Testament are a legendary American thrash metal band from California. Being one of the more influential American thrash metal bands, they were perhaps the most popular band of that scene to not break into the mainstream and see the success that the "Big Four of Thrash" did. Some of their records nonetheless entered the charts in major markets such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Testament has two Top 40 albums and one Top 50 album to its credit in the UK. Their 1999 album The Gathering also entered the Top 50 in Germany. They had minor top 100 album success in the United States.

Testament was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s. Originally formed as ‘Legacy’ in 1983 by founding members Eric Peterson (rhythm guitar), Derrick Ramirez (guitar) and Louie Clemente (drums), the line-up included vocalist Steve Souza and Greg Christian (bass). Ramirez was later replaced by wunderkind Alex Skolnick (lead guitar). Souza soon departed to join Exodus and suggested that the towering Chuck Billy take over as frontman. The ban