In a recent chat with Jai That Aussie Metal Guy, Chuck Billy talked about why he does a 90-minute warm-up.
“Routine. I’d say it’s routine,” the singer replied when asked how he maintains his voice after nearly 40 years of touring. “When I took my vocal training and coaching before I got into the band, I still use that same warmup tape that I received 40 years ago.”
He went on to say, “And it’s a mental thing for me now. I warm up with this tape for 90 minutes. Every time before any performance, I’ve gotta [warm up]. And if I don’t do that, my head would say, ‘You’re not ready to sing. You’re not ready. You didn’t warm up.’ So it’s mental.”
Billy also reflected on his vocal warm-ups in a 2016 interview with All About The Rock. “I do vocal warm-ups that I’ve been doing for the last 30 years as well as getting into my head space right before I hit the stage,” the vocalist explained. “I think everyone else has their own rituals that they get up to in their own dressing rooms but I do vocal exercises.”
He added, When you’re working hard it’s important to get into a rhythm & routine. Especially for me as a vocalist. If I stressed on my voice I’d probably lose it more often. When I don’t stress on my voice & just do my thing it’s like I’m still at yesterday’s show.”
Testament’s new album is almost over and expected to arrive in 2025. It will be a follow-up to 2020’s ‘Titans of Creation.’ “Well, this [album is] gonna be very special. I think I’m more excited about this one, just because of the fact — the timing of everything,” Chuck told the Rockpit about the record.
“I’m a big person believer in things happen for reasons. And [new Testament drummer] Chris Dovas jamming with us and having a lot of time to come up and spend with Eric [Peterson, Testament guitarist] at Eric’s place, just jamming, coming up a lot of music and working on it hard and tracking it at home and doing demos,” he then said.
Billy also revealed that the new songs felt different because Eric was inspired by Chris’s fast drumming. His vocals have a wider range, with more screaming, and he’s excited to see how the songs will sound live.
