Paul Bostaph - Testament

Legendary thrashers Testament have arrived back on the scene this year with a monster album that we have been waiting 10 years for! I got the chance to meet with veteran Slayer and current Testament drummer Paul Bostaph to see what he had to say about Download and the new record amongst other things.

Metal Mayhem: When did your passion for music begin?
Paul Bostaph: Well, I think my passion for music started the first time I heard a Rock 'n' Roll song on the radio. I couldn't tell you what year that was in but I was really young and I knew I liked it immediately.

MM: What was the first instrument you ever played and when did you start it?
PB: I started playing Drums first; I wanted to be a bass player though. Actually, to tell you the truth, I started playing drums because I could buy a drum kit cheaper than I could play a bass at the time.

MM: Haha, times have changed!
PB: Yeah! I bought my first drum kit around the time of my 15th birthday. I saved all my birthday money and got it for around 50$ where a bass guitar rig was gonna cost me about 200 bucks, so I became a drummer because it was cheaper at the time.

MM: How do you think your music affected your childhood?
PB: It never really had a negative effect on me at all. I used to play sports when I was a kid too, so sports was the main focus when I was younger but I was always playing drums and it kept me really busy. I was about 15 or 16 when I got my first job, so I had a job, my sports, school, drums and I was playing in a band at night…I was really very tired the whole time, and I think that's the biggest effect it had on me.

MM: What was your first band?
PB: The first band I was in nobody will ever had heard of! The first signed band I was in was 'Forbidden'.

MM: Which individual most influenced you as a musician when you were growing up?
PB: Ummm, that's a good question! As a musician, probably the person who had the most influence on my was Jeff Lynne of ELO (electric light orchestra) because that was pretty much my favourite band and he was a great song writer. In fact when I was younger I would say bands had more of an influence on me that just 1 individual.

MM: In that case, which bands would you say most influenced you at that time?
PB: AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath…bands like that.

MM: As a band you have just released you first new material for 10 years, 'Formation of Damnation', how do you feel about you album compared to your older stuff?
PB: The albums going really well, we're really surprised to be honest! I think we're all blown away by how well it's been received by press and the fans. Compared to older stuff that Testament has done? I think it stands up to any record that they've done being, in my opinion, equally one of the best that the band have released.

MM: What about the drumming in the new album, do you think it's more complex than in previous albums?
PB: It's probably more complex than the stuff that they did with Louie (Clemente – ex-Testament drummer), but then they had Gene Hoglan involved with the band and after that John Tempesta and Dave Lombardo. I'd say that it's at least equal to the complexity of when those other guys were in the band. I mean, Gene is a fenominal drummer in his own right, so if you listen to the stuff from Demonic I mean, god, the guy's amazing! So basically, I'd say it stands up to the best that the other Testament drummers have brought to the table.

MM: So has the reaction surpassed your expectations?
PB: Oh yeah! Like I said before, it really surprised the hell out of us! It surprised the hell out of me because when we were writing the record, we were just focused on getting it done and making it happen, but then when we had the drum tracks done, and then the vocals, and then the leads…we started to listen to the backing and realised that it was even better than we thought!

MM: Testament played Donnington for the first time in 20 years last weekend; did it live up to expectations?
PB: Well, the first time I played donnington was 1992 with Slayer and then I came back , I think in 1996, with Slayer again. So I knew what to expect from Download, but this time around it was like a whole different thing because Testament hadn't done it. You know, it's always great to be asked to an event like Donnington because it's an incredible honour and the way the crowd reacted on Saturday, I think we were well pleased by the outcome!

MM: If I can sidetrack for a second Paul. At download I hung around a bit after the set to ask the fans if they had anything they wanted to ask you. The most common thing that came up was about your placing on the bill. Were you annoyed that the band were playing on third stage? Most probably felt that a first or second stage appearance would have been more appropriate.
PB: I appreciate that, but I don't think the band really looked at it that way because we were actually headlining the stage that we were on. If we'd played on one of the other stages we may have been a little lower down the bill so we couldn't have played our full set. Also, it was the first time the band had played the festival so usually what happens is that we may be invited back and maybe we'll get on one of the larger stages. I think that sometimes the fans perceive as if you are playing the third stage your kind of lower on the bill, but the way that the band saw it…we got our foot in the door and played there. We showed that we could pack the tent and the atmosphere was awesome so hopefully we get asked back next year or the year after. Next time we come back, we may get to play the main stage. The way we see it, we were there, the fans were there and we had a great time.

MM: The other main thing they wanted to know was what you thought of them, as the fans? Do you think they did you justice?
PB: At Download? Do I think they did us justice? I think they did us proud. I mean, when we played 'More Than Meets The Eye' - off the new record - chuck usually sings the melody at the beginning but we could hardly hear him over the crowd!

MM: Ok, coming back a bit, there is kind of a thrash revolution going on at the moment. What do you think of all the new thrash metal bands arriving on the scene?
PB: Honestly, I haven't had much of a chance to hear many of them, but I've been hearing a lot about them. I think it's great that a lot of bands are going back and finding thrash metal. To me, I think that thrash metal has always been a viable style of music. It got lost by the trends, you know? When grunge came around, thrash metal was replaced to a certain extent but it never went away. The bands that were doing it were still doing it. I was with Slayer during that whole time, and we went on tour of the world. I remember playing Ozzfest; I think it was 2000, we got to play and after the show when we were doing a signing a fan walks up to me and was like, 'I didn't know you guys were still around', and I'm like yeah we've been touring for about 10 years! Sometimes I think that if a songs not on MTV, or not on the radio the whole time people perceive it not to be there and I think thrash metal…well, heavy metal is what it is, and heavy metal never dies! Heavy metal has always been an underground style of music and every once in a while we get a ground swell. One thing about heavy metal is that it's real. Even now thrash metal is becoming almost a purist style of music and I'm gonna compare it to jazz, not because it is jazz! Jazz is something entirely different, but you know, jazz is like a certain thing. If a band stretches stretch too far out of it, the core fans lose interest in that particular band and I think that's what thrash metal is all about.

MM: What about the metal scene as a whole at the moment? What are your favourite bands?
PB: I always get jumped by questions like this! I'll be listening to a band but then when I get asked I just draw blank! I love Exodus, I think that Gary Holt and the boys are still proving that they can do it. Gary writes some of the heaviest monster riffs on the face of the earth. I'm on tour with Testament right now, so I've been listening to so much Testament. Right now it's just Testament, Testament, Testament!

MM: From here where does Testament go?
PB: We'll tour the rest of the world, finish this tour. Then when we get back, Alex (Skolnick – Guitar) has commitments with Trans-Siberian Orchestra and then we'll start a new record. You won't see another 9 or 10 year gap between albums! The plan was to keep this rolling anyway but I think we found, for lack of a better phrase, a renewed love affair with the fans and the music which just gives you more energy to carry on writing records. We can't wait to get home and write the next one and that's what it's all about really.

MM: What's your favourite thing to eat?
PB: This comes up in interviews sometimes and it'll always change! At the moment it would have to be…tri-tip steak, on a barbecue.

MM: What 3 things would you take with you on a desert island?
PB: The first item would be an unlimited supply of water. The next thing would be my wife, but I'll take that as a given so that doesn't count, so it will be an unlimited supply of food. Finally I would have to take unlimited medical supplies. I'm a very serious thinking individual!

MM: Well thankyou very much for your time and congratulations on your album.
PB: Thankyou.

Lewis Klein