Testament prepares to offer more "Damnation'

Thrash-metal veterans Testament will rip the cover off a late-spring headlining tour beginning in May as they continue to support their first new studio album in nine years.

The San Francisco Bay Area-based group toured recently with Judas Priest and Megadeth, a follow-up of sorts to the band's summer trek from last year as a support act on the Metal Masters Tour.

"It was really exciting last summer touring with Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, and Motorhead, playing in front of all the old-school as well as new-school metalheads," frontman Chuck Billy said in a press statement. "Now we look forward to CRUSHING on our first headline tour on the Damnation Vacation US run. Heavy metal forever!!!"

The upcoming headlining trek kicks off May 2 in Seattle and will run through the middle of the following month, hitting more than 30 cities before winding up with a June 12 hometown show in San Francisco. Dates are below.

"The Formation of Damnation," which surfaced last year, is Testament's first new studio album since 1999's "The Gathering." It also marked the first recording in more than a decade to include original members Chuck Billy (vocals), Alex Skolnick (guitar), Eric Peterson (guitar) and Greg Christian (bass), along with recent addition Paul Bostaph on drums.

A couple of songs from the new set--which was originally set for release in 2004, but delayed and left incomplete for years due to the band's touring schedule, along with several line-up changes--are streaming at Testament's MySpace page.

The band is also revisiting some of its past offerings, having reissued 1997's "Demonic," 1999's "The Gathering" and 2001's "First Strike Still Deadly" through Prosthetic Records.