List of Testament members

Two lineups of Testament performing in 2008 (top) and 2016 (bottom).

Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed under the name Legacy in 1983 by cousins Derrick Ramirez (lead vocals, guitar) and Eric Peterson (guitar, backing vocals), the original lineup of the group also featured bassist Greg Christian and drummer Mike Ronchette.^[1] Later in the year, Louie Clemente replaced Ronchette, Steve "Zetro" Souza joined as lead vocalist, and Ramirez later left as Alex Skolnick joined the band.^[1] After the band recorded the Legacy Demo in 1983 and released it in 1985, Souza left to join Exodus in 1986 and was replaced by Chuck Billy, who the departing vocalist had suggested for his replacement.^[1] The band was signed by Megaforce Records and changed its name to Testament later in the year, before releasing its debut album The Legacy in 1987.^[1]

The lineup of Testament remained unchanged for several years, before Skolnick left in 1992 due to musical differences.^[2] Clemente followed just a few months later.^[3] The guitarist and drummer's replacements were former Forbidden bandmates Glen Alvelais and Paul Bostaph, respectively, both of whom featured on the live album Return to the Apocalyptic City in 1993.^[4] Low saw the addition of guitarist James Murphy and drummer John Tempesta, although the latter was replaced by Jon Dette after the album's release.^[4] Following the end of the album's touring cycle, which also saw Chris Kontos replacing Dette, Testament was briefly reduced to a duo as Murphy, Christian and Kontos all departed; the band returned the following year with Demonic, featuring Derrick Ramirez on bass and Gene Hoglan on drums.^[5]

Murphy returned for The Gathering, which also featured Steve DiGiorgio on bass and Dave Lombardo on drums.^[6] Lombardo and Murphy were later replaced by Jon Allen and Steve Smyth, respectively.^[7][8] In 2001 the band released First Strike Still Deadly, a collection of re-recorded early tracks, which featured contributions from former members Souza, Skolnick and Tempesta.^[9] Bostaph returned to the band in February 2004.^[10] The following year, former guitarist Skolnick and bassist Christian returned for a short tour,^[11] although ultimately they would remain with the band after its conclusion.^[4] Clemente also returned as part of the reunion, but was forced to depart again in 2006 due to medical reasons, with Bostaph returning in his place.^[12] Tempesta served as a second drummer during his tenure.^[13]

Nick Barker took over as the band's drummer in early 2007,^[14] but was replaced by Bostaph again later in the year.^[15] In 2011, Hoglan returned to Testament in time for the recording of Dark Roots of Earth,^[16] and in 2014 DiGiorgio also returned to replace Christian.^[17]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Eric Peterson	1983–present	guitars backing vocals	all Testament releases
	Chuck Billy	1986–present	lead vocals	all Testament releases
	Alex Skolnick	1983–1992 2005–present	guitars backing vocals	all Testament releases from Legacy Demo (1985) to Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993), and since First Strike Still Deadly (2001)
	Gene Hoglan	1996–1997 2011–present	drums	Demonic (1997) all Testament releases since Dark Roots of Earth (2012)
	Steve DiGiorgio	1998–2005 2014–present	bass backing vocals	The Gathering (1999) First Strike Still Deadly (2001) Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Greg Christian	1983–1996 2005–2014	bass	all Testament releases from Legacy Demo (1985) to Live at the Fillmore (1995), and from Live in London (2005) to Dark Roots of Thrash (2013)
	Derrick Ramirez	1983 1997–1998	lead vocals, guitars (1983) bass (1997–1998)	Demonic (1997)
	Mike Ronchette	1983	drums	Legacy Demo (1985)
	Louie Clemente	1983–1993 2005–2006	drums	all Testament releases from The Legacy (1987) to Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993) Live in London (2005)
	Steve "Zetro" Souza	1983–1986	lead vocals	Legacy Demo (1985) First Strike Still Deadly (2001) – guest appearances on two tracks
	Glen Alvelais	1992–1993 1997–1998	guitars	Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993) Demonic (1997) – one track only
	Paul Bostaph	1993 2004–2005 2006–2007 2007–2011	drums	Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993) The Formation of Damnation (2008)
	James Murphy	1993–1996 1998–2000	guitars	Low (1994) Live at the Fillmore (1995) The Gathering (1999)
	John Tempesta	1993–1994 2005–2006	drums	Low (1994) First Strike Still Deadly (2001) Live in London (2005)
	Jon Dette	1994–1995 1997–1998		Live at the Fillmore (1995)
	Chris Kontos	1995–1996		none
	Dave Lombardo	1998–1999		The Gathering (1999)
	Jon Allen	1999–2004		none
	Steve Smyth	2000–2004	guitars
	Nick Barker	2007	drums

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Notes
	Steve Jacobs	1997 1999	drums	Jacobs performed with Testament several times in 1997 and 1999 in between drummer changes.
	Asgeir Mickelson	2003	drums	Mickelson substituted for Allen for a European tour, due to his ongoing "personal family issues".[18]
	Mike Chlasciak	2004–2005	guitar	Chlasciak joined following Smyth's departure in 2004, remaining until Skolnick's return in 2005.[19]
	Glen Drover	2008		Drover substituted for Skolnick on a Mexican tour in 2008, and for a North American tour in 2010.[20][21]
	Mark Hernandez	2012	drums	Hernandez filled in for Hoglan on a European tour in November and December 2012.[22]
	Jack Gibson	2013	bass	Gibson filled in for Christian on a North American tour in November 2013.[23]
	Tilen Hudrap	2015	bass	Hudrap and Bent replaced DiGiorgio and Hoglan, respectively, at a show in August 2015.[24]
	Alex Bent		drums

Timeline

References

External links

• Testament official website