Bay Area thrash metal icons TESTAMENT returns this Fall with their fourteenth studio album, Para Bellum. The album which will be released on October 10th via Nuclear Blast Records stands as both a battle cry and an observation of humanity's uneasy alliance with its own creations. As technology accelerates and disconnection grows, Para Bellum sees TESTAMENT reflecting the modern chaos through music that’s urgent, sharp, and unflinchingly human.
Photo by Fred Kowalo
Today, TESTAMENT deliver one of their most intense songs they've written to date, 'Infanticide A.I.'. Lead by the blinding speed of their new drummer Chris Dovas, the band shows off its musical talent far beyond their expected norms. Watch the music video for 'Infanticide A.I.'' directed by Joey Durango, here: https://youtu.be/Gtw3lcQvyPU
TESTAMENT's Chuck Billy comments, "The new album Para Bellum consists of some fast, heavy and melodic tunes. Once again Peterson has found a way to keep the song writing fresh and modern sounding. It’s gonna be hard to choose what songs to play live cause to many to choose from."
TESTAMENT's Eric Peterson states, "It’s been 5 years since our last record Titans Of Creation was released. Since then, we all waited to get back to it and we all did in a big way! Now our long over due new record Para Bellum is upon us and about to be released in October. We are super stoked and excited to release new blood and fury to you all! With our first single 'Infanticide A.I.' we’re coming out swinging! But with new velocities of fury, while maintaining a balance that we all love and know from a Testament track, enjoy!"
Para Bellum Tracklisting 1. For the Love of Pain 2. Infanticide A.I. 3. Shadow People 4. Meant to Be 5. High Noon 6. Witch Hunt 7. Nature of the Beast 8. Room 117 9. Havana Syndrome 10. Para Bellum
Para Bellum is now available for pre-order in the following formats:
Yellow, Black & Brown Splatter (Band/King's Road Exclusive - Limited)
Copper (Mass Market Retail (US/EU))
Bone & Brown Marbled (NB Europe Exclusive)
Black and Orange Swirl + Splatter (NB Europe Exclusive)
Orange & Black Swirl (NB U.S. Exclusive)
Para Bellum was recorded with Juan Urteaga, mixed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, and was mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios. The album is extremely polished and operating at full throttle. The band once again enlisted Eliran Kantor tocreate the album artwork. In an era flooded by AI-generated imagery. the hand painted creation encapsulates the album’s essence: a serene angel made of missiles, an explosion turned halo, surrounded by shovel-bearing cultists with books strapped to their faces.
From first note to last breath, Para Bellum is an album by warriors—crafted in chaos, and built to outlast the wars to come!
TESTAMENT live dates:
Latin America Tour 08.21.2025 BR Brasília @ Toinha Brasil Show 08.23.2025 BR Rio De Janeiro @ Circo Voador 08.24.2025 BR São Paulo @ Carioca Club
US Festivals 09.21.2025 US Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life 2025 10.03.2025 US Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock 2025
European Tour 10.05.2025 DE Hannover @ Capitol 10.07.2025 UK Bristol @ Beacon 10.08.2025 UK Birmingham @ O2 Academy Birmingham 10.09.2025 IE Dublin @ Olympia Theatre 10.10.2025 UK Manchester @ Manchester Academy 10.11.2025 UK London @ O2 Forum Kentish Town 10.12.2025 BE Antwerp @ Trix 10.13.2025 DE Stuttgart @ LKA Longhorn 10.14.2025 DE Hamburg @ Große Freiheit 36 10.16.2025 CH Pratteln @ Z7 Konzertfabrik 10.17.2025 DE Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof 10.18.2025 IT Milan @ Live Club 10.19.2025 DE Saarbruecken @ Garage 10.21.2025 SI Ljubljana @ Media Center 10.22.2025 AT Vienna @ Arena 10.23.2025 PL Wroclaw @ A2 10.24.2025 DE Munich @ TonHalle 10.25.2025 DE Oberhausen @ Turbinenhalle 10.26.2025 NL Utrecht @ Tivoli Vredenburg - Ronda
TESTAMENT is: Chuck Billy | Vocals Eric Peterson | Guitar Alex Skolnick | Guitar Steve DiGiorgio | Bass Chris Dovas | Drums
Today, GRAMMY-winning guitarist Tommy Emmanuel announced his new album Living In The Light, out October 10. Recorded and mixed with producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Phish), Living in the Light is a virtuosic blend of acoustic pop, jazz, classical, and roots music delivered by one of the modern era’s most accomplished and versatile guitarists. The announcement arrives alongside the official video for the propulsive debut single “Scarlett’s World,” dedicated to Emmanuel’s granddaughter.
“I tried to write a theme that sounded like it came from the 80s,” Emmanuel explains. “Scarlett is my granddaughter, so I dedicate this song to her and her journey through life. However, there is a part of me that wanted to give a nod to Scarlett Johansson as I am a big fan. She’s one of my favorite actresses.”
Emmanuel captured most of the performances on Living in the Light in one or two takes, and the sense of joy and wonder in these sonic explorations is more than just palpable; it’s intoxicating. While many of the recordings are solo instrumentals, Emmanuel lends his voice to several of the album’s tracks, as well, grounding his dazzling, percussive fretwork with a poignant dose of warmth and vulnerability. “There are elements of rockabilly, blues, even traditional African music all woven into the music,” Emmanuel explains. “I’m a world traveler, and I’ve absorbed so much music along the way. It all gets synthesized through a kind of osmosis into my psyche and my soul and then comes out in my own unique style.”
Tommy Emmanuel first began touring at the age of six in his native Australia as part of a family band. In his teenage years, he turned heads as a highly sought after session player and sideman, and by his early twenties, Emmanuel was playing on chart-topping hits and performing with some of the biggest names in Australian music, including Air Supply and Men at Work. Inspired in part by his hero, Chet Atkins (who would later become a friend, mentor, and collaborator), Emmanuel stepped out on his own as a solo artist in 1979, releasing the first in a string of critically and commercially acclaimed instrumental albums that would make him an unlikely celebrity in his home country and beyond. In the decades that followed, he would go on to headline everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall; tour with the likes of Eric Clapton and John Denver; win a GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement; perform for a televised audience of more than two billion at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics; and collaborate with everyone from Les Paul and Mark Knopfler to Joe Walsh and Richard Thompson. NPR’s World Café declared him “one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world,” while the New York Times hailed him as a “prodigy,” and Atkins crowned him with the title of Certified Guitar Player (an honorary only ever bestowed upon four other artists).
Emmanuel continued to push himself throughout his career, relocating permanently to Nashville in the early 2000s and collaborating with a rising generation of guitarists like Jason Isbell, Molly Tuttle, and Billy Strings on his latest studio albums, Accomplice One and Accomplice Two. “Those albums were a real labor of love,” Emmanuel explains, “and I was thrilled with how they came out. But I felt a strong desire to focus on my writing again after that, and I found that the songs for Living in the Light just started pouring out of me.”
More than sixty years into his storied career, Tommy Emmanuel is still hungry for adventure. “As I get older, I find myself taking a lot more risks, and having a lot more fun in the process,” says Emmanuel, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. “When young people come to my shows and have this awakening that it’s okay to be different, that the possibilities of music and self-expression are limitless, that’s what it’s all about for me.”
DR Handmade Strings has introduced their highly engineered new Black Dragon Multi-Scale Bass strings. Combining the sound, feel and extra-long life of Dragon Skin+ with an exciting black finish, these new strings will bring out the best tone (and look!) of any multi-scale bass, including those with up to 37” B strings.
The new Black Dragons are available in 4-string, 5-string and 6-string sets and feature DR’s patented Accurate Core Technology (ACT). ACT upgrades the architecture of the strings, allowing them to vibrate to their full potential and deliver full tone and clarity for even the lowest notes of your bass. The stainless steel strings feature DR’s Black K3 coating that protects the strings, without choking off the sound, and gives the strings a distinctive black appearance to compliment any instrument. The net result? A great-looking string that delivers enhanced tone, effortless playability and extra-long life.
Black Dragons carry street prices of $39.99 (4-string set), $49.99 (5-string set) and $52.99 (6-string set). They will be available starting August 17th in honor of DR Strings founder Mark Dronge’s 87th birthday. For more information visit drstrings.com.
PRS Guitars today released the first episode of a new video series on the PRS “Rules of Tone.” The Rules of Tone is a document written by Paul Reed Smith back in 2006, in which he documented 21 “rules” that he and the guitar makers at PRS follow in order to ensure instruments of the highest quality.
“It was meant to be a guide so that I/we always build the best instruments we can possibly make. There are 21 rules – each one the culmination of decades of experience in guitar-making, design, and repair work. While no set of rules can guarantee a perfect instrument, a guitar should improve with each instance of a rule followed – in the end becoming greater than the sum of its parts,” said Paul Reed Smith.
The video series will be published as six episodes in total. Episode 1 focuses on woods and is available now at this link. Remaining topics include: necks, pickups, finish, hardware, and setup. In each video, Paul Reed Smith is joined by a member of the PRS Guitars manufacturing team to talk about how the guitar-making philosophies are applied in practice on the manufacturing floor. To see each episode as soon as it is released, subscribe to the PRS Guitars YouTube channel and click the bell for notifications.
“Since 2006, I have spent a lot of time teaching these guitar-making principles to the teams here. The teams have, in turn, become stewards of the rules to every person who makes guitars for PRS. Please enjoy these videos. It is my hope that they give you an idea of the amount of care and constant improvement we dedicate ourselves to, so that you receive our best,” said Paul Reed Smith.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
PRS Guitars today announced a new limited edition: the PRS CE 24 Special. “Special” in the name refers to this guitar’s hum/single/hum pickup configuration, a first for the CE bolt-on platform. Only 1,500 of this limited-edition model will be made for 2025.
While the CE 24 normally features two PRS 85/15 pickups in the treble and bass positions, the CE 24 Special adds a PRS NS-01 single coil in the middle position. The three-pickup layout brings more tonal options to players, and the 5-way pickup selector switch helps players shape their preferred sound.
“With the CE 24 Special, you get all the iconic tones you expect from a CE. But now, with the middle pickup from the Modern Eagle V added to the mix, you can easily dial in the classic scooped tones typically associated with traditional 3-pickup/5-way switch-equipped guitars. Thanks to the tonal range of the 85/15 humbuckers, the CE 24 Special offers even more warmth and versatility than some historic models with a similar setup,” said Chuck Lenderking, PRS Guitars Product Manager.
True to the CE family of guitars, this model features a bolt-on maple neck, providing a snappy attack and enhanced resonance. The Pattern Thin neck profile and satin finish on the neck offer fast playability and comfort.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
