Over the last twenty years, the way audiences consume music has shifted dramatically. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon Music now dominate the industry, pushing traditional formats like CDs, cassettes and even vinyl out of the mainstream. Even so, vinyl has been making a steady comeback, with many listeners arguing that it offers a warmer, more authentic sound than digital files.
Speaking recently with Jacob Ridenour on the “Wildman Podcast,” Testament singer Chuck Billy weighed in on how the music landscape has evolved and why formats like vinyl — and even CDs in the right environment — can provide a listening experience that streaming often lacks.
Addressing the broader realities artists face in the streaming era, Billy pointed to the industry’s move away from physical media.
“There’s no Tower Records anymore. Walmart stopped selling CDs. Best Buy stopped selling CDs. Record shops are just a handful of mom-and-pop record stores now, so the physical sales are just kind of gone,” Billy said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “There’s the specialty stuff that labels put out, ’cause true fans like collectible, special stuff. It’s there, but it’s not just the physical CD anymore; it’s that digital print. But the sad thing is a lot of bands gotta figure out how to either renegotiate and get a better digital rate since things have changed. And once you’re stuck in your old contract, you’ll kind of wanna change the deal. It’s like that credit card that just kind of keeps growing on you, that interest rate.”
When the topic shifted to vinyl, Billy acknowledged that the analog format does have its own unique sound.
“Yeah, it does to a certain point,” he said. “I would say the earlier records, like our first couple of records, when we were mixing those records, we were actually burning them to vinyl to listen to them, ’cause that’s what we were putting out back then. So you were actually mixing records to sound correctly through the turntable, where down the road when bands or labels were just taking CDs, albums made for CD quality, transfer them right to digital without really EQing them properly and making them correctly, don’t transfer the same. ‘Cause I could hear some records I put on that sound really thin still, that don’t have that warm feeling like a record from 1980 or before that has that really warm feeling.”
Billy also pointed out that, in some situations, CDs can actually deliver better sound quality than streaming platforms.
“CDs sound better when you play ’em through a CD player, than digital, like [when] you listen to it off your phone or something. There’s something to that, like when I put a CD in, I’d rather listen to that in my vehicles than the digital. Something about — it’s made to sound better.”
Testament are currently on the road in support of their latest studio effort, Para Bellum, which arrived on October 10 through Nuclear Blast. The group has also unveiled the U.S. leg of their upcoming “Thrash Of The Titans” world tour. Set to launch in March 2026, the run will see Testament share the stage with fellow thrash veterans Overkill and Destruction for a near month-long trek celebrating the genre’s legacy.
Para Bellum track listing:
- “For The Love Of Pain“
- “Infanti**de A.I.“
- “Shadow People“
- “Meant To Be“
- “High Noon“
- “Witch Hunt“
- “Nature Of The Beast“
- “Room 117“
- “Havana Syndrome“
- “Para Bellum“
2026 “Thrash Of The Titans” U.S. Tour Dates
- March 14, 2026 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
- March 15, 2026 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
- March 16, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex
- March 18, 2026 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
- March 20, 2026 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
- March 21, 2026 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore
- March 22, 2026 – Chicago, IL – Ramova Theatre
- March 24, 2026 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
- March 25, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom
- March 27, 2026 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
- March 28, 2026 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
- March 29, 2026 – Reading, PA – Club Reverb
- March 31, 2026 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater
- April 1, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
- April 3, 2026 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
- April 4, 2026 – Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory
- April 5, 2026 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
- April 8, 2026 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
- April 9, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco
- April 10, 2026 – Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre (no Overkill)
Testament will also return to Europe and the United Kingdom this summer. The headlining off-dates will feature support from fellow Californians Death Angel, heavy metal stalwarts Metal Church and Armored Saint, as well as blackened speed metal outfit Hellripper on select stops.
Testament Summer 2026 Tour Dates:
- 06/29 – Antwerp, BEL – Middenvijver
- 07/01 – Viveiro, SPA – Resurrection Fest
- 07/03 – Villaava, SPA – Sala Totem Aretoa (feat. Hellripper)
- 07/04 – Barcelona, SPA – Rock Fest
- 07/05 – Cartagena, SPA – Rock Imperium Festival
- 07/07 – Zaragoza, SPA – Teatro de las Esquinas (feat. Hellripper)
- 07/08 – Toulouse, FRA – Le Bikini (feat. Hellripper)
- 07/29 – Bergen, NOR – Beyond The Gates Festival
- 07/31 – Rejmyre, SWE – Skogsrojet Festival
- 08/01 – Gothenburg, SWE – Pustervik (feat. Metal Church & Armored Saint)
- 08/02 – Lund, SWE – Mejeriet (feat. Metal Church & Armored Saint)
- 08/04 – Kiel, GER – Die Pumpe (feat. Metal Church)
- 08/05 – Leer, GER – Zollhausverein (feat. Death Angel)
- 08/06 – Schlotheim, GER – Party San
- 08/07 – Cologne, GER – Essigfabrik (feat. Death Angel & Metal Church)
- 08/08 – Kortrijk, BEL – Alcatraz Festival
- 08/09 – Derbyshire, UK – Bloodstock Open Air
- 08/11 – Karlsruhe, GER – Substage (feat. Death Angel & Metal Church)
- 08/12 – Obertraubling, GER – Airport-Eventhall (feat. Death Angel & Metal Church)
- 08/13 – Krakow, POL – Klub Studio (feat. Metal Church & Armored Saint)
- 08/14 – Moravsky Krumlov, CZE – Rock Castle
- 08/15 – Dinkelsbuehl, GER – Summer Breeze
- 08/16 – Eindhoven, NET – Dynamo Metalfest
