Testament 'dumbfounded' by former bassist Christian's claims

A picture of Testament with Greg Christian
Testament with Christian, second from left (Image credit: Getty)

Former Testament bassist Greg Christian’s repeated online rants about his time with the band have left guitarist Eric Peterson “dumbfounded.”

Christian left the band in 2014 and said in the aftermath of the split that he had been left with less than $150 to his name, also claiming that his former bandmates “took advantage” of him financially.

Christian’s latest rant sees him claim it was a “bad life choice” to stay with the band for as long as he did. He says: “The only way to make things right is with real money.

“I wasted my fucking life working for and investing my time and energy building something only to be ass out after all these years. At the time when I should be doing OK. It’s not like I didn’t earn it.”

Responding to the latest statement from Christian, Peterson insists the bassist was paid the same as everyone else in the band for his work on the road and that he was treated the same way as his bandmates.

Peterson tells Sticks For Stones: “Some people just aren’t happy. I don’t know what to say. I can talk crap and say stuff and go back and forth, but I don’t know what he wanted. What do you want? You’re making the same money as everybody else. I’m really dumbfounded by it.

“The road’s not easy. But we definitely don’t travel around in a van – we travel pretty comfortably. We have enough to eat, we make decent money. If you had to look at it as a job, you would definitely have a good job.

“I don’t know what to say to that. Whatever his personal strife is, I don’t know.”

Christian was replaced by Steve DiGiorgio and the band will release their 11th album Brotherhood Of The Snake on October 28 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Last year, Testament frontman Chuck Billy said he had to take on a day job between tours to make ends meet.

Christian is working on a new project called Trinity Fallen.

Testament Brotherhood Of The Snake tracklist

  1. Brotherhood Of The Snake
  2. The Pale King
  3. Stronghold
  4. Seven Seals
  5. Born In A Rut
  6. Centuries Of Suffering
  7. Black Jack
  8. Neptune’s Spear
  9. Canna-Business
  10. The Number Game

Testament tour dates 2016

Oct 28: Oberhausen Turbinenhalle, Germany
Oct 29: Hamburg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Germany
Oct 30: Forest National, Belgium
Oct 31: Manchester Academy, UK
Nov 01: Glasgow O2 ABC, UK
Nov 02: Dublin Vicar Street, UK
Nov 04: London Roundhouse, UK
Nov 05: Birmingham O2 Academy, UK
Nov 06: Tilburg O13, Netherlands
Nov 07: Paris Casino de Paris, France
Nov 09: Bilbao Santana 27, Spain
Nov 10: Porto Coliseu, Portugal
Nov 12: Madrid La Riviera, Spain
Nov 13: Lyon Transbordeur, France
Nov 15: Lausanne Metropole, Switzerland
Nov 16: Zurich Komplex 457, Switzerland
Nov 17: Offenbach Stadthalle, Germany
Nov 18: Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Germany
Nov 19: Munich Zenith, Germany
Nov 21: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Nov 22: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Nov 23: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Nov 25: Prague Forum Karlin, Czech Republic
Nov 26: Geiselwind Eventhall, Germany
Nov 27: Berlin Columbiahalle, Germany
Nov 29: Athens Gagarin 205, Germany
Nov 30: Thessalonika Principle Club Theatre, Greece

Testament’s Chuck Billy reveals Canna-Business inspiration

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.