In a recent interview with the Scars And Guitars podcast, Testament guitarist Eric Peterson has offered new details on the band’s highly anticipated follow-up to their 2020 album, Titans Of Creation. Peterson described a diverse musical direction for the record and also set the record straight on a rumored collaboration with Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen.
Describing the forthcoming album, Peterson expressed his enthusiasm for the new material’s varied sound. ”I’m really excited about the new record,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “There’s some Gathering[-style] stuff on there, there’s some New Wave Of British Heavy Metal stuff… [There’s a] really good ballad. There’s some really crazy black metal stuff on there, but Testament. Yeah, it’s gonna be a good one”.
However, Peterson confirmed that the rumored guest appearance by Floor Jansen on the new album will not be happening. “No, that’s not gonna happen,” he stated, explaining that news of the potential collaboration may have been released prematurely. “It was something that was being discussed, and I think it got out there before it was agreeable. And I think she got a little upset — from what I was told. I don’t know. This is all hearsay for me”.
While Peterson praised Jansen, saying, “She would’ve been great on this song, by the way. This song would’ve been perfect for her,” he noted that the track works perfectly well without a guest. “Chuck [Billy, Testament singer] sounds great on his own on it. It’s a ballad. It’s really good. It doesn’t really need another singer, but it could have been cool with Floor”.
The song in question was previously discussed by frontman Chuck Billy in a November 2024 interview. At the time, Billy expressed excitement about the track and explained why Jansen was his first choice. “She’s a powerhouse of a vocalist. Great voice,” he said. “And when we wrote the song and the lyrics, first thing I thought was, ‘Okay, this song, it, it needs a strong girl’s voice,’ and, of course, Floor is the first one that came to mind”.
Billy also described the planned arrangement for the ballad. “This song, it’s gonna be pretty epic,” he explained. “We’re gonna put a string section on it, acoustic guitars. It’s gonna have a lot going on, but it’s a really, really beautiful song”. He noted that guitarist Alex Skolnick had connections to secure string players who have performed on “some huge records”.
