Enjoy, folks! - TL WM
TESTAMENT / SUICIDE SHIFT
Chuck Billy cured!
Good news: Scream god CHUCK BILLY has been triumphant over cancer, is working on new TESTAMENT material and started a sideband called SUICIDE SHIFT.
"The doctor said: Go away and never come back", smiles Chuck Billy. The Testament singer, who suffered of a tumor in the area of his heart and throat, was given a clean bill of health after several weeks of chemo therapy and four operations. "My life is getting back to normal. I'm feeling good, mentally and physically. I want to get going." Therefore, the 38-year old father of a boy wants to get back into music again. But he has to take it slow, since his lungs have been affected by the illness and he hasn't been singing for a year. In the Testament-camp, songwriting is starting slowly: Riff-smith Eric Peterson has been putting a lot of time into his Black Metal-project Dragonlord and needs to find his way back in to composing classic Thrash. "Eric has got a bunch of riffs. We meet every friday to exchange ideas", reports Chuck. Just for fun and without any haste he has started a sideband called Suicide Shift with Steve DiGiorgio (Sadus, Testament) and Darren Travis (Sadus). The drums are at this point played by Al Esi, a little chunky guy with an on/off-switch, who is constantly the target of jokes from Testament-drummer Jon Allen. The singer describes the new material as "less Thrash, so the riffs are not overloaded as in Testament. It's more classic metal." Which leaves more space for the voice. The HAMMER-check live in the Sadus rehearsal studio yielded: The origins of the musicians are still obvious, but in addition to the mighty roar there are some atmospheric oder more melodic vocals plus some stomping grooves and at times stoner influences (Little wonder, if you consider the amount these guys smoke!) But the bottom line remains: Thrash. The name Suicide Shift has it's origin in a hobby the three californians share: riding their bikes. On older models there was a lever on the body of the machine to shift gears. The driver had to reach done in mid-ride, which could be quite a suicidal act...
More about Chuck's recovery and his musical plans in the next HAMMER!
Christof Leim
Printed in HAMMER, issue 07/2002, www.hammer-mag.de
NOTE: Please keep in mind that the quotes were translated to german and then re-translated in english. So they may sound weird...
TESTAMENT / SUICIDE SHIFT
Chuck Billy cured!
Good news: Scream god CHUCK BILLY has been triumphant over cancer, is working on new TESTAMENT material and started a sideband called SUICIDE SHIFT.
"The doctor said: Go away and never come back", smiles Chuck Billy. The Testament singer, who suffered of a tumor in the area of his heart and throat, was given a clean bill of health after several weeks of chemo therapy and four operations. "My life is getting back to normal. I'm feeling good, mentally and physically. I want to get going." Therefore, the 38-year old father of a boy wants to get back into music again. But he has to take it slow, since his lungs have been affected by the illness and he hasn't been singing for a year. In the Testament-camp, songwriting is starting slowly: Riff-smith Eric Peterson has been putting a lot of time into his Black Metal-project Dragonlord and needs to find his way back in to composing classic Thrash. "Eric has got a bunch of riffs. We meet every friday to exchange ideas", reports Chuck. Just for fun and without any haste he has started a sideband called Suicide Shift with Steve DiGiorgio (Sadus, Testament) and Darren Travis (Sadus). The drums are at this point played by Al Esi, a little chunky guy with an on/off-switch, who is constantly the target of jokes from Testament-drummer Jon Allen. The singer describes the new material as "less Thrash, so the riffs are not overloaded as in Testament. It's more classic metal." Which leaves more space for the voice. The HAMMER-check live in the Sadus rehearsal studio yielded: The origins of the musicians are still obvious, but in addition to the mighty roar there are some atmospheric oder more melodic vocals plus some stomping grooves and at times stoner influences (Little wonder, if you consider the amount these guys smoke!) But the bottom line remains: Thrash. The name Suicide Shift has it's origin in a hobby the three californians share: riding their bikes. On older models there was a lever on the body of the machine to shift gears. The driver had to reach done in mid-ride, which could be quite a suicidal act...
More about Chuck's recovery and his musical plans in the next HAMMER!
Christof Leim
Printed in HAMMER, issue 07/2002, www.hammer-mag.de
NOTE: Please keep in mind that the quotes were translated to german and then re-translated in english. So they may sound weird...
