Legendary trio to make metallic revival

The Clash of the Titans Tour in 1990, featuring Slayer, Megadeth and Testament was the premier thrash metal show at the time.
But that was the 90s, so who cares?
Twenty years later, the three bands are joining forces once again for the American Carnage Tour, which stops in Albuquerque tonight at Tingley Coliseum.

Testament’s lead singer, Chuck Billy, said he is surprised he survived to perform this long.
“We were living the fast life,” he said. “We drank hard. There was booze everywhere, and we didn’t really think about anything else but partying and playing music. There was so much abundance.”

Now fans once again get to revel in the metal.
To celebrate, Slayer will play “Seasons in the Abyss” in its entirety and Megadeth will perform 1990’s well-loved “Rust in Peace.”
Billy said fans can anticipate a head-banging time.  
“Get ready for a pretty amazing show,” he said.

Testament came out of the Bay Area metal scene that cultivated Metallica in 1983. The band was instantly noticed by those in the thrash metal circles after its first album, The Legacy, hit stores.
Afterwards, the band padded its credentials touring with Anthrax.

MTV and the rest of America took notice when the band released its third album, The New World Order.
Testament has released nine albums, including The Formation of Damnation in 2008. During their 40-minute, eight-song set, fans can expect to hear familiar tunes from the bands extensive catalogue.

“We really try to spread it out, from the early to the mid to the current. We play the whole spectrum,” Billy said. “We’ve been touring for 25 years. We believe in what we play and stay true to what we believe. For three or four years, we have been touring with the original lineup.”

Billy said it is a struggle to form a set list that pleases the crowd and is fulfilling to the band.
“The first set we wrote was a selfish set,” he said. “We wrote what we want to play, but you have to play what the fans want to hear, even if you get tired of playing the same song.”

Billy, who is from the Pomo tribe in northern California, was recently honored with a place in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian’s new exhibition. This exhibition is called “Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture.”
“It’s an honor,” he said. “I’m really happy they acknowledged someone in the heavy metal field, to be acknowledged. I’m like, ‘Right on.’ Because I’m native, they’ll come out and support us. I’ve seen old women come to the shows.”

To Billy, performing is a passion and to be acknowledged by a world famous museum like the Smithsonian makes his efforts worthwhile.
“Performing is an escape and way to release energies. I’m definitely a different person when I perform,” he said. “The songs transform you and it changes you; it’s everything for me.”

Testament is currently writing material for its next studio album that should come out early next year.
“We get the riff first, then work on the melody and start jamming it out,” he said. “We’ve been writing together for so long that it’s easy for us at this point.”

*American Carnage Tour featuring Slayer, Megadeth with Testament
General admission $52
7 p.m.
Tingley Coliseum
300 San Pedro Dr. N.E.
505-265-1791*