explains during a recent Zoom conversation. “We probably met Destruction around the same time over in Europe. We just did a tour with Destruction and Obituary in Europe in October, and that was The Thrash of the Titans. We really wanted to bring that to the US, but Obituary couldn’t make it work in their calendar, so we brought in Overkill. We’ll keep it in the family, keep it in the same thrash vein. We threw it out there to the fan scene, and they thought it was a great idea. So here it is. They’re going to get it; it’s going to be a new show.”
Given Testament’s long career, the band has performed in Chicagoland and Milwaukee numerous times throughout its long career, making it one of the band’s favorite cities to play. “We haven’t played this venue; we haven’t got to play proper downtown Chicago in a long time,” Billy confesses. “Usually we’re out in Joliet or somewhere. So, this will be our first time there, and I’m looking forward to it. Chicago’s great. I love that city. There’s a lot of good metal heads there; they love their metal.”
Testament’s latest and 14th studio album, Para Bellum, is a collection of 10 explosive and diverse thrash metal anthems that display the band’s old school roots, while lyrically touching upon current turbulent times. “I like to write things that are real,” Billy admits. “I think maybe when I was very young—or anybody who’s starting to write lyrics—metal can be kind of a cliched subject matter, where I feel that we’ve always talked about real things that everybody has to deal with in life. Just a lot of things that we all have in common that are things that we can connect in music and songs. I like that connection.”
Although Testament has never abandoned their original thrash roots, on *Para Bellum*, the band implements slight elements of black metal and death metal in the same vein as previous albums Low and Demonic, and almost reminiscent of guitarist Eric Peterson’s black metal side project Dragonlord, most notably present on the opening track “For The Love Of Pain.” Meanwhile, the melodic ballad, “Meant to Be,” shares some of the same traits as “The Ritual” from the 1992 titular album.
After nearly four devastating decades, Testament continues to dominate the vast metal scene. “We take it one day at a time, one tour at a time,” Billy states. “A lot of bands are kind of drawing a line in the sand and calling it quits. I don’t see us doing that or having that in our sights yet. So I think we’re just enjoying the moment and having a good time. We’re proud of the record that we’re touring on, so it’s going to be a good couple of years for us pushing this record. Then we’ll see what the future holds with the new songs.”
Catch Testament at the Rave/Eagles Club, Milwaukee, Friday, March 20, and March 22, Ramova Theatre, Chicago.
-Kelley Simms
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz
