Bay Area thrash metal icons TESTAMENT return with their fourteenth studio album, Para Bellum, which is out today via Nuclear Blast Records. The album stands as both a battle cry and an observation of humanity’s uneasy alliance with its own creations. As technology accelerates and disconnection grows, Para Bellum sees TESTAMENT reflecting the modern chaos through music that’s urgent, sharp, and unflinchingly human.
Testament’s newest single, ‘High Noon,’ is a Wild West adventure set to music, evoking images of duels and gunslingers. The song offers a nod to the band’s acclaimed The Gathering period, yet successfully incorporating fresh, contemporary elements, demonstrating the band’s forward momentum. Watch the animated video for ‘High Noon’ below:
Chuck Billy comments, “We are so fired up about the release of Para Bellum. There were a lot of hours spent putting this together. These new songs put me out of my comfort zone as a vocalist but the final result I am very proud of what I accomplished. See you in the pit.
Para Bellum was recorded with Juan Urteaga, mixed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, and was mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios. The album is extremely polished and operating at full throttle. The band once again enlisted Eliran Kantor to create the album artwork. In an era flooded by AI-generated imagery. the hand painted creation encapsulates the album’s essence: a serene angel made of missiles, an explosion turned halo, surrounded by shovel-bearing cultists with books strapped to their faces.
From first note to last breath, Para Bellum is an album by warriors—crafted in chaos, and built to outlast the wars to come!
TESTAMENT is:
Chuck Billy | Vocals
Eric Peterson | Guitar
Alex Skolnick | Guitar
Steve DiGiorgio | Bass
Chris Dovas | Drums
